FC3InspirationalSpeaker

May 14, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 27: Casablanca Running in a new place is always scary. Today I ran on a new continent. You always go out after sunrise and try to find large streets. When I left the apartment I saw very few runners until I got close to the ocean. Then there were tons. A lot of good runners, but also plenty off plodders like me. Nice area too. Most of Casablanca is a sh*thole, but this part isn’t. We did Rick’s Cafe for lunch today. It’s really the only reason we came to Casablanca. I was in heaven, even though the champagne cocktail was $18. I know it has nothing to do with the movie, and is a total tourist trap, but Casablanca is my favorite movie ever. I saw it with Roz on several of our anniversaries. I saw it under the stars in the middle of the Atklantic Ocean and I saw it in 35mm at the Coral Gables Cinema with Paul Henreid’s granddaughter. I couldn’t come to Morocco without stopping in Casablanca to have a champagne cocktail at Rick’s. It comes at a price though. The men here are very creepy. They leer at Roz. And trust me, she isn’t dressing provocatively. The I was jogging today a young lady paused her run because she had a stitch. She was bent over in pain from it. There was a man in some sort of religious gown grasping a string of beads. He saw her situation and started walking over to her, but obviously not to help. She saw him coming and started running again, even though she was still in pain. The buses won’t stop for us if there are no locals at the bus stop with us. What’s up with that? Can’t even figure out why…tourists?…black woman?…white man?…maybe something we haven’t thought of. Oh well. Take the bad with the good. Bigots won’t spoil our trip. I’m having trouble finding a basic French book. Today I found two vocabulary books for little kids to at least get started. It is coming back slowly but surely. jusqu'à demain May 15, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 28: Casablanca We went to the Hassan II mosque today. It is beautiful. It is the third largest mosque in the world, behind Mecca and Medina. During Ramadan, it accommodates 105,000 worshippers at a time. 25,000 inside and 80,000 outside each day. The architect was French. They used a lot of cedar and titanium in the construction because of the salt air. The details are intricate, like the Alhambra. Going through it reminded me of touring the magnificent churches in Rome and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Great beauty built on the backs of a lot of poor people by a few wealthy people. Pastor Joe at Calvary Chapel in Philly (where they passed around takeout chicken buckets for the offering) used to say he was worried that people would start saying you have to use chicken buckets to worship God correctly. So many people follow the trappings. In the midst of all the beauty today I thought, “Wow! If men can make something this beautiful, then God’s Temple must be breathtaking. And since my body is God’s Temple, than his work in me is way more beautiful than any house of worship.” And mine was built on the back of the creator of the universe and only cost one life…mine. jusqu'à demain May 16, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 29: Monday in Casablanca We have not slept well since arriving here because we have neighbors who stay up all night making noise. It’s hard to tell if they are partying or fighting. They play music and scream. There is a lot of street noise, but that is easy to ignore. Hopefully these neighbors are an outlier and we can sleep better when we move on to Marrakesh. We went to Habbous today. It is a recreation of a Medina. The actual ancient Medina here is pretty crappy. This is much better. We did some tourist shopping. I still haven’t found a good French book. The search continues. We ate at a little restaurant called Zayna. Food was excellent and they had two guys playing traditional instruments and singing. We grabbed YOLO Burgers for dinner. Mine was like a flavor bomb. Boom! Tomorrow we do a little more sightseeing and then come home to prepare our move to the desert. jusqu'à demain May 17, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 30: Tuesday; Casablanca We visited the Museum of Moroccan Judaism today. Out of the way, but a must see for people who understand the importance of an Arab country tolerant enough to have a Jewish museum. It housed artifacts and pictures. There was no guide. Trust me you don’t need one. I have been falling in love with olives since we first started getting off the boat for excursions. My favorite in Spain was a jumbo, pitted green olive with some kind of deliciousness infused into it, that we had at the brewpub in Gracia, Barcelona. Here my favorite is a very very ripe black olive that they serve with everything. You spear them with a toothpick so you don’t stain your fingers. I’ve watched the movie Casablanca so many times over my lifetime. I figured I better watch it here. I always notice something new. Last night I noticed this. When Victor Lazlo arrives at the prefect’s office for his meeting, Captain Renault asks him how he slept. Laszlo says, “I slept very well.” Renault says, “That’s strange; nobody's supposed to sleep well in Casablanca.” Maybe Captain Renault shared our neighbors! They were actually quiet last night and we slept very well. Must have been their night off from hell-raising. We are spending this evening making final preparations for Marrakech, which is the real destination of this trip. Quite some time ago Roz said, “For my ** birthday (my mom didn’t raise no fools) I want to go to Marrakech.” She was going to take an art class with a group, but COVID-19 knocked that out. So we figured out a way to make it happen on our own. We have so many cool things planned over the next week. Kids, sorry we will be spending some of your inheritance. Get over it. It wouldn’t be much anyway. jusqu'à demain

May 13, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 26: Casablanca We said goodbye to the car this morning and boarded a ferry for Morocco. Since the car was parked a lot more than we drove it, as well as it not being much fun to drive in cities, we are probably going to stick to buses and trains. I wasn’t going to drive here anyway, but I won’t when we get back to Europe. We didn’t need the COVID-19 test to come here after all. No one asked for it or our vaccine cards. It’s a small sample based on where we’ve been the last few weeks, but the world is open. The biggest fear we have is that we won’t be able to get back into the US, because we are entering in NYC. The ferry ride was fun. We sailed from Algeciras to Tangier. We were in the same area as a couple weeks ago on the cruise. And we sailed past where we stayed last night. From Tangier we caught a train to Casablanca. Traffic here is crazy. Glad I’m not driving. In late 2001 and early 2002 I spent six months studying French for our honeymoon. I studied hard, but don’t hav a knack for languages, so I only could talk about basic things. Then I did the same in 2006 fort Roz’s birthday (July 14) trip to Paris. I became conversant. Then we moved to Miami in 2006 and I cheated on French with Spanish, so French left me. We are here enough that I am going to try and win her back. mañana

THE STORY OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. If this story blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

Exodus 14 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.” Psalm 121 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 122 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

First time since we've been here. Quire spectacular.

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m reading through the entire Bible for my grandchildren. If these readings bless you, please feel free to watch them and share them with others who may also be blessed. I am reading from The NET Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright 1996 to 2009, Version 9r 0701, by BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, L.L.C. The NET Bible is the Pinnacle of Biblical scholarship. The translation was made by a large team of scholars and is continuously BETA tested as new evidence becomes available. Enjoy!

HE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy

5/7/22 Captain’s log: stardate 20: Granada, Spain I walked past a flamenco venue today and then past a Syrian restaurant that was playing music that sounded like the call to prayer. I never realized how how similar they sound. I’m sure the Moors had a large influence on Spanish music. Probably where they got the Phrygian scale. Today was a logistics day. We set out in search of a better backpack. See are getting rid of Roz’s, she’s wearing mine and I’m rocking a new, larger one. We need to pare down and size up so the luggage situation is manageable by the time we get on the ferry to Morocco. Tomorrow we get back into tourist mode. Alhambra!!! Bucket list destination. Frank 5/8/22 Captain’s log: stardate 21: Granada, Spain This is the first stop that was planned as a vision quest, but plans can be fickle. When I went to Israel in 2005 I was on a quest to hear God. I thought I would hear him in the middle of the sea of galilee. I didn’t. I heard a preacher do a Bible study. Same thing in Cana and the probable site of the sermon on the mount. In the Galilee region we stayed at a Kibbutz, but it was just like a hotel. A fellow traveller and I payed our guitars and sang in the lobby. When we finished, I started back to my room. There was a little boy, maybe three, who was trying to catch up with his dad. He yelled, “Abba! Abba! Abba!” And God’s still soft voice said, “Be like that little boy.” Well today I had one. Was sitting in a common area at Alhambra looking up at towers with birds flying all over. I wondered how one picture could capture this magnificent place. Then later I saw a painting in the Modern Art Museum by Ismael de la Serna. It has the shapes of Alhambra, but only the color of the brick towers. There are birds flying across the face. Wow! He nailed it and I somehow understand what he was thinking. We are both losing weight. Roz has dietary challenges. I just don’t feel like having heavy meals. Plus we are both walking a lot. A real lot. This afternoon I did a video for the grandsons on life being counterintuitive. Shooting from the hip. No script. I must really be a beer guy. Roz and I are both introverts. And we are also kind of misanthropic. Nothing personal; it isn’t you, it’s everybody. Anyway, we don’t make a lot of friends on the road. On this quest so far there has only been Jeff the brewmaster in Barcelona and Roberto, the owner of the cafe on the corner- that has tea for Roz and craft beer for me. Coincidence? I don’t think so… mañana! 5/10/22 Captain’s log: stardate 23: Granada, Spain I did a second run on the Camino Mozarbe route this morning. This one started at the Catedral de Granada and went through city streets. I made it to Maracena. The jogging and hiking are making me a much better runner. I was pushing through most of the hills. Hope I can keep it up for the rest of the trip. Then Roz and I spent the afternoon dealing with buses, well one in particular, trying to get to an art museum. We had the same driver both times we tried to find it and he told us to get off at the wrong stop each time. He wasn’t very nice. He gave others bad advice too. This guy’s customer service was so bad that if he worked at the IRS he would have been put on a letter and fired after five or six years; yeah that terrible… We never found the museum. Our health entry forms for Africa are printed out and ready to sign. Now we need to get negative COVID-19 tests in Malaga tomorrow or Algeciras on Thursday. They are easy to get here in Granada, but it can’t be more than 48 hours old when we board the ferry. mañana 5/11/22 Captain’s log: stardate 24: Malaga, Spain I jogged up towards Alhambra this morning to say goodbye. And I do mean up. My legs are starting to look like they belong to a mountain goat. One last cafe con leech listening to jazz at Elvira 81, then we started out for Malaga. Driving id getting to be a drag. Closest parking to our Air BnB is a 15 minute walk. The guy said there is free street parking nearby. We searched for an hour with no luck. We are rethinking transportation. Maybe no more car rentals. . We planned on buses and trains in Morocco and England anyway. I would be happy not driving here again. We are scheduled for COVID-19 tests at 7:30 tomorrow morning. If we need expedited results (we see what that means) it will be more than $200 for us. What a racket. We explored a little this evening, but this is a layover. We were here as a stop on a cruise several years ago. Very nice place, but we have a goal in mind…I plan on having a champagne cocktail with the ghost of Richard Blain on Friday night. I hope they don’t round up the usual suspects, or I may wind up in jail. mañana None until we get to Casablanca

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m reading through the entire Bible for my grandchildren. If these readings bless you, please feel free to watch them and share them with others who may also be blessed. I am reading from The NET Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright 1996 to 2009, Version 9r 0701, by BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, L.L.C. The NET Bible is the Pinnacle of Biblical scholarship. The translation was made by a large team of scholars and is continuously BETA tested as new evidence becomes available. Enjoy!

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

5/2/22 Captain’s log: Startdate15: Barcelona The first leg of getting to where we are going was finished this morning and the second leg started this afternoon. We are in Barcelona again. We don’t mind. We both love it here. Hopefully we can see Parc Guell this time. The picture is of the building our Air BnB is in. We are in the Gracia Barrio, a place we never visited before. There are so many cafes and tapas joints here. Pretty sweet! Thursday we pick up our car and head south. The first “destination” of our trip is Alhambra, a bucket list item for me. But for now we rest and recharge. Peace out! 5/4/22 Captain’s log: stardate 17: Barcelona When you do a one or two week trip, you leave with a suitcase of clean clothes and return with one of dirty clothes. This is not a one or two week trip. We left with a few suitcases of clean clothes and need to maintain that for a few months. Yesterday and today we did some wash. I got a haircut. One hour for a cut and beard trim, replete with hot towels. They put a long sleeve, full length smock on you. The chair is like a dentist chair. You are upright for the haircut part and leaned all the way back for the beard. Jose was amazing. Even Roz was happy with his work. I’ve been getting ky runs in. I missed one day of not running or actively walking on the boat. Ever since getting here, I’ve set out each morning for a famous site here. I went to Sagrada Familia today. Tomorrow I set out for the Arc de Triomf. I’ve also been doing the videos for my grandsons. I often overplay trips. This one I think I got a good mixture of touring and leaving a legacy. We walked to Parc Guell today. It was all uphill going there. Roz did great. We logged almost five miles. A funny thing happened while we were there. Roz was resting while I roamed around. I saw two lines of people going into an opening in the side of the mountain. They were long so I figured it must be spectacular. IIt looked like a cave. found Roz and told her I was going to check it out. I went back and got into the shorter line. I could see there was a sign at the entrance, but my eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be. The line went very slowly. Roz came up and said she would take my backpack and wait for me on a bench. As we slowly moved to the entrance, I noticed the other line was moving quicker than mine. I thought, “That’s funny. Almost like the difference between the lines to a mens room and a ladies room. Then I noticed that everyone in the other line was a man, and I was the only man in mine. Well, in case you are wondering, Gaudi did not make a spectacular cave in Parc Guell. A blew years ago, someone would have said, ”Old man you need to get your ass out of the ladies room line,” but today they probably thought I identified as a woman. Well, let me tell you this. The one time a man who identifies as a woman will re-identify as a man is when he has to pee in a public place! Roz will never let me live this down…20 or 30 minutes in line to see ‘the cave.” We have had some great food, some good food, and some non-spectacular food since arriving here. The best by far was Pepita’s, so we decided to have tapas there for our last night. We got there and our seat was next to the door. It was cold, cigarette smoke was wafting in, and no one took our order after 15 minutes - so we wafted out of there and discovered a microbrewery a half block away. What an amazing place. Tapas style bar food and a great staff. The beers are so good. They even have one with mushrooms in it. Aquarids meteor shower happening tonight, but it is overcast and rainy. We are off to Valencia in the morning. Film at 11… 5/5/22 Captain’s log: stardate 18: Valencia, Spain Good bye Barcelona. We picked up our rental car and headed to Valencia. Barcelona is a traffic nightmare, but we were soon on the highway heading south along the East Coast. Roz booked us into a student dorm room at the local university. It is awesome! The perfect Air BnB. We wandered out for a little bit to stretch our legs. There must be a hundred cafes and restaurants within a few blocks. All filled with students drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. This is just a layover for us. We are off early in the morning for Granada, our first destination. Crazy huh? 19 days to get to the first place. Hang in there. It will get crazier. Trust me.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. If this story blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m reading through the entire Bible for my grandchildren. If these readings bless you, please feel free to watch them and share them with others who may also be blessed. I am reading from The NET Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright 1996 to 2009, Version 9r 0701, by BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, L.L.C. The NET Bible is the Pinnacle of Biblical scholarship. The translation was made by a large team of scholars and is continuously BETA tested as new evidence becomes available. Enjoy!

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

STORY-TIME WITH GRAND-POP Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording these classic fables, tales, myths, folklore and other wisdom stories for my grandchildren. If they have blessed you, please feel free to play them for your little ones and share them with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!

4/28/22 Captain’s Log Star date 11 - The Straits of Magellan

4/29/22 Captain’s Log Star date 12. No entries today.

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE Hi, I’m Frank Clark and I’m recording stories from my life in my words for my grandchildren, because you never know how much time you have left. This one has music. If this song blessed you, please feel free to share it with others who may also be blessed. Enjoy!