Hello from Big Bear Lake California, 

Like vacation towns the world over, sleepy little Big Bear Lake awakens each weekend as hoards of carefree visitors transform our "ghost town" into a bustling carnival atmosphere. Some come in monstrous SUVs, some in expensive roadsters, others on the back of noisy motorcycles. Peace and quiet gives way to forty-eight hours of frenetic crowds of flat-landers trying to "relax" in our uncluttered mountain paradise. Village streets are empty each Friday morning, but gradually become clogged through the day as gawking drivers creep through our tiny block of "down town" looking for someplace by the lake to get a hamburger.

Anyone following my travel adventures may recall how back in December of 2000 I distributed most of my lifetime accumulation of worldly goods among friends and garage sale bargain hunters in Santa Barbara, the consolidated remainders being crammed into a small quiet "cave" here in the mountains. I hoped to take advantage of the remote solitude for writing between trips. That has worked out better than anyone might have imagined. Except for weekends, little happens up here and the silence can drive me nuts... oh how I wish someone would "disturb" me now and then! There are many wonderful compassionate people on the mountain, even a small writers group that meets weekly, but rare is the individual who craves philosophical conversations on the esoteric, sometimes politically incorrect topics which kindle my fires. Local radio stations favor Country Western or Rock & Roll, devotional music with sermons and small town gossip. Only an hour's drive down the hill one can find a cornucopia of diversions, but that's a long trip. So, it is calm and peaceful, uneventful most of the time up here in the thin air.

At the moment I am enjoying cool mountain meadows surrounded by thick screens of tall Ponderosas, Pinion and Jeffery Pines. At our 6800 foot altitude it is not uncommon for people to suffer mild reactions to the thin air... about 75% sea level. MAS or Mountain Altitude Sickness in its mildest form can produce a vague anxiety accompanied by the sensation of desperate breathing. I've read the medical descriptions and have personally experienced the symptoms a couple times; more annoying than worrisome.

One might think living in the mountains would be the perfect place for anyone who loves hiking. The truth is that if it weren't for my brother and his competitive hour walks twice a week, I'd be a vegetable by now. I am constantly reminded of the important role other people play in keeping us healthy.  A tranquil solitary walk in the woods is the last thing I crave after days holed up at the keyboard watching the quiet stream of words strolling from my mind to the screen. A maximum of 48 hours alone in the cave is guaranteed to produce cabin fever and the feeling I'm about to go stark raving mad. That is the signal to dash down to K-Mart, the closest thing to a secular social center up here, where I can mingle with other members of my species while doing a little therapeutic shopping. 

Since my return from Africa earlier this year I've been busy sculpting a stack of "postcards" into a book. Finished at last, Postcards from Africa has been published... in its online version at the moment. When/if I find a publisher for a printed version my intention is to retain the hyperlink designators so curious readers can easily check the online version for the rich collection of links to reference materials and illustrations only available to web browsers. A few periodicals (see Time Magazine) are doing this already... quietly. This advantageous method of dual publishing is destined to become the norm at some point in the future... once the commercial exploitation difficulties have been worked out.  

Between finishing the African Postcards book, making new friends and doing copious research, I've also been getting ready  for my next exotic expedition into serendipity; this time to Southeast Asia. I am convinced the most frenzied expressions of Islam will be mankind's biggest political challenge in the coming years. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and like Turkey has a democratically elected secular government. These two countries are destined to play pivotal roles in the inevitable reformation of the most violent conservative expressions of Islam in the coming decades. I want to see first hand the current mood of ordinary Muslims who I am sure hate angry extremism as much as ordinary people of any religion. The availability of the extraordinary $1047 AccessAsia Pass from Malaysia Airways, making it possible to fly all over the region for three months also played a role in my choice of Southeast Asia over other destinations (actually $1290.50 with taxes). 

Seasonal weather patterns dictate that I start my trip below the equator in Indonesia and move north later in the year. I have tickets in hand and an itinerary  which starts me in Bali, then on northwest up the 17,700 island archipelago to Jakarta and then to Medan on the island of Sumatra before heading back into Malaysia.  Preparation for this trip has entailed a good deal of study and planning, much of which was pre-positioned in this website for quick reference along the road. Indonesia could become a dangerous place for Americans, if current US government plans to wage war on Iraq actually are implemented. I will be watching the news reports with acute interest.

Digital photography has taken giant leaps in sophistication and miniaturization since my last trip. This time I'll be using two new cameras, one with much higher resolution and the other with telephoto capabilities. Both are still small enough to again be mistaken for the tools of an inept secret agent. As a test of this new method of sending picture "postcards" from the field and a demonstration of the telephoto camera capabilities, I've inserted two pictures in the left column. What do you think? I'll continue to provide links (see the camera icon near the top) to the new photo albums created at ofoto.com.

During my African wanderings last year the AIDS epidemic remained a constant concern. Cautious to a fault, I still suffered the usual cuts and bruises, occasional nose bleeds and bitten lips. Looking back, there is no single instance when anything I did should have put me at high risk for contracting the virus. Still, it seemed sensible to get an HIV test once home. The California State Department of Health Services visits the mountain communities twice a month to administer free HIV tests and to counsel people on safe sex practices, so I called for an appointment. The "office" turned out to be a small guest powder-room in a rustic cabin out in the suburbs used as the gay women's support center. The examiner, while trained, held no medical credentials and I worried about the safety of drawing blood under these less than sterile conditions. It turns out the test is bloodless: only a paperclip size chunk of felt soaked with my saliva went to the lab.  Everything is anonymous and learning the results required a second personal visit two weeks later. 

Please feel free to comment on this new technique for sharing "postcards." If I run into trouble finding copies of the Microsoft FrontPage software needed to author new postcard web pages along the way, I'll just revert back to using regular email as before. So far in this test  phase it seems to be working well, though.

Expect the next postcard from somewhere in southern Indonesia. Until then,
 

Peace,
Fred Bellomy

PS:

Why Peace?
Well, why "Very truly yours?" Like our religious traditions, this way of closing a letter is just one of the many conventions our forefathers foisted on us at birth. "Peace" seems to me a more appropriate salutation. Yes, peace is something discussed with sentimental overtones... until the bullets actually start flying, something essentially religious in nature. But, peace is something else more concrete, more personal, more practical for me. It is the absence of mental suffering, the central theme of the Buddha's teachings . .  so, I wish you peace, easy to do with love.  Besides, "Very truly yours" sounds an awful lot like slave talk to me. FB

PPS: My AIDS test results were negative, of course. F

Peace

Fred L Bellomy

 

 

END