09/11
The impact of this event upon the American psyche is beyond question. Afterward, American's traveling around home or overseas maintained a constant awareness of their movement within crowds and on transportation systems.
I don't ever remember experiencing such quietness while standing outside. Air traffic was abruptly stopped - the skies were empty. Few people were driving on the streets. The air was hauntingly still.
And so was the telephone.....until the cancellations began. Every program covering the next two years was cancelled.
Back to the beginning.
Working alone.
I had a desk, a chair and a computer with plenty of letterhead on Word as well as envelopes and stamps. And an email list of previous travelers, along with on-the-ground contacts around the world. And files of previous treks, hikes and safaris in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet, Sikkim, Patagonia, Pakistan, East Africa, South America, Botswana and Europe. And a nice office view.
It was time to pause and wait.
Perhaps, stay small.
After a year or more pause, Mazamas was interested in a club Outing to trek in Patagonia, followed by a couple treks in Nepal. A birding trip to Bhutan was requested as well as several Bhutan cultural day hikes. A safari to South Africa and Botswana gained interest. An opportunity to become reacquainted with folks in Burma allowed a cultural hiking journey to evolve. In order to simplify office life, Folkways Institute was dissolved and Folkways Travel remained. A selective yearly travel schedule without staff to support provided time to design and develop truly unique international experiences that could be affordable for small groups of interested travelers.
And so it remains...
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And so was the telephone.....until the cancellations began. Every program covering the next two years was cancelled.
Back to the beginning.
Working alone.
I had a desk, a chair and a computer with plenty of letterhead on Word as well as envelopes and stamps. And an email list of previous travelers, along with on-the-ground contacts around the world. And files of previous treks, hikes and safaris in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet, Sikkim, Patagonia, Pakistan, East Africa, South America, Botswana and Europe. And a nice office view.
It was time to pause and wait.
Perhaps, stay small.
After a year or more pause, Mazamas was interested in a club Outing to trek in Patagonia, followed by a couple treks in Nepal. A birding trip to Bhutan was requested as well as several Bhutan cultural day hikes. A safari to South Africa and Botswana gained interest. An opportunity to become reacquainted with folks in Burma allowed a cultural hiking journey to evolve. In order to simplify office life, Folkways Institute was dissolved and Folkways Travel remained. A selective yearly travel schedule without staff to support provided time to design and develop truly unique international experiences that could be affordable for small groups of interested travelers.
And so it remains...
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| Inquisitive Youth - Annapurna Region (1979) |
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time
to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV)