It is a warm but not unbearably hot day in Baltimore, where I am just waking from a nap. Outside it is not only warm but, yes, grey! It’s another day of grey in the grey summer of 2015. After a long and lovely lunch at The Red Star with Donald Thoms, an old friend and VP of Arts programming for PBS, who is planning to retire toward the end of the year, I came back to Lionel and Pierre’s apartment and was reading a book when I drifted off to sleep, awakened eventually by incoming texts and a phone call from my brother.
He and I talk on a daily basis but I was hardly awake for today’s chat. Soon it will be time to organize for dinner and a walk through the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, where my friends live. It has been a graciously lazy day and I have done no substantive work.
I do have a few things I should get accomplished this weekend but we’ll see whether I do or not or if I will put them off to the next week.
Out there in the wide world, the State Department and states’ Governors are requesting stepped up safety measures this 4th of July as there are fears of terrorist attacks, either organized or by “lone wolfs.” It was, in fact, the first thing my brother asked me when he called: had anything happened. So, we go into our celebration of nationhood a bit on edge and with a watchful eye.
I know that there will be heightened security here in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, as thousands will be gathering here for the fireworks.
While I have had a lazy day, the negotiators between the West and Iran have been very busy attempting to close a deal. No one is sure they will be able to but there has been some movement on the part of the Iranians on the point of inspections of military posts. The Iranian Foreign Minister has said, “They had never been closer to a deal.”
In Syria, the thing many have been worried about, including myself, has come to pass. IS has begun to destroy the antiquities in Palmyra. It forced civilians to smash “The Lion of Al-Lat,” a fifteen-ton statue. They the militants joined in. They flogged one man while he was smashing a statue, which seems a bit like the behavior of Romans at the arena.
Ah, a flash of sun across the balcony, now fading…
In the background, Lionel is making martinis and it is time to prep for dinner.
Have a safe evening. More tomorrow.
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From the Train 09 10 15 On the train south, with an eerie landscape slipping by…
September 10, 2015It is a grey and almost cool day as I ride the train south to the city; tomorrow I am making a day trip with a client to Washington, DC. The Hudson River is almost bronze in color, with small waves rocking the boats at anchor. It is a day that feels depressing; I have worked hard to be cheery and not cranky.
Mostly I have succeeded.
Bernie Sanders is “stunned” by the fact he is pulling close to Hillary Clinton in polls in key states like Iowa. Hollywood Democrats are re-thinking their support for her; wondering if Joe Biden will cease biding his time and jump into the race. One headline today from the Washington Post suggested it might be time for Hillary to go into panic mode.
On the Republican side, Trump and Ben Carson, both outsiders, are now doing a bit of infighting, while dominating the field. Carson questioned The Donald’s faith and Trump, of course, shot back. He also took a slam at Carly Fiorina, saying something that sounded like he thought she was ugly. He responded, nah, not her face, just her persona.
It certainly is keeping things amusing if not just a little frightening.
Scientists stunned the world with the announcement of a new human ancestor, Homo Naledi, found in a dark cave in South Africa by a team that was supported, in part, by the National Geographic Society.
That estimable group has now sold the majority interest in all its media properties to 21st Century Fox, including the venerable magazine, raising nearly three quarters of a billion dollars for the society. For the first time in its history, National Geographic Magazine will be a for profit operation.
I was stunned when I heard the news. Somehow it feels wrong.
Today there was a procedural vote to disapprove the Iranian Nuclear Deal. It was blocked by a vote of 58 to 42. Obama will not have to use his veto. It was a significant win for Democrats. We will all see how it plays out over the next decade.
A mist is now hovering over the river, obscuring the west bank of the Hudson. It is barely visible and slight streaks of rain are splashed against the window next to me. It is oddly comforting to be here, sitting on the train and watching the eerie landscape slide by.
We just slipped by Bannerman’s Castle, a structure built in the 19th century as a munitions depot that has fallen into ruins. It looks like a haunted castle, sitting on a small island that hugs close to the east bank of the Hudson. Dark and threatening clouds hover over the river.
IS is offering a Norwegian citizen and a Chinese citizen “for sale” in their online magazine. The Chinese government has not responded and the Norwegians have said they won’t pay ransom. A wealthy individual could rescue them, I suppose. The amount requested is, according the Norwegians, substantial.
To assist President Assad of Syria cling to power, the Russians have sent military advisers and troops to that country, bolstering Assad and his forces at a time when they seem to be losing on all fronts. Syria has been close to Moscow since 1955 and Putin is determined not to let it slip from his side. It complicates the equation for everyone.
In a story that brought me a smile, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, is now the longest reigning British monarch, having now reigned longer than her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria. She has now been Queen since 1952 and Britain today is much different from Britain then, wildly more diverse with great gaps in wealth between the cities and the countryside. Through it all, the slow devolution of a great Empire, Elizabeth has been there, a calming presence.
How it will go with Charles on the throne is yet to be seen. But in the meantime, good on you, Ma’am…
The rain has increased. It looks like a scene from a thriller out my window. Soon I will be arriving in New York.
Have a good evening.
Tags:21st Century Fox, Amtrak, Assad, Bannerman's Castle, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, Chinese for sale, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Homo Naledi, Iowa, Iranian Nuclear Deal, IS, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, National Geographic Society, Norwegian for sale, Obama, Putin, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria, Syria, The Donald, Washington Post
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