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Postcards from the Transition

Postcards from the Transition.

  • Topics
    • Winds of Change
      • Winds of Change, Africa
      • The Fall of the Wall
      • Velvet Revolution
      • Arab Spring
      • Balkan Turmoil
      • 9/11
      • Soviet Union
    • Christmas Markets
    • Lent and Easter
    • Holy Land
    • Pillars of Hercules
    • Architecture
      • Boardwalk Towns
      • Bridges
      • Castles
      • Religious
    • Transportation
      • Trains
      • Ferries
  • Europe
    • Balkans
      • Albania
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Bulgaria
      • Croatia
      • Kosovo
      • Macedonia
      • Montenegro
      • Serbia
      • Turkey
    • Central Europe
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Poland
      • Slovakia
    • Southern Europe
      • Gibraltar
      • Malta
      • Spain
    • Northern Europe
      • United Kingdom
      • Iceland and Faroes
      • Isle of Man
      • Baltic States
    • Western Europe
      • Belgium
      • Germany
      • Netherlands
  • Africa
    • Kenya
    • South Sudan
    • Tanzania
  • Caucasus
    • Armenia
    • Azerbaijan
    • Georgia
  • MENA
    • Ceuta (Spain)
    • Egypt
    • Israel
    • Jordan
    • Morocco
    • Oman
    • Qatar
    • Palestine
    • United Arab Emirates
  • N. America
    • Canada
    • Contiguous US
    • Cuba
    • Greenland
  • S. America
  • Alaska
    • Sitka
    • South Central Alaska
    • South East Alaska
  • Cruises
    • Iceland, Greenland & Scotland 2017

Category: Topics

Winds of Change2 Comments

Political Junk.

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022 Rich McClear

After the deluge of political mail last cycle I vowed to count each piece of political mail I got this year and report back.  This report is late because we’ve had incredibly beautiful winter weather.  Walks and taking pics trump … Continue reading Political Junk.

McClear Family, Contiguous US, Winds of ChangeLeave a comment

Hardwood Fall

October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 Rich McClear

The fall colors in a hardwood forest take me back decades.  While we were primarily in New Jersey to enjoy being with family I took some time to explore places of memory.  We started our drive on Paramus Road going … Continue reading Hardwood Fall

Winds of Change1 Comment

Gorbi

August 31, 2022August 31, 2022 Rich McClear

Last night I didn’t sleep well.  I wasn’t restless, I didn’t toss and turn. I lay still in thought, contemplation, and prayer.  Mikhail Gorbachev is dead.  My Albanian friend Arben Kallamata posted on Facebook (Awkwardly translated from Albanian by Facebook): … Continue reading Gorbi

Winds of ChangeLeave a comment

Independence Day 2022

July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 Rich McClear

Two hundred and forty-six ago a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson and moved by John Adams passed the Continental Congress. It read, in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are … Continue reading Independence Day 2022

Sitka, Religious3 Comments

Blessing of the Fleet, 2022

April 10, 2022April 11, 2022 Rich McClear

The “Blessing of the Fleet” is one of those small town Sitka rituals that mark our seasons. It is on Palm Sunday, a time to stop and remember all of those who our community has lost during the past year, … Continue reading Blessing of the Fleet, 2022

Christmas, Christmas Markets1 Comment

A Virtual Tour of Europe’s Christmas Markets.

November 27, 2021January 3, 2023 Rich McClear

When we lived in Central Europe and the Balkans, we were Christmas Market regulars.  We have a collection of Gluhwein (glow wine) mugs to prove it. These gatherings featured hand-made crafts, often the craftsmen and women were on site, glass … Continue reading A Virtual Tour of Europe’s Christmas Markets.

Winds of Change1 Comment
Birthdays Past

3 Memorable Birthdays, Thoughts on Turning 75

November 20, 2021November 20, 2021 Rich McClear

This is one of those “milestone” birthdays. 75.  And I’m happy to still be here during this second year of the pandemic. Breakthrough COVID caught me. It landed me in the hospital but couldn’t hold me. I’m still hare and … Continue reading 3 Memorable Birthdays, Thoughts on Turning 75

Winds of Change, Germany, The Fall of the Wall1 Comment

Walking the Line Between Hope and Despair.

November 9, 2021November 17, 2021 Rich McClear

Thirty two years ago our lives changed forever.  The Berlin Wall fell.  Our family had been in Berlin the summer before and the wall looked permanent.  We went back the next summer in time to see streets opening in the … Continue reading Walking the Line Between Hope and Despair.

Transportation, Contiguous USLeave a comment

Global Trade in the Wilderness

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 Rich McClear

For one brief moment in time a wilderness outpost on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota was the center of an international commodity trade.  That commodity, Beaver pelts. And it was all done to make silly hats. … Continue reading Global Trade in the Wilderness

Contiguous US, ArchitectureLeave a comment

Psychedelic Deco. Naniboujou Club Lodge

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 Rich McClear

Psychedelic Deco.  Nanioujou Club Lodge I go out of my way to find quirky old hotels.  I collect them.  In Slovakia there was the Hotel Junior, which was a satellite themed space aged Soviet Era fantasy with extremely hard beds.  … Continue reading Psychedelic Deco. Naniboujou Club Lodge

Winds of Change1 Comment

After 245 Years “Jefferson Still Lives!”

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 Rich McClear

Two hundred and forty-five ago a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson and moved by John Adams passed the Continental Congress.  It read, in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are … Continue reading After 245 Years “Jefferson Still Lives!”

Radio1 Comment

45 Years!

April 22, 2021April 22, 2021 Rich McClear

April 23 2021: Forty five years ago today, Dave Molvik threw a switch at Itasca Community College putting a transmitter on the air. Three miles away Jon Newstrom took some transmitter readings, he had to be there because we discovered, … Continue reading 45 Years!

Kosovo, Albania, Egypt, Religious2 Comments

Ramadan Mubarak.

April 12, 2021April 12, 2021 Rich McClear

Ramadan is a movable fast/feast.  Back in 2008 it was in August and September.  Here is a letter that I wrote to my extended family back then, before I started blogging.   I did not think it was appropriate to blog … Continue reading Ramadan Mubarak.

Winds of Change6 Comments

Welcome To 2021

January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 Rich McClear

I have never been one to celebrate the New Year.  It always seemed like an artificial construct.  I celebrated my own new year, the start of the school year, which coincided with introduction of the new models of cars when … Continue reading Welcome To 2021

Winds of Change1 Comment

What Are You Singing New Year’s Eve?

December 31, 2020December 31, 2020 Rich McClear

This year on Times Square, according to the press release (which doesn’t get around to telling you that no one is invited to be there until the 4th paragraph, talk about burying the lede), the program will include the traditional … Continue reading What Are You Singing New Year’s Eve?

Sitka, Christmas Markets5 Comments

Floating Joy

December 16, 2020December 20, 2020 Rich McClear

Forty years ago, we were living in Sollar’s Trailer Court.  We could see a small slice of the channel from the front window of our mobile home because we were a little forward of the trailer next to us.  One … Continue reading Floating Joy

Christmas Markets1 Comment

European Christmas Markets (And some of their offspring)

November 28, 2020November 26, 2021 Rich McClear

For the second year in a row many of the European Christmas Markets are either closed or curtailed.  But we hope in future years we will be able to enjoy the warmth of a cold evening sipping gluhwein, savoring the … Continue reading European Christmas Markets (And some of their offspring)

Alaska, Transportation3 Comments

Northern Milk Run

July 12, 2020July 12, 2020 Rich McClear

July 11, 2020 Sitka to Anchorage, It was light when the alarm rang at 4:00 AM, although the sun would not, technically, be up for another 22 minutes.  The days are getting shorter.  We got dressed loaded the car and … Continue reading Northern Milk Run

Winds of Change2 Comments

July 4, 2020

July 4, 2020July 4, 2020 Rich McClear

Two hundred and forty four ago a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson and moved by John Adams passed the Continental Congress.  It read, in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they … Continue reading July 4, 2020

Germany, Letters from the Transition, Winds of Change1 Comment

30 Years Ago This Week — Berlin.

June 14, 2020December 1, 2020 Rich McClear

Thirty years ago, this week my family was in Berlin.  We had been there 10 months earlier and saw a wall that looked permanent.  Three months later we saw it come down on TV.  We went back in June 1990 … Continue reading 30 Years Ago This Week — Berlin.

Czech Republic, Letters from the Transition, Velvet Revolution, Winds of ChangeLeave a comment

30 Years Ago This Week

June 5, 2020June 14, 2020 Rich McClear

June 6, 2020 Thirty years ago, this week we were in the Czechoslovakia. We were there because in 1989 we took our kids to Berlin to see the wall. Two and a half months later it came down.  In 1990 … Continue reading 30 Years Ago This Week

Alaska, Lent and Easter, Sitka4 Comments

When Does Lent End?

April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 Rich McClear

Memories of Grandma    April 12, 2020, Easter Sunday, Sitka, Alaska    This year Lent started for us on a Thursday.  We completely lost Ash Wednesday because of an untimely crossing of the dateline.  So, we attended Ash Thursday services on MS … Continue reading When Does Lent End?

Alaska, Lent and Easter, SitkaLeave a comment

He Is Not Here

April 11, 2020April 11, 2020 Rich McClear

Matthew 28:6 April 11, 2020, Sitka, Alaska One of the trails I regularly walk was “Easter Bombed.”  The shells you see in the pictures were scattered, but scattered carefully.  They made my walk on Thursday delightful.  They were a message … Continue reading He Is Not Here

Trains, Transportation2 Comments

“Higher Speed Rail” in America. (Drawbridge Up)

January 4, 2020January 4, 2020 Rich McClear

“High Speed Rail” is a relative term.  In the EU to be called “High Speed” a train must be able to travel either 155 MPH (250 KPH) over purpose-built track or 125 MPH (200 KPH) over standard rail lines.  The … Continue reading “Higher Speed Rail” in America. (Drawbridge Up)

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