https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220220-valencias-la-huerta-spains-ingenious-water-maze

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-20/what-a-degenerative-eye-disease-has-taught-me-about-disability/100671660

A journey to Trader Joe's usually involves sampling the latest end-cap items, picking up things you did not have on your list, and friendly staff.  The unexpected greeted me yesterday, as I went to pick up some non-essentials.

Walking down the frozen appetizers section, I noted an older man with a hat that had "WW2 Veteran" on it. 

"What theater of operations were you in?" I asked.

Bernard Weiss was a breath of fresh air, a tribute to the nonagenarian spirit.  Having been assigned to the Seventh Armored Division in Europe, he was relocated, much to his consternation, to the Pacific theater of operations, where he saw bloody action in Guam and surrounding areas.  I asked him whether taking Japanese prisoners was the exception rather than the rule.  "Absolutely," he replied.  "We would secure islands where the army needed to build air strips; we captured very few Japanese, as surrender was considered shameful."   He spoke at length about his experience, at one point pulling out his wallet, from which he took out a black and white photo, taken in 1945, where he is pictured with a smiling Japanese POW.  "Why is the prisoner smiling,"  I asked.  "Because he is alive, and I let him keep his wedding band,"  replied Bernie, who had no problem communicating with the prisoner, as the latter was originally from California, having gone back to Japan before the beginning of the war.

Proudly awaiting his ninety-third birthday, Bernie told me that he married Ingrid, a former German diplomat stationed in Washingon, in the 1980s, and that they travel to Munich often. 

I thanked him for his sacrifice and for sharing his life with me.

My day was ever more enriched, as was my life.


Odysseus
May 24, 2012 

Monotonic rhythm,
relieved by sunlight;
Endless wavelength,
stimulating pheromones and optimism

Climbing out of despair’s fox hole,
to embrace spiritual fluidity

28 November 2021

Mother Earth’s vibrant carpet,
design of contours and colors;
Giving solace to limited vision,
infusing with optimism 

OM
Towards ATL, DA1411
24 Nov 2021

A.
Immersed thought,
unraveling;
Making of new vestments,
embodying threads of life

B.
Colors by Gaia,
portrait of earthly beauty;
Leaves blowing,
reminiscent of Dimitra’s tears,
Persephone with Hades

C.
Viral interceptors,
impacting our lives;
Sine wave existence,
mutating virus,
parallel trigonometry


OM

26 November 2021

Fluid energy and positivity, after so many years of absence .. I find my fulcrum, my balance..

Parnassus in background,
reminder of human trajectory,
where we are left with stellar accomplishments, spiritual elegance..

The years on hold, as I rejoin my youth with my present state..
My wisdom has been the main beneficiary, blessed by the ancients..

3 November 2021

• 

• 

• 

My son Antonis is spearheading a team in the Foundation Fighting Blindness annual walk in Philadelphia this Saturday. This annual event helps raise funding for critical research, helping lead the way to a cure for people with retinal degeneration and other related issues.
Your contribution (link below) will be greatly appreciated.
With many thanks,
ODYSSEUS

Check out Team Odysseus’ team fundraising page for Foundation Fighting Blindness –
https://give.fightingblindness.org/team/381805

https://give.fightingblindness.org/team/381805

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58636969

Ceiling of sunlight,
swimming pool the sea;
pheromones flowing,
cortisol dissolved

25 Sept 2021
OM