Update on India. Ya'll seem surprised that I'm going to India. Could it be that I did not tell you? Shame on me!

I told you about meeting the author Ann Newton Holmes on-line after Kathie produced some wonderful images about the Palaces of Jodhpur. That got me motivated. After the initial contact with Ann she had a tough time last fall. Her husband died of a heart attack, but by Christmas she was making plans again. She told me that she would be in Jodhpur from February 19 to March 3 this year...and invited me to meet the woman whom my dad referred to as the Rani Sahib of Jodhpur. She was the wife of the Maharaja...and my dad's boss. She is now 81 years of age, and according to Ann, still elegant and beautiful. Ann offered to introduce us and said that there were other members of the family who might remember my dad. So the time was NOW!

Kathie would not go; her first and only experience in India in 1965 was not good. If this trip works out she may consider it in the future...I'm on the reconaissance team. I've had quite a few women accept my invitation to take them to India...but Wisdom interfered (Wisdom is a woman you know...according to King Solomon). So I invited Andy...he's good company...and he's great at the "fly free" game. IE He's hard to beat.

So plans were moving forward fo a Feb 17 departure, when we discovered that we needed Visas to enter India. To compound that oversight, it seemed that it might take two weeks to get me a Visa since I am not a natural born citizen. So here I am today in San Francisco, taking a chance on a one-day turn-around for in-person applicants. I flew in last night, on stand-by, without any trouble. Although we had appointments for 9:40 AM and 10:40 AM I arrived early and was out of the Visa office by 9:30 AM, with invitations to pick up the Visas at 5:30 PM.

One of the strange requirements, was that one arrive at the Visa office with nothing but the application forms...no baggage...not even a cell phone. Have you ever been to a big city lately without a cell phone...makes one feel naked almost. So I was stuck in down-town San Francisco from 9:30 Am to 5:30 PM. I thought I should make the most of it...and started walking...all the way down Mission Street to the water...then along the piers past Fisherman's wharf. There were not many people down-town. I guess that's because it is a federal holiday and most people in San Francisco work for the government. Actually, the cab driver told me that the traffic was only 25% of normal because 1. It was a federal holiday and 50% of the people work for the government and, 2. 50% of the 50% who work in the private sector have lost their jobs. You do the math.

So it was all good...the sun broke through the fog and the tall city buildings were incredible...beautiful with their rooftops in the fog. San Francisco really is a great city. But while my enthusism did not wane, my body is not what it used to be. At one point I just stopped and thought "I can't take another bloody step." And right then a taxi pulled up to drop someone off, right in front of me. The driver said "Need a ride?" So I got in and he drove me back to the hotel where I had left my bag...and cell phone.

His name was MO. He was Jordanian born...married to a woman from Brisbane...interesting fellow. We hit it off. I asked Mo if he could pick me up and take me back into the Visa office. But I had the same problem...no baggage or even a cell phone allowed. I called Mo and explained the problem.