Our TRAVEL WRITING CONTEST Judge, Richard Bangs, recently traveled to Qatar. Enter by July 4 to share your story of where you find FREEDOM. All roads led to Rome; the sun never set on the British Empire; the point of exceptionalism around which the world turned, America. Now tiny Qatar, the wealthiest country in the world on … Continued
I was a month into my trip in Thailand when I fell upon the place that represents freedom to me. To this day it is still that place that I’ve ever felt the most free. This place was a small hippie town in the north ofThailand. This place was called Pai. This experience is something … Continued
Bump! The chairlift hits the back of my sleepy legs as it had done a thousand times that season, I sit back on the empty chair and let it pull me to the top. I let my gaze wander over the entire face of the mountain, one side of the chairlift is lined with snow-covered … Continued
My friend Baruch and I wended our way up into the northern Galilee in Israel, up into the mountains. Just a few kilometers from the Blue Line – the UN determined border between Israel—we drove past an Israeli Army outpost and its patrols dressed in their heavy uniforms in all that heat. The day hovered … Continued
Everybody wants to feel independent. Everyone has their place that they feel that once in a life time feeling. Well, that place for me is the outstanding Santa Barbara, California. I love the feel of freedom that just overcomes me when I get to look at the beautiful beaches and the clear, blue sky. Feeling … Continued
Australia: The Climb My neck hurts from looking up so much. “It’s high,” I whisper to my husband standing next to me. “It is,” he says more confidently than me. My shaking hand grips the cold metal rebar and I start to climb a tree that is higher than Niagara Falls, a twenty story building … Continued
An excerpt from Desperado’s Wife: A Memoir by Amy Friedman Elton I can still feel the churning pleasure I felt as I anticipated the day of Elton’s release. The idea of leading someone out, of driving someone to his freedom was the first real pleasure I’d felt in years, the first day after too many … Continued
The Husband: We were zooming up the coast of Lombok, Indonesia when we saw a crowd of villagers rallying around a pole. It was early February, but the blazing sun seemed stuck on July. Earlier that day, my wife and I had rented a motorbike to visit the lush northern hills of Bali’s sister island. … Continued
In general, I feel free when I travel. Traveling, especially alone, offers me the chance to escape my daily life, to see a new place and the mobility involved makes me feel like I grew wings and took off into the unknown. I have traveled to many places where I felt free but the most … Continued
Stephen King shares his personal life story and philosophy on learning to write well in his book, On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft. As he says, “I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened.” … Continued