Return to home page
DEAN'S QUARTERLY NEWLETTER, Vol. 10, No. 2, 12/01/2006
HIGHLIGHTS OF AUTUMN 2006:
Trip to Europe: I had two
things in mind for this trip: 1) catch
up with several friends and 2) explore the possibility of buying property in Europe for investment and my
future retirement. I was not especially serious
about the latter. It was more for the
pleasure of dreaming.
After arriving
in Frankfurt and spending a day there,
I used a Eurailpass to catch an overnight train to Northeastern Italy, where I caught up with
friends Greg and Beth, who serve as officers at Aviano
air force base. Greg is the brother of
my friend of 36 years, Gary Brown. They
have a marvelous home, and I took special note of the view out their bathtub
window of the mountains directly behind their house. Greg gave me a tour of quaint local villages
and took me for a pleasant hike in the surrounding mountains.
I then headed to
Barcelona, Spain
with stops in Sienna, Italy and Nice, France. Pausing to check out other towns along the
Mediterranean coast, I talked to several real estate agents and pondered the
possibility of buying perhaps a studio condo. As I said, it’s
only a dream at this point, and even for tiny condos, things are pricy, but I
may yet invest somewhere in this region.
While in Barcelona, one of my favorite
cities, I caught up for the first time in 20 years with Senora Trinidad, the
woman who hosted me while I was studying Spanish there in 1986.
In Paris, I visited my former
girlfriend Agnes (pronounced Ahn-yes) the first time I’d seen her in 16 years. Hosting me in her condo,
she introduced me to her 13 year old son Theo and her boyfriend Frederick, and we
spent a marvelous day walking around the city.
It was truly great to see her again!
Then, I visited
my cousin Darin’s wife Anne in Brussels, who had just moved there. It was good to catch up with her as she
reestablishes herself in her homeland after something like 16 years in the States. Darin will join her this coming spring after
they sell their home in Boulder, Colorado. Anne also introduced me to her warm and
gracious parents. Her father, the highest appointed official in
the Belgian government, kindly gave us a personal tour of the House and Senate
Chambers. I think Belgium, though small,
charms me more each time I visit, and is well worthy of much deeper exploration
than I’ve given it thus far.
The most photogenic
and pleasurable day hike I’ve ever taken occurred
in a region of Tuscany, Italy called Cinqua
Terre. Along a narrow and sometimes
precarious trail that passed along steep hillsides through olive groves, orange
groves and vineyards and a serious of five spectacular and quaint villages, I
would strongly recommend this hike to anyone visiting Europe.
After a day Eurailing through the mountains of Switzerland, mostly in the
Interlaken-Luzern area ended with my arrival back in Frankfurt and a visit to the home
of my good friend Gary Brown and his family.
After a few relaxing days with them, including attending a truly enjoyable
performance of Duett Komplett,
the acoustic band Gary plays in, it was time for me to head home and back to
work.
Trip to Toronto: In late summer / early autumn, I headed to Toronto to catch up with my
friends Igor, Alla and Michael Kosov,
who have since had the truly special pleasure of becoming Canadian citizens
after a multi-decade effort that lead them from the former Soviet Union (later Ukraine) to Israel and finally a few years
ago to Canada. Always great to see them, the visit also
pleasantly corresponded with a visit by my cousin Darin,
who stopped in Toronto on his way back to Colorado from Belgium after visiting his wife
Anne there. Igor called it an Oman Convention.
Late Note: At the start of the new Dean’s
Newsletter quarter, December 1st, my niece
Rachel and her boyfriend Justin became the proud parents of a six-pound-four-ounce
son named Roman Miles Johnson, a precious child whose name may make him a
traveler like his great (well anyway pretty good) uncle Dean.
Movies: Surprisingly, I don’t
remember seeing any movies this whole quarter.
Oh yeah, I saw a documentary movie about Al Frankin,
the comedian, talk show host and perhaps future Senate candidate for Minnesota,
a film that would be of interest to almost no one except political junkies like
me.
COMING UP NEXT QUARTER (Winter): Trip to Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona
Check in and let me know what’s up with you.
You can contact me by clicking on this E-mail address: mailto:%20mail@deanoman.com.
My address in Maryland: Telephone numbers:
Dean
Oman Home: 301-931-1144
10405
46th Ave., Apt. A204
Work: 301-504-2317
Beltsville, MD 20705
Review previous newsletters:
Summer
06 – Dean’s News Vol 10,
No. 1, 09/01/06 – Minnesota and San Diego
Spring
06 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No.
4, 06/01/06 – Hanging around Beltsville, MD
Winter
06 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No.
3, 03/01/06 – Minnesota and Arizona
Autumn
05 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No.
2, 12/01/05 – Minnesota, Toronto, Boston
Summer
05 – Dean’s News Vol 9, No.
1, 09/01/05 – Washington, Oregon and Northern California
Spring
05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 4, 06/01/05 – Joshua and
Dean’s Great European Adventure
Winter
05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 3, 03/01/05 – Minnesota
and Bahamas
Autumn
04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 2, 12/01/04 – Boston,
Orlando, plus new digs in Beltsville, Maryland
Summer
04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 1, 09/01/04 – Toronto,
Minnesota, San Diego, Chicago
Spring
04 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No. 4, 06/01/04 – Italy,
Switzerland, Eastern Europe, New York City
Winter
04 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No.
3, 03/01/04 – Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Arizona
Autumn
03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 2, 12/01/03 -- Minnesota
Summer
03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 1, 09/01/03 -- California
and Toronto
Spring
03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 4, 06/01/03 – Minnesota,
Boston
Winter
03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 3, 03/01/03 – Arizona, California
and Colorado
Fall
02 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 2, 12/01/02 – Balkans
and Turkey, Minnesota, Toronto
Summer
02 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 1, 09/01/02 --
Minnesota, California and Canada's Maritimes
Spring
02 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 4, 06/01/02 -- Nearly
arrested
Winter
02 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 3, 03/01/02 -- Arizona
and California
Fall
01 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 2, 12/01/01 -- Boston,
Minnesota, New York City
Summer
01 -- Dean's News Vol 5, No. 1, 09/01/01 -- Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia and Minnesota
Spring
01 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 4, 06/01/01 -- Baltic
Nations, Poland and Czech Republic
Winter
01 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 3, 03/01/01 -- Boston
and Arizona
Fall
00 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 2, 12/01/00 -- Colorado,
Minnesota and Gettysburg
Summer
00 -- Dean's News Vol 4, No. 1, 09/01/00 -- Minnesota
and Washington
Spring
00 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 4, 06/01/00 -- Eurailing in Europe, and Minnesota
Winter
00 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 3, 03/01/00 -- Jamaica,
Arizona and the Millennium
Fall
99 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 2, 12/01/99 -- The
Middle East and Minnesota
Summer
99 -- Dean's News Vol 3, No. 1, 09/01/99 -- Minnesota
Spring
99 -- Dean's News Vol 2, No. 4, 06/01/99 -- Pacific
Northwest
Winter
99 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 3, 03/01/99 -- Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Fall
98 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 2, 12/01/98 -- Germany, Poland and Czech Republic
Summer
98 -- Dean's News Vol. 2, No. 1, 09/01/98 -- A summer romance
Spring
98 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 4, 06/01/98 -- New York City and Minnesota trips
Winter
98 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 3, 03/01/98 -- Arizona and Colorado trip
Fall
97 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 2, 12/01/97 -- Venezuela and Trinidad
Summer
97 -- Dean's News Vol. 1, No. 1, 09/01/97 -- Toronto and Niagara Falls
Best wishes to all,
Deano
Return
to home page
