My father was an aircraft mechanic who often flew to Morocco in the 1950s to repair downed aircraft, probably at the Port Lyautey Naval Air Station near Casablanca. He sent us postcards of exotic-looking people leading camels through the desert and brought home cherished gifts of tooled leather and decorative brass. I was delighted to finally visit with NextTribe and learn more about this place of my childhood fantasies.
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Until I took this trip with NextTribe, my favorite all-women travel group, I always associated Vietnam with the ugly war of the 1960s and 70s. It hit my generation hard, affecting all those around me. You couldn’t avoid it; the nightly news always included horror stories, body counts, protests and counter-protests. It tore our country apart. I grieved over the loss of friends, wrote admission letters to get my brother into college, and helped others leave for Canada to avoid the draft. March 2023 commemorated 50 years since the war ended and this trip seemed like a good opportunity to reconcile my old, negative association with the modern reality.
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Hang out with me for any length of time and you will hear me repeat my many mantras. A frequent one is: I have too many gardens for a single woman with a social life. It’s become a problem. While I do love gardening—I truly enjoy both the process and the result—it seems to have taken over my life and my yard. Ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers, ground cover, herbs, vegetables, a water garden, grass, and weeds; they are all there. And, as I (gracefully) age, I find gardening requires more Advil and leaves me with less energy for other pursuits. I truly regret it when I am too tired for dancing…but is having a meaningful conversation after dinner considered a pursuit? How about staying awake past 8 PM?
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accidental goddess 