Jan. 03, 2002 - 20:55 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Granted

Places of ancient mythology, of the Bible, of the beginnings of civilization. From the time I became at an early age, a stamp collecter and one who pored over the Scott Stamp and Coin Company catalog of stamps and devoured geography books and atlases I wanted to travel where most of our western history began.

Then when I went further in school and learned of the mythology of Italy and Greece I had the deep wish to be where my forebears originated. My wishes were refined to wanting go around the Mediterranean visiting the places where myth and history began.

Over the years I had traveled in the states and spent some time in Japan and Southeast Asia which were also rich in history too, but just didn't satisfy my desire to be where I wanted to go.

Heather also had wishes to go to the Holy Land and to see Venice

In 1990 I retired and of course we went on a fixed income and my dreams of travel to the ancient world receded into the distant background.

For our fiftieth anniversary Heather had not expected much other than a few presents and more importantly a family gathering. Hoo boy, what a surprise, our kids sent us off on a Mediterranean cruise.

How much I gloried in going there. We landed in Milan, took a short flight to Venice where we embarked on a ship. It was daylight yet when we sailed and I was able see the length of the Grand Canal and some of the famed buildings as we went by. Through the night we went near where the fighting was going on in Dubrovnik.

The first place we got off the ship was to take a tour of the ancient site where the Olympic Games began. There was a short bus ride there, and then we walked through, where to my way of thinking, the spirit of sportsmanship began. I actually walked on the field where the races were ran, sat on the stone benches where the athletes rested, wandered through the ruins pondering the amount of labor that it took to build all of those buildings which would probably would be standing yet if earthquakes had not tumbled them. We were shown where the flame was housed that lit the torch carried to Athens for the big games. What a grand experience. I managed to walk the tour, but when our group was led to the commercial souvenir shop I begged off and rested by the bus 'til they came back.

We sailed to Alexandria Egypt, the site of the fabled Library where we took a tour to Cairo going by a long bus ride. We were taken to the Pyramids at the edge of town and then to the great museum in town, thence to eat and back to Alexandria.

Our next stop was at Ashdod, Israel where Heather went on a tour with friends on the ship to Jerusalem. It was a walk beyond my capabilities. I did set foot on the ground there though, where a distant ancestor of mine originated and I spent a deliciously long time at a cafe on the street doing some of my favorite things, drinking coffee, eating sweet rolls and people watching. Then I went on board and visited with folks who had not gone on the tour.

My dreams were coming true to the max. I don't remember all the places we went in their order but we went to Rhodes and spent a long time wandering and looking - shopping a bit, Bodrum Turkey where the people who went on the tour were taken by small boat to the city. There were ancient ruins there from Biblical times too. We stopped at Limassol, Cyprus and spent some time there. Our trip through the night went by so many of the Greek islands that it would have been nice to see, but it was not to be. We docked at the harbor of Piraeus -- updated of course from ancient times and thence leisurely by bus to the airport. We were able to see many of the sights from the bus among them was the Parthenon up on its hill, still a thing of beauty and precision. From there it was aboard the big bird to the states and JFK chaos. Finally hitting our home town and so to bed for a rest.

That cruise was a high point in my life, a treasure dreamed of with no thought that those dreams would ever come true. I had been to the places of the ancients, walked many of streets they did and saw the sights they had looked at way back then. The modern things were not noticed very much by me, I was busy turning the picture pages of history.

What a wonderful thing it was, something dreamed of with no hope of ever having it fulfilled, but my fondest wish was Granted . . . . . . .

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