Dr. Jack Wheeler
RONALD REAGAN’S FAVORITE IRISH JOKE
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today, it’s only appropriate to relate Ronald Reagan’s favorite Irish joke, as he was fond of telling it with such exuberance.
An Irishman was walking along Inchydoney Beach in County Cork – Ireland’s most beautiful and not far from my ancestral village of Ballyporeen – when he came upon an old encrusted bottle washed up on the shore.
He picked it up, brushed off the sand, saw it was still stoppered and wondered what was inside. He carefully broke it open at the neck on a beach rock, and to his great surprise out popped a Leprechaun, an Irish genie.
“Oh me man!” the Leprechaun exclaimed. “I was in that horrid bottle for a hundred years and you be settin’ me free! Well, I’ll be givin’ you two wishes before I’m on m’ way!”
“Two wishes?” the Irishman asked incredulously. “Anything I want?”
“Anything – you just name it and it’s yours,” came the answer.
The Irishman couldn’t believe his luck. He thought for a moment, then said, “Firstly, what I’ll be wantin’ is a glass of the best Irish ale – but a very special glass!” he added quickly – "that no matter how much I drink it will always be full.”
Poof! There was a glass in his hand overflowing with Irish Red Ale. He took a sip – it was the best beer he’d ever had in his life. He drank and he drank and he drank, and five minutes later he hadn’t made a dent, the glass was still overflowing with Irish Red.
But by now the Leprechaun was getting impatient. “Listen me man!” he chastised. “I appreciate you settin’ me free and all, but I was in that bottle for far too long, I’ve got things to do, so you’ll be makin’ your second wish now!”
The Irishman thought good and hard. Finally he made his decision. He held up his overflowing magic glass, looked at it admiringly, and told the Leprechaun, “Ya know – I think I’ll have another one of these!”
There’s no doubt about it – God loves the Irish.
THE GREAT BLACK OF MAKALU
The 5th highest mountain on earth at 8,463 meters/27,765ft, Makalu is Sanskrit for “Great Black” – a name for Shiva, the Hindu god of creative destruction, as here is one of his homes. You’re looking face on the Southeast Ridge (the right side in sun, the left side in shade), which is the primary climbing route.
You’re seeing the entire south side of Makalu in Nepal, while the north side is in Tibet with the border running along the horizon crestline. Makalu Base Camp lies below the bottom right corner of the photo. This was taken at over 20,000 feet on our approach from Everest and Lhotse – 12 miles away – during our Himalaya Helicopter Expedition, or “HHE.”
Everyone is understandably entranced with Everest – yet the other 8,000 meter Himalayan giants are breathtakingly magnificent in their own right, and you can see why with Makalu. On our HHE, we go to them all! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #37 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
GGANTIJA
The small European island country of Malta in the Mediterranean south of Sicily and close to the north coast of Africa is where civilization emerged from the Stone Age.
The story begins over 7,000 years ago, when a handful of Stone Age tribes in Sicily rafted 55 miles south to land on the twin islands of Gozo and Malta. They lived in caves, then huts, fished, hunted, farmed with primitive tools for they had no metal – and over a period of more than a thousand years taught themselves how to construct massive buildings of stone.
This is the Temple of Ggantija (zhee-gan-tee-zha). Built almost 6,000 years ago (around 3600 BC), it is the oldest free standing structure in the world. It is older than the pyramids in Egypt by a thousand years, older than Stonehenge by 15 centuries. The enormous stones weighing several tons were cut from the limestone bedrock with tools of stone and antler horn for they had no metal, and moved using small round-cut rocks as ball bearings for they had no wheels.
These folks figured out all by themselves how to build this and other massive stone temples to their gods and goddesses so many millennia ago. Nobody taught them. They were the first. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #166 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
PRINCESS RING ISLET
This is real, it actually exists as you see it. Princess Ring Islet is a small collapsed volcanic cone with a circular sunken crater. Talk about an awesome swimming hole. It’s several hundred yards off São Miguel Island in the Azores – and is just one of the many totally cool places we see in our exploration of Atlantic Paradises this June.
At that time of year, the ocean around Princess Islet is filled with migrating whales and dolphins. The Azores are one of the world’s greatest whale-watching sites. You’d be very hard-pressed to find a cleaner, safer, more peaceful, more benign, and more astonishingly beautiful part of our planet than the Azores. And with more perfect weather.
The rest of the world and its craziness doesn’t exist here. Don’t you owe it to yourself and the one you love to escape here for at least a short time? Of course you do. Just click on Atlantic Paradises to see how you can. Once you see all the pictures, I frankly don’t see how you can resist! (Glimpses of our breathtaking world #193)
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – SHACKLETON
You likely read the new story this week of the extraordinary discovery of Antarctic legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship The Endurance 10,000 feet deep at the bottom of the Weddell Sea: Ernest Shackleton’s Sunken Ship Endurance Found 107 Years Later (3/09).
Perhaps you read my account of his incredible exploits in Endurance (April 2013). I thought to commemorate the ship’s discovery with this photo of me at Shackleton’s gravesite at the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken on the Antarctic island of South Georgia.
Shackleton was the most heroic arctic explorer of them all. The famous eulogy at his funeral says it all:
(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #192 photo ©Jack Wheeler)For scientific discovery, give me Scott
For speed and efficiency of travel, give me Amundsen
But when disaster strikes and all hope is gone
Get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton
HALF-FULL REPORT 03/11/22
This is Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announcing on Russian television yesterday (3/10):
“The purpose of Pentagon-funded biological research in Ukraine was to establish a mechanism for the clandestine distribution of deadly pathogens. The United States is training migratory birds to migrate from Ukraine to Russia and distribute bacteriological weapons.”This is not a Babylon Bee satire joke. This is an actual news broadcast by the Russian government to the Russian people – vast numbers of whom are gullible enough to believe it. What’s tragically amazing is that far too many American conservatives are gullible enough to believe it too.
A good friend of mine is a scientist who has worked in surveillance biolabs. After laughing our heads off over this latest example of pathetic Russian propaganda, he explained:
THE SHERMAN TANK THAT’S STILL THERE
The horrifically heroic Battle of Tarawa was fought November 20-23, 1943, with the US Marines determined to take the entrenched Japanese – which they did, both sides suffering ghastly losses. The Marine amphibious force assaulted the Japanese garrison on the small island of Betio in Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands – now the country of Kirimati.
The spearhead of the assault was led by the Marine’s Charlie Company, 1st Corps Tank Battalion and its M4-A2 Shermans on what was codenamed Red Beach. One particular Sherman sank a few yards offshore and lies there to this day. It’s easy to wade out and clamber upon it, as these friends of mine did when I brought them there in 2016.
We hear a lot about “climate change” causing “the oceans to rise.” But as you can see, the sea level at Tarawa has been the same for the past 77 years. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #124 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
MANICHEAN MOMENTS
Most often, there are valid perspectives on either side of a dispute, not a simple divide between good and evil with no gray areas in between. That was not the case in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Mujahaddin you see here were fighting a morally just war against immoral atrocity. The war waged by the Afghan Mujahaddin to liberate their country from Soviet Russian conquest was a Manichean Moment.
There is another Manichean Moment taking place right now in Ukraine. Once again, Russia is attempting to subjugate an innocent country with bombs and immoral atrocity. This is good vs. evil once more. There is no gray area. Those on the side of Ukraine and Zelensky fighting for freedom are on the side of moral decency. Those on the side of Russia and Putin are not. They are on the side of irredeemable evil.
That’s why, when I see photos of Ukrainian freedom fighters atop Russian tanks they captured, it reminds me of those I took of Afghan freedom fighters atop Russian tanks they captured. The Mujahaddin defeated Russia a third of a century ago. The Ukrainians will defeat Russia now. Good will triumph over evil once more. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #191 Afghanistan photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A SECOND CHANCE
The Soviet Union was disintegrating, and I was worried about the nukes. Every democracy leader I talked to in all the Soviet Republics declaring their independence didn’t want them. The problem, of course, was Russia. What was needed was an Anti-Nuclear Movement to guarantee that Russia would not keep its nukes, thus remaining a nuclear threat to America and the West.
I argued for the Reverse Golden Rule – Do Unto Others Before They Do It Unto You. “What would the Russians demand if they had won the Cold War and not us?” I asked. “That’s where our demands should start,” I argued, albeit agreeing that Russia would need a nuclear deterrent against China – but that should be in mutual operation with us.
Alas, that was tragically not to be. Now, all these years later with Putin’s catastrophic miscalculation in Ukraine, we have a second chance.
PORTRAIT OF A DEFEATED MAN
He’s suddenly turning old before our eyes. He’s made the most catastrophic mistake of his life – so catastrophic it has destroyed his country. Worse, there is a part of him that realizes he has the soul of an inhuman monster. His soul is being eaten alive from the inside out. You can see it in his eyes.
He knows he’s lost. He’s down to ordering his soldiers to murder children. What happens now?
MADEIRA MAGIC
There may no island of more astonishing beauty and more ideal climate than Madeira, nor a place of more idyllic peace, where the rest of the world and its calamities are far, far away. Yet it’s not far at all from the US, a few hours’ flight across the Atlantic from the East Coast.
Here is where Winston Churchill came, to relax, paint, and escape from the woes of war.
Here is where you can simply enjoy life in blissful beauty – if you join me in our exploration of Atlantic Paradises, June 24 to July 2. Look at the pictures, ponder the value of what you’ll see, do, and experience. I hope I’ll be hearing a, “Hey, Jack, I’m in!” from you soon.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – QARI BABA
Afghanistan, 1984. Yes, that’s me with the legendary Qari Baba, Commander of the Harakat Mujahaddin waging a war of liberation against the Red Army of the Soviet Union – and my dear friend. I told him he looked like a combination of Genghiz Khan and Buddha, and he couldn’t stop laughing. We had so many extraordinary experiences together – like blowing up the Soviet High Command of Bala Hissar in Ghazni.
After the war was won with the final Soviet retreat in February, 1989, Qari Baba became the Governor of Ghazi Province. Then Pakistani Intelligence (ISI) created the Taliban to seize control of the country. Qari Baba had to take up arms anew against them. In March of 2006, he was assassinated by a Taliban hit team on orders from the ISI. I will never ever forget him. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #111 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 03/04/22
Well, of course he is. He’s the world’s pariah, the most despised human on Earth now – especially with his troops bombing then seizing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant last night (3/03). Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted the hopes of countless millions all over the world:
This set a lot of folks’ hair on fire. Yet it’s become common. On Tuesday (3/01), Issues & Insights declared: Putin Must Go.
“Word has come tumbling out that Russian Vladimir Putin is descending into madness. Is it too much to ask true Russian patriots to rid the world of this tyrant before he does further damage?”Indeed, he looks so bad these days the Daily Mail is calling him Flabby-mir Putin: Russia's President Vladimir looks bloated and ashen in meeting as pressure of his Ukrainian invasion takes its toll on his appearance.
Before we go any further, take a moment for a quick read on why Ukraine Has Won and Putin Has Lost by British military expert Glen Grant on TTP earlier today.
Okay, with all that understood, let’s talk about the opportunities amidst the dangers of Putin’s war, and the damage this war is going to do to the Democrat Party.
THE HANI RICE TERRACES
The Hani people in the mountains of Yunnan have been carving out rice terraces on dozens of steep mountainsides for over a dozen centuries. After the late fall harvest, in winter they flood the terraces in preparation for spring planting. At sunrise and sunset, the light reflecting off them creates a scene of phantasmagorical surrealism. Unknowingly, the Hani have created one of humanity’s most magnificent works of natural art the world has ever seen. What you see here is only one of hundreds of terraced areas. It is a sight beyond belief. Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #156 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
CHRISTIANITY IN KERALA
In 52 AD, St. Thomas the Apostle, one of Jesus’ 12 Disciples, sailed down the Red Sea and across the Arabian Sea to the Malabar Coast of Southwest India to preach the Gospel of Christ. He found a receptive audience among the peaceful fisherfolk in the villages along the coast – so receptive he established a series of churches that still exist today. Some remain small and humble, others like the one above rebuilt with soaring glass and stone.
There are many Christian denominations in the Indian state of Kerala, which has the entire Malabar Coast, from the original St. Thomas Syrian Christians to Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic and others. Of Kerala’s 34 million people, at least 20% are Christian. Kerala is a place of relaxing beauty and peaceful serenity. The best way to explore it is via a luxurious houseboat along the many canals or “backwaters” dotted with fishing villages and churches. You’ll be warmly welcomed. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #155, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE SISTINE CHAPEL OF THE EAST
The Painted Monastery of Voronet was built by Romania’s national hero Stefan the Great in 1488. A UN World Heritage Site, Voronet lies in a remote Carpathian mountain valley in the northeast corner of Romania. The entire church is covered in brilliantly painted scenes of Christian reverence.
The frescoes, with the famous “Voronet blue” made of crushed lapis lazuli, have withstood over 500 winters of wind, snow, and rain. The extraordinary back panel of the Last Judgment is renowned as the East’s Sistine Chapel (as in Eastern or Orthodox Christianity). It’s one of Romania’s many wonders. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #98 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
BLACK SWAN, IRON JOKER, PAPER BEAR
St. Javelin of Ukraine
And how did Ukraine’s military first get American Javelins? From President Trump, first in 2017, again in 2019, and lastly at the end of 2020. Those 300 Javelins that Xiden said he sent last January were those first authorized by POTUS.
Which is why in his CPAC speech on Saturday (2/26) he stated: "I gave Ukraine the Javelins that everyone is now talking about and millions of dollars of other military equipment—the Obama administration gave them blankets."
POTUS made clear his view on what Putin has done and whose side he is on:
"Joe Biden has turned calm into chaos, competence into incompetence, stability into anarchy, and security into catastrophe. The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling; it's an outrage and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur. We are praying for the proud people of Ukraine. God bless them all."
It is no wonder that this week’s issue of Time Magazine, appearing today (2/28), has this cover:
Yet the subtitle is wrong. It should be, “How Putin Shattered Russia’s Dreams.” Here is why that is the likely outcome of what is happening in Ukraine right now.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – WITH THE KHAMPAS IN TIBET
October 1987, on an overland expedition across the entire Chang Tang Tibetan Plateau. Here is where you find the warrior nomads of Tibet, the Khampas. Renowned and feared for fierceness, they couldn’t have been friendlier to me when I gave them each what they treasured most in the world – a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, far more valuable to them than gold.
Before, they were suspicious and angry at a stranger intruding upon them. Instantly with gifting the photos, they were joyous and smiling. They had no idea who I was, all they knew was that I was their friend, insisting I sit down and have a cup of yak-butter tea with them. It was the most memorable cup of tea in my life. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #55 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 02/25/22
Russian tank deserving what it got in Ukraine
Perhaps the Question of the Week should be: Who else among world leaders besides Zhou Xiden could be suffering from onset senile dementia or Alzheimers? Hint: one symptom is unhinged anger and aggression.
Vladimir Putin turns 70 this October – he’s at an age where this is clearly possible. It may be an explanation of why he’s lost his capacity for rational thinking, and has his Commie amygdala in charge of his brain instead. He’s gone Full Hitler, recognized by a multitude of world news headlines, summed up by:
“A mad, murderous dictator threatens to unleash a nuclear world war. No longer is this a mere movie plot. Today it is terrifyingly real. It is paramount, as in 1939, that the free peoples of the West defeat this hideous new evil, this Hitler for our times.”This meme has gone worldwide viral:
Okay, the madman must be defeated… but how, without triggering WWIII? Here are some ideas.
THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA
This is the black sand beach the US Marines stormed on February 19, 1945, beginning the legendary Battle of Iwo Jima. Overlooking the beach is Mount Suribachi, where four days later Joe Rosenthal took his iconic photo of six Marines planting the US flag on its summit.
You can come here once a year at a commemoration jointly held by the US and Japanese militaries. Guests of honor are the few Marine veterans of the battle still alive. To be here on these sands and on the summit of Suribachi, where the memorial lauds them – “On Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue” – with these heroic men is an indescribable privilege. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #23, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A SHORT HISTORY OF RUSSIA
A SHORT HISTORY OF RUSSIA
Jack Wheeler
January 1985
[Note the date. Written in 1985 during the Cold War, when Russia formed the basis of the Soviet Union. First posted in TTP March 2004, it is reposted now to provide a historical context for the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.]
At various times in her history, America has been at war with and has had as deadly enemies: the French, the English, the Spanish, the Germans, the Italians, the Mexicans, and the Japanese. All are today our friends and allies. There is nothing in the nature of things that makes it impossible for this to someday be the case with the Russians as well.
Yet it is important to understand how the Russians are not like us — how their history enabled them to transform themselves into Soviets running an Evil Empire called the Soviet Union.
THE FOURTH PEARL OF SHING
There is a series of stepping-stone lakes in a hidden valley in Tajikistan known as The Seven Pearls of Shing. This is the fourth, taken at dawn’s early light with the lake a mirror reflecting the sky and surrounding mountains. Each Pearl are of different colors, each of uniquely mesmerizing allure. It is one of the many wonders – natural, cultural, historical – we’ll experience this again soon in our exploration of all Five Stans of Hidden Central Asia. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #52 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE POLYNESIA PARADISE YOU NEVER HEARD OF
Have you ever seen the ocean turn day-glo pink? It does here naturally during a sunset (this is not photoshopped). Between Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific is a raised coral atoll, 100 square miles of old limestone between 60 and 200 feet high: the island of Niue (new-way), and it’s is uniquely fabulous.
With no silty river runoff, the water is incredibly clear – visibility can reach over 200 feet. There are a multitude of chasms through which you clamber to these out-of-a-movie tidal pools perfect for snorkeling surrounded by colorful reef fish. The limestone cliffs encircling the coast are riddled with caves with multi-colored stalactites and stalagmites.
You can snorkel or dive with spinner dolphins and humpback whales. The big game fishing is world class – within a few hundred yards off shore. The Niueans are unfailingly friendly and welcoming, the beautiful Matavai Resort is the best bargain in the Pacific, the food and beer is inexpensive, the weather is balmy. It’s a Polynesian paradise you never heard of. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #48 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HEAVEN IN THE CARIBBEAN
Quick – name the only country in the world named after a woman. It’s the island nation in the Caribbean of St. Lucia, named after the patron saint of virgins, 4th century Saint Lucia.
The charm, beauty, and serenity of St. Lucia are unequaled in the Caribbean. Here you can have your own private retreat overlooking the twin peaks of The Pitons. The St. Lucian people take great pride in the immaculate spotlessness of their island and in their matchless reputation for personal warmth and hospitality.
While an English-speaking country and member of the British Commonwealth, there is a French tradition here as well, reflected in the fine cuisine and wines in restaurants. Yet I became fond of the local Piton beer as well. St. Lucia is the easiest island in the Caribbean to fall in love with – so it is no wonder that couples come from all over the world to get married or honeymoon here.
If you want to spend a few days of bliss away from all the cares of the world, you can’t do better than this place of heaven in the Caribbean. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #190 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – CANNIBAL TREEHOUSE
August 1977. High in the mountains above the source of the April River, a tributary of the Sepik in Papua New Guinea, I had a First Contact with an undiscovered tribe calling themselves the Wali-ali-fo. They ate “man long pig,” cooked human meat and lived in thatch dwelling built up in trees. Here I am in one with my Sepik guide Peter who got me here.
Peter translated a description of their practice: “When a man dies, we take a pig to his wife and exchange it for the body of the man. We take the body out into the forest and…cook ‘im eat ‘im. We do this so the man will continue to live in the bodies of his friends.”
Not something we’ll do but something we can understand, yes? These are people we could laugh and joke with, tell stories with, enjoy being with. A very different culture, but human all the same. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #148 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 02/18/22
No wonder more and more rats keep deserting their own ship. On Tuesday (2/15): NY Rep. Kathleen Rice Is The 30th House Democrat To Bow Out Of 2022 Race. She sure won’t be the last.
It’s not just that they fear not getting reelected. Their real fear is far more substantial. They know: 1) Pubs are going to win big majorities in the House & Senate; 2) Dems are going to cheat any way they can in desperation; 3) Pub victories will be too big for the cheating to overcome.
Result: Pubs will be running all the committees, embarking on no-holds-barred investigations of Dem cheating to expose any and all malefactors. Since the targets for prosecution will be those who ran in ‘22, retirees who didn’t avoid ending up at the Graybar Hotel. Simple calculation.
Here’s a startling example of how bad it’s getting.
WODAABE MEN MUST LOOK BEAUTIFUL TO ATTRACT THE LADIES
The Wodaabe are cattle-herding nomads in Niger, West Africa. Their Gerewol festival features Yaake dances by the men to impress marriageable ladies with how ideally handsome they are. Those ideals include being tall and athletic, having white eyes and white teeth, decorating themselves colorfully, and having a winning smile.
The Wodaabe are a fun-loving, friendly, and hospitable people. You’ll meet them on our Trans-Sahara Expedition when we’re next able to operate one. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #57 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE TOMB OF TAMERLANE
This is the interior of “Gur Emir,” the tomb of Tamerlane (1336-1405) in Samarkand, the great Silk Road city now in Uzbekistan. Tamerlane was the last of the nomadic conquerors of Eurasia, a Turkic-Mongol whose conquests extended from New Delhi to eastern Turkey.
Gur Emir is only one of a multitude of extraordinary sights in legendary Samarkand that make being here a life-memorable experience. We’ll be here during our exploration of Central Asia this May. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #59 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE TIBETAN KINGDOM OF LO
This is one of the magical places we experience on our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions. An independent kingdom for 650 years in the remote Mustang region of Nepal, it is one of the last places of traditional Tibetan culture on earth, unchanged for centuries. There are sky-caves here – apartment complexes carved out of vertical cliffs 2,000 years ago – Drok-pa nomads in the high pastures, spectacular sacred ceremonies, all in a mysteriously beautiful setting where the Himalayas meet the Tibetan Plateau. We’ll be here again next April. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #86 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A VALENTINE PARADISE
Happy Valentine’s Day! You’ve seen this photo of mine in a previous Glimpse entitled “Hawaii in Europe.” It’s an example of the astounding beauty of the Azores in the European Atlantic. As Hawaii is a part of the US, the Azores are a part of Portugal – since the 1430s first discovered uninhabited.
And so is another Atlantic Paradise, Madeira. Together they are a pair of Atlantic Paradises that, if you do it right, make for an ultimate romantic getaway for a Valentine couple – or for anyone in search of a haven of peaceful serenity, or wants to enjoy a plethora of adventurous sports and activities. After all, a paradise is supposed to offer something fabulous for most everyone, right?
The good news is you can experience all of this by joining Rebel and me on our exploration of the Atlantic Paradises of Madeira and the Azores this June. All the info is here: Atlantic Paradises Details and Photos 2020 Jun 24-Jul 2. The photos will blow you away.
You get there quickly on a non-stop from Boston, like flying from Boston to Denver. We are going to have a paradisical time together. Luxury at very reasonable cost. This is paradise that’s irresistible. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #189 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – THE HIDDEN NORTH FACE OF KANCHENJUNGA
This is one of the truly great mountain sights on earth yet never seen – except for professional mountaineers and those on our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions. Kanchenjunga at 28,169 feet (8,586 meters) is the world’s 3rd highest mountain (after Everest and K2), with a drop from summit (the peak on the left in front of the cloud) to the glacier at it base of 12,000 feet straight down.
You can be awed by such a picture, but to actually physically be here, to witness this magnificence personally so that it is forever a part of your life, is to feel a depth of awe that has to be experienced to be understood. Kanchenjunga is part of the Himalayas, now on the border of Nepal and Sikkim, once an independent kingdom now absorbed into India. We fly right up the North Face, and into the Amphitheatre of the Southwest Face as well.
We’ll be here for sure this coming April. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #31 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 02/11/22
Like father, like son. There’s a reason why millions of Canadians think their current prime minister is not the son of their previous one, Pierre Trudeau, and call him “Justin Castro” instead.
Because his mother and Pierre’s wife, Margaret Trudeau, was notoriously promiscuous, idolized Castro, was on an “undisclosed island” in the Caribbean (see link) in April, 1971, and Justin was born 8½ months later on December 25. Here the Trudeaus are with Fidel in Havana on a later visit. She sure is friendly with him, isn’t she?
The Justin Castro mantra is popular in Canada right now because not only does he look like the Communist Cuban but is behaving like him. In a parliamentary system, a majority vote of the Members can remove a Prime Minister from office. Sure looks like that’s soon to be Justin Castro’s political fate. Wish it were that easy in America? Well…..
THE CAMEL MEAT MARKET IN THE FEZ BAZAAR
Sometimes you run across something that no matter how it grosses you out, you have to take a picture of it. The thousand year-old medina or walled city of Fez is a World Heritage Site as the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco. Uniquely epitomizing this is the stall of the camel butcher in the medina’s vast bazaar. To garner the attention of ladies shopping for their family’s dinner, he proudly displays the head of the camel whose fresh meat is on sale. Traveling in Morocco is always an adventure. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #188 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
STOPPING WOKE
This is the brainchild of America’s Governor, Ron DeSantis – to put an end to Woke Anti-White Racism in schools and businesses.
He announced his legislative proposal in mid-December, the Stop WOKE Act, the acronym standing for the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees:
“In Florida we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory. We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. We must protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.”
Here is the full current text of HB7. It enumerates what are now to be eight (8) “Unlawful Employment Practices” under Florida state law. All eight are also to apply to “any Florida public school K-20 or Florida College System institution.”
THE NAGAS OF LUANG PRABANG
Nagas are multi-headed dragons who rise up to protect the former royal capital of Laos, Luang Prabang. The city along the Mekong River has been the center of Lao culture since the 600s. The Kingdom of Laos, “Land of a Million Elephants,” had to struggle for centuries to avoid being absorbed by the empires of Siam and Khmer (Cambodia). It was the French who wrested Laos from Siam (Thailand) in the 1890s, giving it independence in 1953.
For centuries, devout Buddhists have been building beautifully ornate shrines and temples called Wats here in Luang Prabang. Every day at dawn, hundreds of red-robed monks living in the Wats parade through the city streets for donations. Since the Pathet Lao seizure of power in 1975, moving the capital to Vientiane, Luang Prabang is free of politics, preserved as a religious haven and treasure house of Laotian culture.
A few days here is not to be missed. As you enjoy a glass of good French wine at a riverbank café watching the sunset over the Mekong, give thanks to the Nagas who are still protecting this sanctuary city. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #24, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
POPEYE’S VILLAGE
Ever see the 1980 movie Popeye starring Robin Williams? It takes place in the seaside town of Sweethaven – and you’re looking at it. The film set was built in a cove on the northern end of the island of Malta in the Mediterranean just for the movie.
It’s now been transformed into a Disney-type fun park for kids and families. Not what you expect to find in an island famous for ancient temples older than the pyramids, massive medieval fortresses that were scenes of battles that saved Western Civilization, magnificently ornate Renaissance cathedrals, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking scenery. But here it is, with shows, rides, and play houses filled with children laughing and exploring. One more reason to love Malta. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #147 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE CALL OF THE WORLD
JW’s world travel map up 2013, needs updating to the present
As you may know, I’ve had memorable experiences in every country in the world. Ever since I was a young teenager, the world has been calling me to explore it – and I’ve been responding deeply to that call for well over sixty years now.
And yet… and yet… I must confess to you that I’ve barely begun, barely scratched the surface of the wondrousness of our Earth.
There is a literal endlessness to what there is to learn, witness and infuse your soul about the history, culture, people, and sheer magical beauty that surrounds our planet.
Can you feel it – the world calling you to experience and explore it? The call may be loud and persistent. It may be faint, drowned out by the daily humdrum of life – or under the illusion that you’re too old or somehow unable. But however loud or faint, it’s there in most of us – for how else did we humans populate the entire globe? To seek, to know, to experience, to explore is a very deep part of what it is to be a human being.
The Call of the World is part of the glory of being human – of using our unique, unique of all life on earth, capacity for self-consciousness, of our human ability to appreciate and live in gratitude for being a part of this glorious Earth and Universe.
You know that for almost a half-century now that I’ve made a living enabling people to respond to the Call of the World. This year, with the two year-long Dark Covid Winter ending, that response will be in the Himalayas, Central Asia, Atlantic Paradise Islands, and so much more.
I am hoping, of course, that you will be joining me on at least one of these explorations. More than that, however, I want you to answer the Call of the World that most resonates within you.
Is there a forest, a scenic wonder, a historical town or place near you that you haven’t been to and wondered about? Bet there is. What about somewhere nearby that your kids or grandkids don’t know about and would think is very cool?
Whether the Call of the World in you is to the back of beyond or around the corner, life-memorable experiences await once you answer. In all history that’s been or will be, our earthly existence happens only once for a tiny moment in time. I urge you to answer the Call of the World while you still have that time. Carpe diem. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #187 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – TIGER LEAPING GORGE
Many centuries ago, a tiger was plaguing the Naxi people who live in the mountains where the Yangtse River cascades off the plateau of Tibet. He was eating the goats the Naxi needed to feed themselves. So Naxi hunters chased the tiger into a deep narrow gorge of the Yangtse where they were sure they had him trapped. Suddenly, the tiger sprang onto a large rock in the center of the raging river and from there leapt to the other side and escaped, never to be seen again.
Ever since, where this took place has been known as Tiger Leaping Gorge. Here you see Tiger Leaping Rock. I was first here in July 2002 on our overland expedition across eastern Tibet. Last time 2015. Maybe again? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #141 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 02/04/22
TRUCK YEAH!!
Leave it to America’s best, coolest and totally awesome governor to signal his support for Canada’s Freedom Truckers by tweeting simply: Truck Yeah!
Smart politicians know that when there’s a parade had in the direction you want, get out in front and lead it. That’s RDS in spades. And what a parade – the Canadian Trucker Freedom Convoy is the longest truck convoy in world history, over 60 miles long.
Now it’s gone global, from all over Europe to Australia and on the way to Washington, massive trucker convoys demanding freedom instead of fascism.
That’s only the start of an HFR that’s simply revelatory….
THE WORLD’S MOST UNIQUE BIRD
This is a Hoatzin. I took this picture in the Amazon jungles of Colombia, its native habitat. It has no genetic relationship to any other bird, and thus has its own family, the Opisthocomidae, and its own suborder, the Opisthocomi. Extensive DNA-sequencing demonstrates that “the hoatzin is the last surviving member of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago, shortly after the extinction event that killed the non-avian dinosaurs.”
The Hoatzin is the Dinosaur Bird, the only bird on earth directly descended from the dinosaurs. It makes weird noises – grunts, hisses, groans and croaks – no melodious birdsongs. It emits an awful smell due to its fermentation digestive system, and tastes just as awful so no one hunts it for food. Yet it is distinctively pretty in a hyper-funky way. Spend enough time exploring the Amazon, and you may be lucky to see one. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #186 photo ©Jack Wheeler)