Greetings from New York ... after lugging the "Backpack from Hell" to the airport for a red-eye flight, I made it, weary and bleary-eyed, to JFK Airport ... even managed to few brief moments of sleep (unheard of for me). L (my travel partner to Iraq) picked me up and drove me into the city (I can attest to the fact that she is a real New York driver).

We visited Maryhouse, a Catholic Worker house (which strangly enough is just down the road from a Hell's Angel's Club ... hmmmm). C, who I had met last year in Iraq and who spent much of the last year (during the War & Occupation) living in Iraq, lives at Maryhouse when she's in the States. I had hoped that she would be returning soon to Iraq, since her connections there would be invaluable, but she's not yet ready to return. She was preparing the lunch for the day for everyone who was due to stop by the house and so we had very little time to talk. I'll be returning on Monday to meet with her on my own.

Since then I've spent the last day or so at L's home about 100 miles north of the city. She has a lovely home surrounded in snow and light (and filled with amazing food!) ... a perfect jumping off point for the next leg of our journey!