Arrival in London

We departed for London among many bon voyages and other well wishs. But we arrived to tragic news of a dear friend and a reminder to live to the fullest. That reminder was actually also on a piece of paper stuck to the wall of the room we are renting in the form of a Charles Bukowski poem. I suspect it's on there to cover up a mark on the wall but I still found meaning in it.  

The Laughing Heart

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

Our hearts our with our friends and to any trying to beat back the darkness. To find the light in London, the first thing we had to do is get on the Picadilly towards Cockfosters (you can't make these names up) on our way to Notting Hill...

Hanoi

I just found this unposted from a few months ago. The editor never finished it but I'll publish it anyways. Maybe I'll post one picture of Hong Kong too. 

Here is the home of mummified Ho Chi Minh. I thought it was pretty strange. I still do. But I guess blasting four giant faces into a mountain ain't an e'eryday thang either.

The most bizarre part of the Hanoi trip may have been reading a straight-faced caption at the Hanoi Hilton museum asserting that the prisoners called it such because they were so grateful for the accommodations.