in stockholm.
all i seem to do is travel. isn’t that cool? it gets grueling, especially when old mister insomnia rears his ugly head, but if i look at it objectively i think it’s fascinating that i travel so much. especially considering that when i was growing up i never expected to travel at all.
i remember the first time that i left the u.s. i went to visit a friend in montreal and i took the train to montreal and i felt so cosmopolitan. i mean, my goodness, they spoke a different language there. i had never heard people speaking a different language (this was 1985). and i remember riding back from montreal on amtrak and drinking a beer and reading kurt vonnegut and feeling like the most international, cosmopolitan person in the world.
i even ate a donut, that’s how cosmopolitan i was feeling. one of those special international donuts.
this was right before i became a vegan, by the way. and speaking of vegans…i’m saddened and ashamed and horrified that the assassin in the netherlands is an animal rights activist and a vegan.
honestly, it makes me want to never speak about veganism again, i’m so ashamed. the whole idea behind veganism, or so i’d thought, was love and respect for all life.
the idea of a vegan killing another person is utterly horrifying to me. vegans are supposed to love and respect life, not end it. poor pim fortuyn, an innocent man killed by someone who was supposed to love and respect all life. i’m so sorry.
and for the record, i’m not a bigot. i respect islam and the muslim faith. i only humbly criticize muslims who celebrate or perpetuate hate and violence. but i criticize them the same way that i would criticize christians or jews or vegans or jazz musicians or truck drivers or gym teachers or etc who would celebrate or perpetuate hate and violence.
hate and violence are wrong. it’s as simple as that. and i reserve my right to criticize anyone who celebrates or perpetuates hate and violence.
ok. a funny update about travel has become a serious update about my belief in love, respect and compassion for all life, and my belief in the virtue of tolerance for all faiths and ways of life.
next update i’ll be more consistent.
sorry.
moby