Next Stop

I've had six spectacular days in Basel. Today, Angelo, Stefan and I depart for a weekend in Amsterdam. We’re helping David celebrate his 50^th birthday. SURPRISE!!!

The time here in Basel has been exceptional in so many ways: stunningly beautiful autumn days…the light that spills in at an angle and gives everything a back-lit glow. Trees along the Rhine are beginning to turn, which has made it tempting to sit in the apartment and stare out at the river for hour after hour. I’ve joined gatherings for discussions of social change that always end with big plates of Angelo’s superb Sicilian cuisine. I’ve wandered the historic streets with stops in museums, coffee shops, confiseries, patisseries. I’ve met for dinner with new friends from the Hospital of Hope for conversations enlivened by our common vision. It’s been wonderful to be here… an essential reintroduction to life as it is lived in developed cultures. Two years ago, I knew only one person—so very slightly—in Basel. Today I have a growing community of friends and colleagues, people I have grown to love and trust.

But I am anticipating with great joy the renewal of friendships in Amsterdam. The Dutch are uniquely…well, Dutch…and I’ve not experienced their definitive pragmatism and “yes, we can” approach to life since June. I’m looking forward to celebrating with David…He's simply one of my favoritest people in the world. Boy from Oklahoma and girl from Kansas meet in Amsterdam and have a life-long love affair. We’ve worked hard, laughed hard, fought and throughout have valued each other. I am so fortunate to have an opportunity to be with him for the joyous occasion of his half-century...the beginning of the most amazing decade of life.

This time between Dakar and New York, Seal and Starbucks, Hospital of Hope and GLSEN is critical. I want to return…yes, I am eager to be home on 69^th Street…but I want to retain some the fundamental shifts that living in Senegal involuntarily introduced into my life or that I chose to practice voluntarily. It is never too late to change….and now I know we can.