Shadowpurr-r-rPress Journal

Alice enjoys home decorating, travel, reading, gardening, growing herbs and flowers, and the challenge of planning fun activities for her 4 grandchildren. She always has jonquils and daffodils blooming in spring to recognize her birth flower. Alice likes to cook and finds it relaxing to invent new recipes. She keeps a log of "her experiments" and most turn out well! In the Anniston-Oxford, AL area, she enjoys dining at Classic on Noble located in downtown Anniston at 1024 Nobel St. It features mouthwatering dishes created by Chef-Owner David Mashburn. One of my favorites is the Shrimp and Cheese Grits Entree.  Another favorite restaurant is Garfrerick's Cafe in Oxford, AL located on Creekside Dr. My husband and I celebrated our anniversary at Chef Garfrerick's upscale retro-decorated eatery. Our fillet steaks were delicious. Alice and husband Joe celebrate their Anniversary every August 30th. (46 so far and counting...)

As a child, Alice read every Nancy Drew mystery published, and she enjoyed classics like Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, The Scarlet Letter, Poe's poetry-short stories and stories by Mark Twain. In college she devoured the complete works of Shakespeare. Today she likes to read mysteries, historical, travel, and books by Southern Authors, as well as meeting them at writer's conferences. "I always have a book in my hand. Reading is the way I go to sleep every night!"

Alice has traveled widely internationally and in the United States. For 10 years she was a group leader taking students and teachers on trips during Spring Break to many countries in Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. She has traveled to Russia, Austrailia, New Zealand and Canada, as well. This spring she will join a group on a trip to Northern Italy and the Italian Riveria. Alice wants to see the National Parks of the U.S. and recently visited friends in South Dakota taking in Mt. Rushmore National Park. The 3 summers she spent with her sister, Nancy, hiking and driving through Colorado and  Rocky Mt. National Park were a highlight. "The most spectacular National Park I've visited is Glacier National Park in Montana". 

I caught a bus into the city. Every way I turned my eyes met the stares of strangers, not unusual since I was the only American on board. Curiously the Greeks seemed strangers to each other too. No sounds ushered from their lips, no smiles, no communication. Heads turned neither left nor right. All were riveted straight ahead. It seemed as if a camera had clicked and caught a still frame of trapped riders.

Still working the brown orbs of clay in my hand, I suddenly remembered another image from the Greek bus scene. Unlike the camera clicking a still life, a small movement penetrated my memory. The bus riders moved their fingers. Similtaneously a single movement conveyed comfortable commaraderie without speaking. Each pair of hands silently pulsed with life, the fingertips working in harmony: rolling, pressing, coveting small round carved beads held together by a single strand of brown leather.

At first I thought of native women's bracelets out of folklore stories. But the men held the cherished beads too and worked theirs even harder than the women. I pondered, "What kind of people are these Greeks?"

Covering the miles with the absence of sound, I sat fascinated watching the frenzied movement of beads by large hands, small hands, strong hands and frail hands, wrinkled hands and tanned, gnarled workingmen's hands with grimy fingers in contrast to neatly groomed businessmen's hands with manicured fingernails.

All continued the ritualistic bead movement like robots on an assembly line until they reached their bus stop. Then the hands dutifully stuffed the brown beads into a purse or pocket, and the travelers stepped off the bus and disappeared into the busy street crowds of downtown Athens.

With a smile on my face I rememered my travel group's courrier solving the mystery of the tiny brown orbs. He shared a late afternoon cup of coffee with me at a sidewalk cafe. He explained to me the custom of  WORRY BEADS-- an age-old tradition that solves the problem of stress and anxiety quietly for the Greek people!

PS--I brought back a few sets of  WORRY BEADS for friends, family and for myself and must report I found the habit quite theraputic! © 2010 Alice G. Duckett

Many people questioned my taking students and said they would not want to travel with a "bunch of middle and high schoolers". But I found the experience to be quite the opposite. I enjoyed seeing Europe through the eyes of young people. They would see much more than the adults. Also the trips were jam packed with activities and extra sightseeing to keep the kids busy. I saw so much more on student-based trips than on adult itineraries that included more time to brouse and shop. I like to get in some shopping but if I'm going to Europe I want to see and do as much as possible and learn all I can. Traveling with students opens up many questions and funny experiences too that make a trip memorable. I wouldn't give anything for those years of jam-packed itineraries.

Since 1990 I've been traveling with friends and family. I've been on a month-long fact-finding trip to visit churches in 15 Republics of the old Soviet Union as it was termed then. I've traveled for 3 weeks in Australia and New Zealand, and for two weeks in Holland, Belgium and France. I've made two trips to Canada, one emphazing the Montreal, Quebec area and the other starting in Toronto and taking the train trip across the Canadian Rockies to Vancouver.

In the lower 48, I've hiked and driven through parts of Colorado with my sister three times pretty much covering the state. My sister and brother-in-law and I drove through Glacier National Park in Montana reveling in the spectacular scenery. My husband and I enjoyed five-day visits to Santa Fe-Albuquerque, New Mexico, San Marco Island in Florida, and a trip to Bermuda with its island beauty. I also traveled to New England to see the fall leaves in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusettes. We were two-weeks early on the fall foliage but still had an interesting historical journey. I've also been to New York several times to see the sights and new plays on Broadway.

Listing all these destinations is not to brag. Really I had to save up very frugally to take these trips, but my point is that everytime one ventures out into new territory there is much to learn. Those who never take an adventure miss a lot in my opinion. This past summer my husband and I decided to forego the visit to the Smokey Mountains which we've traveled several times and do something different. We decided to hit the Outer Banks, see the lighthouses and some of the small towns and fishing villages. Boy, were we surprised and rewarded. We hadn't considered that the topmost part of NC was almost in Virginia--seat of our early US government. Some of the towns we went through were steeped in early American history, with homes and buildings preserved from the 1700s. Historical markers were everywhere. We'd like to go again sometime and see more of this historical side of North Carolina. Often on a new adventure one's eyes are opened to new horizons as happened to us.

Lessons of life are learned on every trip whether it's in Europe or in one's own home state. Rolling with the punches when the itinerary changes is a good lesson to put into practice. Relating to the others and being a friend to all on a group trip is important. Adapting to time zones, money systems, trying new foods, experiencing new cultures, traditions, languages, and customs, the list goes on and on. But this is what travel is all about. I love it and I love learning. I just can't imagine my life without travel. Happy travels to each of you...  © 2006 Alice G. Duckett

Firefly Watch combines an annual summer evening ritual with scientific research. The Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, has teamed up with researchers from Tufts University and Fitchburg State College to track the fate of these amazing insects. With your help, we hope to learn about the geographic distribution of fireflies and their activity during the summer season. Fireflies also may be affected by human-made light and pesticides in lawns, so we hope to also learn more about those effects. You might see more than one type of firefly in your yard!

...Join a network of volunteers.
...Observe your own backyard.
...Track your progress online and interact with fellow Citizen Scientists.
...Help scientists map fireflies found in New England and beyond.
...No specific scientific training required

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