New York City11/01/2009
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Bon, Tim, Rebecca, & Miguel (Head Belongs to Owen)
Same Group But Now a Forward Looking Owen
On Our Walk Just a Few Blocks From Miguel & Rebecca's Apt....
Miguel and Rebecca found us thru the web site and invited us to their NYC apt for a very short visit (our schedule being somewhat rushed). They celebrated their first wedding anniversary in Oct having married right after returning from their travels (we met them in Namibia) around the world. Their thinking was if they could handle long term travel together they could handle marriage...I think they were most wise in their plan!
She is a vet and Miguel, not finding a suitable job, returned to grad school in foreign relations.
An aside: Miguel was arrested and jailed this past summer for riding his bike on the sidewalk...this in a neighborhood where during a week w/in a block of their apt in Brooklyn there were 2 still unsolved shootings! He spent the night in jail out of communication since the phone call he was allowed could only be a local one...w/ cell phone and speed dial he did not know the actual local numbers and they wouldn't let him use his own cell phone. Thus, Rebecca knew nothing of his circumstances and was panic stricken calling hospitals and friends/relatives, one drove all the way down from Boston to help. The local precinct where she called to report him missing said they did not take missing persons reports for adults! This was the precinct which at the time of her call was, in fact, holding him in their jail! The bureaucratic nonsense only continued when in the morning when he was to appear before the judge his name was not even listed. Luckily, Rebecca encountered a lawyer in the courthouse who explained that to get on top of the list w/o waiting your turn (which could take even a couple days) you had to have a lawyer. So, $400 later, sure enuf Miguel appeared at the top of the list and the judge took one look at the charge and threw it out! What ever happened to a simple traffic ticket for this kind of violation? Some legal system we have...no wonder our country has one of the highest crime rates and the highest % of prisoners to population in the world!!! Who says this is not a police state!!
Miguel and Rebecca got the story into the media and the coverage enabled the drafting of a state law which allows long distance calls in jail...it is making its way thru the state of NY legislature as we speak. Right on Miguel and Rebecca! Another example of good people striving to bring us back from the brink of total melt down disaster - the wealthy with their grip on govt power and corporate irresponsibility notwithstanding.
As we drove out of NYC we saw on the river the arrival of the new battleship made from part of the Twin Towers (name escapes me) but I was too slow w/ camera so all I got was a shot of the Intrepid, ha!
