Large Pastel Painting in Progress

This is a pastel painting in progresa of my nephew, Dean, in my family's swimming pool. It's roughly 2/3 completed. I purposely chose a large scale and close cropping to make Dean seem large. I'm also making the sparkling water also look somewhat celestial - like stars. It almost makes Dean seem like a little giant who's playing out in space.

The next photo shows the painting a couple of sessions later. As of today, I'm done a bit more work on it. I've used almost $50 in pthalo blue pastel sticks for the water area alone!

More photos from Romania

Glacial lake at approx. 8,300 feet, Fagaras Mountains (Romania's tallest)









Detail from an exterior fresco on one of Bucovina's painted monasteries
(World Heritage sites)

Peles Castle, Sinaia, Moldavis (below)

Tales From Romania, Part 3

Prior to leaaving for Romania, we were warned about pickpockets, and especially gypsies -- plus taxi scams, and another scam involving a fake plain clothed policeman who tries to extort money out of unwitting strangers. I'm happy to report that we didn't experience any of that, even though I did some walking around in Bucharest by myself.

I was expected an ugly city, ruined by Communism's concrete block-style awful architecture -- and I thought the real trip would begin once we headed into the countryside.

That wasn't true. I enjoyed the city. Bucharest was once called, "The Paris of the East", and when you get to see more of it, you understand why.

First of all, it's a very green city -- with many more trees than any American city I can think of -- especially San Francisco! There are wide triple lane boulevards lined with trees not only on both sides, but also lining the two center lanes.

Concert Hall

There are many elegant old buildings, mansions, and embassies. Parks with ponds and small lakes provide places to enjoy the outdoors. One long stretch of street connects two main squares with a whole series of beautifully carved stone fountains that lead up the center to one huge celebration of water surrounding one of the two large squares. It's dramatic and spectacular.

I walked around in a neighborhood close to our hotel, and immediately, I sensed a true 'neighborhood' feeling, where people knew and greeted each other. The elderly were treated with great respect, and weren't ignored as second class citiizens. There wasn't much urban fast paced anxiety. I didn't notice frantic, rushing people, driving with a cell phone up to one ear (well, maybe on occasion).

Corner stores are flourishing establishments (remember, there are no chain stores). Of course, stray dogs appear on every block (see Part 2).

Clothes seemed to be a distant mimic of what we wear here in the U.S. There were lots of cheap attempts at designer jeans, and T-shirts that had English phrases on them that fell short of the clever slogan that the designers thought they were splashed on our clothes. I'd see T-shirts boasting, "Fast Engine, Most Flavor, Be It's Life!" Sometimes, the mangling of the phrases were so bad, that I didn't even try to figure out what the boasting was about. "America Sport 4501 Left Drink Over", for example.

Jeans ran the whole gamut: patched, embroidered, beaded, frayed, torn, studded, bleached, overdyed, and any or all of those combined -- and usually the designs were in odd places: words stitched across the seat, or wrapped 3/4 around the hips before trailing down a leg. But the materials weren't of the best quality -- and no one seemed to mind.

That was Bucharest. The soul and strength of Romania, however, lies in its peasants, the countryside, and its folklore, traditions, and crafts. The peasant folk define the country and their traditions anchor it down, allow the country to maintain its ways, despite Romania's turbulent history.

Religion has a stronger hold here than anywhere else I've ever traveled to. Taxi drivers make the sign of the cross as they drive past a church. No matter what age, anyone entering a Romanian Orthodox church readily exhibits their faith. They stand in awe and stop for deep prayer in front of religious icons. Every single Romanian appeared genuinely devout -- with no exceptions -- including teenagers!

Crosses appear everywhere: along roads inside small traveler's shrines, and .on top of mountain peaks. Most houses have small ornamented metal crosses at each end of the roof. a number of handmade wooden crosses are nailed onto a particular tree after the death of someone in the community as a memorial.

I watched a couple bring their new car to a monastery to be blessed by the priest. With all the car doors and trunk open, the priest circled the car twice, praying and dousing it with holy water, as the couple stood, heads bowed in prayer, and holding long candles. The priest blessed the engine, the transmission, each tire, every door, the brakes, each seat, the windows, the steering wheel, and even the glove compartment. Our guide told us that this was to help keep the car out of accidents. After thanking the priest, and kissing the hem of his mantle, they drove away. What would've happened if they backed out too far & hit a tree right then and there? I wonder what the reaction would be...

In some ways, the church has kept Romania from becoming more socially liberal - for example, although homosexuality is legal, it's tolerated, but frowned upon. Recent attempts at gay pride parades in Bucharest have resulted in major shouting confrontations.

Traditions are not taken lightly; weddings and funerals have more ritual and significance than we're used to. Wedding celebrations last for about 3 wild days of partying, while funerals and mourning the deceased can stretch on with rememberances marked at intervals for a full year or more. As in much of Europe, Easter is both a holy day and a celebration of spring and life -- but it doesn't begin months early with merchandising in stores. Important days are marked with ritual. Holidays aren't bought in stores, they're created by hand and heart.

I saw people brought together as a result, not in their own cell phone/computer/iPod/Game Boy worlds. People were far more in touch with the real world around them.

Tales From Romania, Part 2

We stood in places where, less than 2 decades ago, the citizens of Bucharest rose up in rebellion and overthrew the oppressive government. Some died as heroes, and life changed for the better.

Romania under Communism was like an encounter with a skunk: it's taking a long time to get rid of the stink. In some neighborhoods huge ugly blocks of apartment buildings stand where houses and mansions once stood. People were forced to move into them -- and not allowed to take their beloved pets with them. Today, stray dogs wander the streets as a result. Some buildings are scarred with bullet holes. Other buildings were designed as military enclaves.

Our guide, Tiberiu, told us stories about life under the regime of Nickolai Ceaucescue. While his people starved, he kept builders and workers busy around the clock building a huge palace -- the 2nd largest building in the world. No expense was spared -- the best materials that Romania could provide went into this senseless shrine.

There was only 1 and 1/2 hours of television each day. One hour of fabricated positive news about the government, and 1/2 hour of soldiers, workers, and women dressed up in folk costume pretending to sing, while songs praising Ceaucescue were dubbed over. People stood in long queues for hours, or maybe a whole day, just to buy a loaf of bread.

No contact with outsiders was allowed -- it could mean a 10 year prison sentence (a common punishment, meted out without a trial). You were expected to inform on your neighbors, co-workers, or even family & friends if they engaged in any suspicious or unapproved activities -- of which there were many.

Ceaucescue wanted to develop heavy industry, while Romania historically has been agricultural with some light industry. To create a large workforce, he banned all contraceptives and made abortions illegal. Large families were mandatory and enforced by heavy fines otherwise. The result: children orphaned by poor parents, living in the subway, and sniffing glue. (Take note: anti-abortionists). Women resorted to back alley abortions, and when botched, were forced to bleed to death in pain because doctors would face a severe prison sentence for treating them.

Despite all that suffering and strife, the Romanian people have demonstrated their perseverence and resilience. I was impressed by their will to survive.

Is there a lesson to be learned from their recent history? What happens when a government abandons its people for greed, and egotistical self-righteousness? Romanians can answer those questions for us with stories of their recent past,

Below: a building once notorious for police interrogations, now with a new look

My Trip Around Romania

I just returned from a 12-day tour of Romania with 12 other gay American men. I shouldn't tell you this because I should keep the secret.

The secret is: Romania is Europe's best-kept secret.

Over the next few posts I hope to tell you why. For now, let's just say that Romania is a surprisingly stunning and unspoiled country. Squash those images you have of guards and dogs and barbed wire. Banish all images of spooky, craggy castle ruins haunted by Dracula and his minions. The scariest part of my trip was facing the return flight home.

A trip to Romania can teach you a lot about life. As you pass through the countryside, you see small cottages that have wonderful handcarved wooden arched gates that are a distintive welcoming entryway. Big deal, right? Well, those gates speak of the love of the home, and hospitality to visitors. They aren't mass-produced in vinyl and purchased from the same Home Depot found in every town. There are no Home Depots. The gates were individually made by hand, and reflect the owner and his/her favorite images. There's a big difference in the way life happens in Romania: it's genuine, savors time, and yet is about humble, simple beauty.

Almost all of the houses had well-tended gardens with ripe red tomatoes, cucumbers, a patch of corn, huge colorful dahias, roses, and herbs. I often saw a horse in the yard, and maybe a cow or some sheep, a couple of pigs, and some chickens.

Yes, I saw television antennas and an occasional satellite dish, but more frequently I saw folks sitting on benches in front of their houses, visiting with neighbors and watching the world pass by. They weren't fixated by computers, cell phones, or televisions.

I thought technology was supposed to make our lives simple. I think we've been sold an image of the future that isn't less complicated, easier, or better. It's just faster - so fast that we often forget what the great things in life are, I have friends who'll walk past amazing flowers without seeing them, and who haven't touched growing vegetation with their hands in a very, very long time.

Romania made me think about the way my Polish grandmother lived. I was impressed by her full involvement with her work and her life. She was a genuine, loving soul. That's what I observed with the Romanians I watched, too. There wasn't the crazy chase we are in, trying to attain instant gratification, only to pass on to the next object of desire.

That was the foremost lesson Romania made me think about.

More about the trip and more photos in the next post.

Photo: Old section of Bucharest