Pictures from our morning walk in which we feared for our lives

I could tell by the expression on his face at breakfast that Phil and his wife had read last night's post in my blog. "My wife is going to drive me to your workshop in New York next year and she will meet you in person. She is going to show you her driver's license," first words out of Phil's mouth to me.

Some people here are advising me to not accept that; anyone can fake a driver's license -- It must be a passport, they say. I think a driver's license will do.

Another odd issue here in this class...I think Ann has had it out for me from day one. I didn’t say anything about it yesterday after she knocked a heavy wrought iron lamp onto my head, leaving a huge lump. It looked too much like an accident to make a fuss over, and she was overtly apologetic. Yeah. Right. But this morning on our walk, she led me into a gypsy community, where we almost got kidnapped. It seemed the gypsies were all sleeping when we passed their trailers on the way to the open fields and up a VERY VERY LONG HIGH HILL, where I could barely catch my breath (I know people have a very hard time believing this, but I am older than Ann, and she knew full well that I could have had a heart attack), but then we had to pass through the gypsy trailer park on our way back, where we heard a very suspicious whistle, and then an engine starting, and then a vehicle driving awfully close to us. Ann whispered, “When I say run, run.” I looked to my right: inpenetrably thick woods. To my left: inpenetrably thick woods. Our only option was to continue in the direction we were walking and try to outrun the truck, one of those trucks into which we could easily be tossed and never seen again. Fortunately the gypsy must have had second thoughts because he drove right past us, as if we didn’t know what he was up to, and stopped at another gypsy trailer park. We escaped with our lives, no thanks to Ann.