My Mother was the Center of our Jewish Universe

My Mother was the Center of our Jewish Universe

by Drew Steinberg Jewish values and the importance of family are engrained in me because of my mom. Because of her, we celebrated Shabbat every Friday night as our family of four, at a minimum, while I was growing up. High Holiday meals and Passover seders had full tables of extended family (blood relatives and friends … Continued

Swimming for Grace

by Vicki Bunke Standing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, I found it fitting to learn that it is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. I had recently experienced the lowest point in my life. Eight months earlier, my 14-year-old daughter Grace died after living with osteosarcoma or bone cancer for four … Continued

Live in London or Die Trying

I now cherish time ever since time was nearly taken away from me. I am in the passenger seat, flustered and frustrated, wondering why the driver that the bride’s father hired keeps missing the proper turns. I have to photograph this wedding and I need to be on time. I politely ask why he’s not … Continued

Where the Death Railway in Thailand leads

The bus drops me off just outside the busy terminal. Braving the searing heat of the afternoon sun, I trudge across Kanchanaburi. It is a typical Thai town, its streets lined with delicious street-food, uniformed schoolchildren, and bustling shops hawking their wares. Slowly, I continue walking. Then it comes into view; a walled-off oasis, sequestered … Continued

Ethiopia: When Travel Goes Bad

While scouting for the first descent of the Baro River in Ethiopia, a tributary of the White Nile, I heard about a Peace Corps volunteer, Bill Olsen, 25, a recent graduate of Cornell, who decided to take a dip in the river at Gambella, a village near the South Sudan border. The locals warned to … Continued

Remembering Ravi Shankar

In November of 1987, in need of another adventure to ancient and exotic territory, I made a snap decision to accompany my friend Jewels, a designer of antique tribal jewelry, on her semi-annual buying trip to India.  Though I have always preferred traveling alone, I had a feeling Jewels would make a great travel companion.  She … Continued

Tribute and Legacy: Being Present

Happy New Year! I hope that this year will be full of great adventures and fulfilling goals. We open our first We Said Go Travel Writing Contest TOMORROW! For my dad’s birthday, I wrote him a post: TRIBUTE and LEGACY: Being Present which was published in the Huffington Post. It begins: Sitting between my parents … Continued

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