May 23, 1996

Going to New York City, Manhattan, today. New York City! The very first port of this writer's American journey, almost 15 years ago. Stayed there for six and one half years before following the golden trail to California via Los Angeles, an unfortunate detour on my way to Silicon Valley. Back to New York, for a full week of vacation. MOMA, the Met, Broadway, Central Park and a walk around the Reservoir, and the streets, the Deli's, the vitality, the diversity, the memories... The friends too: Diane, Janet, Nicole, Kevin, Neil, Gaile and their families. Could not be more exited...and stressed. I have not found "the time" to visit in four years -- but it's been more of an excuse not to travel...

And yet, I long to return. Yes, I first arrived as an immigrant, but neither tired, nor poor. Not one of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. But nonetheless, seeking a new life, in a city full of life, to realize a dream. And it was there that I became as American as I'll ever be. Because it is the closest place to Europe that I have ever found.

As in many stories, circumstances changed and I left my second homeland, still always dreaming of returning. If not to New York, then to the Shenandoah Valley with its majestic beauty, to Washington, D.C., the nerve center of this country -- the places that touched my soul, and still carry a torch for me.

And so I live, suitcase in hand. I shall go; I shall return. And I'll be enriched, with stories to tell.

So please, keep visiting.