Conservation of an old prayerbook

Cindy Arnson asked me to repair a siddur (prayerbook) that belonged to her grandfather, Jacob Fishman (zt"l). A little over 100 years old, and probably a bar mitzvah gift to him, this siddur was once a beautiful book. It had a carved ivory front cover with inlaid brass decorations, and a plain ivory spine and back. The covers were rimmed with brass, and there was a brass clasp. It was now in pieces. Of most concern, it's covers and spine had broken off. The paper of the book body had become brittle and discolored, and a few were torn. One signature (sewn section of the book) had broken out. What to do??

The book could not be fully restored. The paper had deteriorated badly and that is a process that can't be reversed. The binding itself was still tolerably good, and the loose signature could easily be tipped in (glued back in place). The boards of the covers were also in bad condition, but to remove the ivory, inlaid brass, and brass rims would be a long, difficult process that could very well end badly. Especially problematical would be re-attaching the brass rims. At least one corner would have to be opened and then re-soldered after being re-fitted to the new board. Given that the book had no meaningful public value ($100; maybe $200), a 30-60 hour restoration at standard restoration rates would involve a cost of some number of thousands of dollars.  Like I said, what to do?

One reasonable answer would be to tread softly, and do 4 fairly simple things: document the book's condition before restoration, re-attach the covers and spine, tip in the loose signature, and then document the book's condition again. That's what I did.

I carefully photographed the book when it came into my shop, and I photographed the stages of restoration. I used those photos, along with descriptive and explanatory text, to make two pdf booklets, a before and after. Here are a few photos from those booklets:

Here's the book as it came into my shop, in a plexiglass box (a good way to store it).

The 4 pieces of the book, from top left: book body, ivory spine, ivory back cover, brass and ivory front cover. The brass rim and clasp are easy to see.

The back of the spine, with rotten paper and the remains of the old, original cloth cover (purple-ish).

Detail of front cover, showing brass rim pulled away from board.

Another view of the brass rim and board.

The clasp on the back cover.

The first step in restoration: clean the spine of old paper, glue, cloth, crud.

Here you can see the cloth flange (left side of book) attached to the spine, that will be used to re-attach the covers. In the center is a cloth tube to be attached to the spine so the book can flex when it opens. Waxed paper extending from the top and bottom of the tube assure that glue won't fuze the front of the tube to its back (thus disabling its tube function).

Attaching the tube to the spine using PVA glue. The blue material is latex, wrapped tightly around the book to assure steady pressure to all parts of the tube, given that the spine has an uneven surface. The bars are weights made of lead poured into square aluminum tubes (nice square edges, safer to work with, and less maleable than lead alone). Pencil gives a sense of size.

The book, completed.

Clasp works again.

A scene from The Atternen Juez Talen

The following excerpt comes from work in progress on my narrative poem The Atternen Juez Talen (The Tale of the Eternal Jew). The year is 1096 CE, and Sodya, the Eternal Jew has been invited to teach history at Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki's (Rashi's) yeshiva (school). Sodya is rather bemused by this, and enters into a little revery.

The excerpt here is presented first in MetaEnglish (Stevespell), and then in Old English (standard English). If you have trouble reading the MetaEnglish, scroll down and read the standard English version first. You'll find the MetaEnglish isn't really all that hard or strange, after all. 

Your feedback is always valued.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me, Sodya, the Atternen Ju,
Shumaken, wonderren, jerneemen, kouk,
Messijjer, onvoy, advizen too.
Bekum a yeshever an teechennes saje.
In a werl a chaenjleengz, Iem a chaenjennes man.

Evvaddens! Thats wut my iyz wer seen.
Tern it an tern it intu histerree.
Yet hu iz the jujjenz az truwen the fals?
 
[deleted stanzas]

We maken histerreez az thay maken us
An remake histerreez az the remake uv us.
An weer kot like Zeno in iz infinnit redres
An blien az Ballom iz seet on iz as.

Now Iem a-poez tu teech a histerreez*.
                    * eka d’omray: memmerreez
So my startenz the teech with a fames kumpare*,
                     * eka d’omray: pare
‘It’s the fers a tiemz an the wersen tiemz.’
A talen tu(2) sitteez, Jerrusem an Rom.

Evverwun knowenz at Jerrusallem
Iz the senter the werl an the Throne a the Lor,
That Rom, them seezerz, ar enveyus uv.
So the rommen paeps, in thaer kompenstate,
Aklaem thay senterren the rejen* uv erth.
                     * eka d’omray: rejent

An evverwun knowenz the lammentes faets
Wen the rammen barbareyenz laed tu waes
The hevvennee wawlz uv the Throne the Lor:
Exxile for God an Ju unnallike.

So wen Iem a heer az Rammules iz seejd
For a yeerz, an fammen iz eeten them up
An Badwelah fienlee torz it down,
Jes like Jerrusallem, tor tu the grown,
My theenks* with a tinj uv bitten avvenj,
                     * eka d’omray: thaenks
    “Them Kristyenz wil sufferz a simmaller fade
    “Az us, wokkenz theze rokkee roedz,
    “A wunder az tiem run bakkerdz now,
    “Awway frum Adenz az awway frum the Lor.”

Waal, a duzzen seemz tu wok that wayz.
Wich tot me wel an soon ennuf,
Better tu louk in a merer yerselz
Than tern a merer on histerreez.
Ar simmatreez aent so simpel az that.

~~~~~~~~~

Oel Eenglish verzhen

Me, Saadia, the Eternal Jew,
Shoemaker, wanderer, journeyman, cook,
Messenger, envoy, adviser too.
Become a yeshiva’s teacher and sage.
In a world of changelings, I’m a man of changes.

Evidence! That’s what my eyes have seen.
Turn it and turn it into history.
Yet who is the judge of true and false?
 
[deleted stanzas]

We make history as it makes us
And remake history as the remake of us.
And we’re caught like Zeno in his infinite regress
And blind as Balaam seated on his ass.

Now I’m supposed to teach our history*.
                     * others say: memories
So I start my teaching with a famous comparison*,
                     * others say: pair
‘It’s the first of times and the worst of times.’
A tale of two cities, Jerusalem and Rome.

Everyone knows that Jerusalem
Is the center of the world and the Throne of the Lord,
That Rome’s caesars are envious of.
So the Roman popes, to compensate,
Acclaim they are at the center of the region* of earth.
                     * others say: regent

And everyone knows the lamentable fate
When the Roman barbarians laid to waste
The heavenly walls of the Throne of the Lord:
Exile for God and Jew alike.

So when I heard that Rome was under siege
For a year, and famine was eating them up
And Baduila finally had torn it down,
Just like Jerusalem, torn to the ground,
I thought* with a tinge of bitter vengeance,
                     * others say: my thanks
    “The Christians will suffer a similar fate
    “As us, walking these rocky roads,
    “Wondering why time runs backwards now,
    “Away from Eden and away from the Lord.”

Well, it didn’t seem to work that way.
Which taught me well and soon enough,
Better to look in a mirror yourself
Than turn a mirror on history.
Our symmetries aren’t so simple as that.

More images for Song ov Elmallah

For the next image in Bouk 3 Dumuzee, the shepherd/king, has fled from invaders who want to plunder his treasure. They begin bartering with his chief servant. These are the verses for which the image is being created:

Then up thay roze tu hiz hows and tu hiz serven
And with the cheef ov hiz men thay barterd in sienz:
    “We wil giv yu a wel in its wotter....”
    He ternd awway.
    “We wil giv yu a kow in its burden....”
    He ternd awway.
    “And we wil giv yu a feeld in its grane....”

Then the cheef serven, he pointed with hiz hand.
With the rite hand, the hand with 5 ringz,
He pointed tu the eest.
With the left hand, the hand ov 4 ringz,
He pointed tu the west.
With wun, he pointed tu the ruwenz,
    The abandond sittee.
With the uther he pointed tu the dwelling
    Ware the serven huddeld.
Fienlee he pointed tu the gulleez
    In the fouthilz north.
Then the jakkel hedded wunz
Tor him appart and devowerd him.
~~~~~~~~~
 
In the image, we see the chief servant (a Sumerian carving of Enki) pointing, while he is surrounded by dogs (taken from a Nineven wall carving). Here are 2 sets of the dogs, 2 versions of each:

Image for Song ov Elmallah, complete

The follow-up to my post of Nov, 25, 2014, http://shivvetee.blogspot.com/2014/11/image-for-song-ov-elmallahz-kumming.html .
Well, of course, I don't think of any of my work as ever really complete or finished, but here's the state of the art during my current state of mind:

Giv us Dumuzee!

Image for Song ov Elmallahz Kumming, Bouk 3

I'm creating the images for the third ebook in the Song ov Elmallah series. The 2 alternative (but still incomplete) images below are meant to accompany the following verses:

Then Dumuzee fled tu the dichez ov Arrollee
Tu the baren kuntree ware the winter fludz gowj,
Az the liyon-hedded areyanz dessended on thaer rafts.
Frum the rivver thay roze tu hiz hows and hiz wife,
Tu hiz sister-wife hu waz hottee and prowd.
In thaer jawz thay touk her [Innonna]
And tosst thaer hedz,
Then dragd her thru the street
And roerd:
     “Giv us Dumuzee!”
     “Giv us the wun hu haz 1 lofe,
     “Hu haz 2 loevz, giv us him!”

These 2 images differ only in the shading of Innonna's face. I'm wondering which you prefer. Email me, or use the comment function at the bottom of this post. Thanx.

Some recent building projects, 2

After Sukkot we decided to renovate the living room. We guessed that it was once a stand-alone garage. I suppose it was a nice enough room on the inside. The gas fireplace made it a great place to write on cold winter days. But from outside, the flat roof was ugly, and it had a couple of places where water pooled. That's nothing but trouble. 

Exterior view of living room entrance. Note the planter with 3 boxwoods, and the lovely metal door. Feh!

The flat roof and sloppy gutter.

So I sketched out a design that would have minimal impact. Note in the photoshopped picture below how the peak of the sloped roof just comes up to the bedroom window, which we didn't want to replace.

Design rough-out. Ultimately, I dispensed with the hipped roof, as you'll see.

 

I hired Josue Benitez to remove the old roof and frame out the new one. His 2 guys made short work of it!

Out with the old! Oh oh. Rain forecast for the next day. And rain it did, but tarps saved the day.

The new roof framed in, and the drywall nearly complete.

New front door, another treasure from Community Forklift.

 

Now it's time for me to get to work. First ugly job: 2 layers of 2" thick R-Max, cut precisely, to fit super tight between the rafters. Insulation value: about R30-34, with no deterioration over time (unlike fiberglass).

Insulation done. It was a back-breaker.

Now, on to the ceiling paneling. I found a guy selling 10' lengths of t&g beaded poplar. Perfect! The room is 9'6" wide. 52 boards for $240. I finished the poplar with Flood CWF, cedar tone.

The finished ceiling. Pictures and curtains hung, & light fixture installed.

New entrance to a new living room, with Zoey inside.

Some recent building projects, 1

Been busy for the last 6 months with house renovations. There was the shed project in early summer, that looked like this:

The old plastic shed behind the maple, dark and cramped.

Tore that plastic thang down, and framed out a level floor....

Framed out the walls. Aaah, the weather was sooo nice.

Stuck a roof on it -- clear polycarb. Let the sunshine pour down!

Sheathed it, popped on a $45 recycled door, and wrapped it in my favorite stuff, Tyvek.

Found some used cedar siding and $20 windows at Community Forklift (same place I got the door).

New shed, for about the same price as a pre-fab piece-a-junk. And a nice place to work, it is.

Well, Memphis go and Memphis come back.... Fall ushers in the Days of Awe, and then Sukkot. Decided to build my first sukkah since moving to DC. About time, eh? I started off by cutting down about 30 saplings that a neighbor was glad to get rid of. Hmmm, how to make this thang stand up? Well, why not start like this -- one 2x4 with a couple of holes drilled in it:

I didn't plan to frame the door with it, but I needed to stand it up to figure out how to proceed.

No nails required. I drilled out a hole in the post, stuck a cutoff branch in it, and leveled the 2x4 that way.

Oh right! I forgot. Sundry simple tools and materials, especially a drill, razor, and jute.

Instead of nails or screws, jute does a nice job of binding posts...

or binding posts and "beams".

Cut to the chase. Here's the finished sukkah. A great place to hang out, eat a meal, or chat with ushpizin.

Side view. It's very stable and still happily standing, having stood up to a couple of good storms. Only storm that will bring it down is Nancy. "Time to take that thang down, boy!" "Ah shoot, Nan. Ah like it."

Yoem Kepor, 5775

Editing The Pardaes Dokkument, I re-discovered this poem:

Yoem Kepor

Thay* wok arrownd a Greek ruwenz,              * the 4 who ascended
Marbel kollumz spred in dissarray
That trase the rokkee ej ov a koest,
The opellessen serf bersts intu spray.

The sajez in Pardaes now tern inward
And enter a groev in its fraegren breez.
Heer thay begin the attonel praerz,
Opellessen versez swerl ammung the treez.

    “Hu by fiyer and hu by wotter?
    “Hu with rezen and hu by trezen?
    “Awl ov us wil depart aer long.
    “Hu bak intu the worp ov addom?
    “Hu for toyel; hu despoyeld?
    “Hu with the reeper and hu with song?”


I decided to send the poem out as a New Year's greeting this year, but naturally, I felt it needed some tweaking. This is the result. I'm not sure which version I like more:

Yoem Kepor

Thay wok arrownd Kassarreyahz* ruwenz,           * Caesarea
Marbel kollumz spred in dissarray
That trase the rokkee ej ov a koest.
    The opellessen serf bersts intu spray.
    A groen in the roer. Iz it sezerz goest?

The sajez in Pardaes then tern inward
An enter a groev in its fraegren breez.
Now thay kan heer the attonel praer.
    Opellessen versez swerrel ammung the treez.
    The Lor iz the seengen. Hu iz prepaerd?

    "Hu by fiyer, smoken flame.
    "Hu by fiyer, greef an blame.
    "Hu will seenk in addomz foeldz?
    “Hu will klime the rungz ov soel?
    "Sum will take but wun short step.
    "Sum, the fawl seemz infinnit.

    “Hu by fiyer, smoken flame?
     “Hu by wotter, drownd in chaenj.
    “Hu will drown an hu will bern
    “An hu wil pray an make a tern?
    “An hu woud yet remaen the same,
    “An hu wil not remaen the same?

    "Awl ov yu wil depart aer long.
    "Hu with rezen an hu by trezen?
    "Hu with reeper, hu with song?"

Opellessen versez swerl in the aer.
The wayz ov teshuvah*, us impaerd.             * turning, repentance

Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, 1

I am composing an essay that I believe will shed more light on the direct relationship between hatred of Israel and historical Jew-hatred. Here is the introduction:

In this essay I will present political, social, and psychological evidence to show that hatred of Israel in it’s many forms, here termed anti-Zionism, is a modern form of historical Jew-hatred, anti-Semitism. Israel is the most obvious image and symbol of Judaism in modern times. Therefore it is no surprise that it is now the foremost target of historic anti-Semitism.

The topic of this essay has been addressed by many others, with some notable articles recently written by Alan Dershowitz, Benjamin Weinthal, Brendan O’Neill, the ADL, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Wikipedia and others (see links at the end of this section). However, with the exception of the Wikipedia article and some examples by O’Neill, these articles focus narrowly on anti-Israel political events and hate-speech, disregarding a wide range of double standards, distortions, and lies. Moreover, virtually no one has looked into the psychological evidence that reveals the active agencies of unconscious hatreds, and that exposes the resistance to honest self-critique when people breach moral standards. I will present some revealing research in this area, and outline a few templates of how people express their often unconscious hatreds and self-hatreds.

The most common critique of the ‘anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism’ equation is that it is simply an attempt to stifle genuine criticism of Israel or to vilify pro-Palestinian sympathies. I believe this is a crude and often mendacious attempt by people to hide their own anti-Semitism, and to avoid self-critique. Israel is not above criticism any more than any other country. Indeed, criticism is a necessary response to every nation’s policies and initiatives.  But criticism of Israel is a different thing than anti-Zionism, the hatred of Israel and the denial of Israel’s right to exist. I will spend a fair amount of time in this essay exposing the distinction between reasonable criticism of Israel and criticism that is shaped by lies, distortions, and double standards, which are the tools of hatred.

Hiding behind doctrine and ideology, including Christianity, Islam, nationalism, communism, and Marxism, Jew-hatred has been and continues to be the foundation of much of what passes as “honest” criticism of Jews and Israel. Now the Gaza war during the summer of 2014 has unleashed a huge surge of anti-Semitic rage that cannot be ignored or dismissed any longer. What follows are seven distinct categories of hypocrisies and double standards that are used to frame those discussions of Israel that are really intended to be lynchings of Israel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easily accessible articles that expose important components of the 'anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism' equation:

3 Dershowitz articles:
Is singling out Israel for boycotts anti-Semitic?
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Is-singling-out-Israel-for-boycotts-anti-Semitic-335596
Europe's Alarming Push to Isolate Israel
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Alan-Dershowitz-Nazis-Europe-Israel/2014/03/11/id/558976/
The occupation of Gaza canard
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/The-occupation-of-Gaza-canard-369370

Weinthal
Why Anti-Zionism Is Modern Anti-Semitism
http://www.nationalreview.com/node/384039/print

O’Neill
Is the Left anti-Semitic? Sadly, it is heading that way
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100281417/is-the-left-anti-semitic-sadly-it-is-heading-that-way/

Wikipedia:
New antisemitism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_antisemitism

The Anti-Defamation League:
http://www.adl.org/anti-semitism/
http://www.adl.org/sp/israel-under-attack/protest-video.html

The Simon Wiesenthal Center website, news and events section:
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4441467#.U-OSamPLd8E
email (and links to articles) with subject: Calls from Berlin to annihilate Jews; "Dirty Jews from the sewers to be killed"; 100 Spanish celebrities accuse Israel of genocide

JNS:
While global anti-Semitism surges, don’t forget U.S. campuses
http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/7/28/while-global-anti-semitism-surges-dont-forget-us-campuses#.U-OKP2PLd8E=

Shaddiy Werlz

This poem is part of a series, Augeries of a World of Kindness, in the book The Pardaes Dokkumen. The book is still in the editing phase; this poem has recently attained the status of “fair copy”, that is, ready for the public. The Pardaes Dokkumen is a book of varied poems, individual and in series, expanding on a famous but little understood midrash (story, exploration) from the Talmud, Haggigah 14b, in which 4 rabbis (Akeva, ben Zoma, ben Azzai, and Avuya) ascend to the upper worlds, Pardes (pronounced Pardaes) altho even that statement is an interpretation. These poems, these Pardaes Dokkumen, are arranged in a modified Talmudic format. The text of Talmud is divided into two parts, a terse opening statement, a Mishnah (what is received), and an expanded dialog about the Mishnah, the Gemarrah (completions). These Pardaes Dokkumen are arranged similarly, but Zoharically, with an opening poem, a Kabbalah (tradition, what is accepted), and an expanded series of interpretations, the Hiddurim (beautifications, enhancements).

This poem, Shaddiy Werlz, is told from the point of view of ben Zoma (one of the 4 rabbis mentioned above). Two further clarifications: First “Shaddiy” is a word superimposing two primary idea/images: most obviously “shadow” coupled with Shaddiy, a Biblical name of God, usually in the form “El Shaddai”, which has been interpreted variously, most commonly as “God of Might”, altho I am particularly partial to the interpretation “God the Nurturer”. Second, the Hebrew word, transliterated as “Henanee”, appears numerous times in the poem. It is usually translated as “Here Am I”, and in the Bible is most commonly used as a positive response when one is called upon by the Upper Worlds, or as a statement of readiness, awaiting the Upper Worlds to act thru the caller.

Awgerreez ov a Werld a Kiendness
Shaddiy Werlz
I dizzolv, I dizzolv. Henanee.
Awl ov me, I am washt awway. Henanee.
Frum brit melah* to kaddesh ha-tome**,
                        * circumcision; ** prayer for the dead
I am wash awway, I dizzolv. Henanee.

Arrownd my Seel a gallexxee ov Addom.
Dizzolven, dizzolven. Henanee.
And arrownd that gallaxxee ov Addom, voidness;
Washen and washt awway. Henanee.

Frayd and dekayd; I kawl. Henanee.
At the ej ov me at the ej ov Yu.
Fraktel, and refraktel. Kawlz ov Henanee.
Frum the ej ov me in the hart ov Yu.

But, wut this fase, arrizzen frum my ejjez?
Helix in my helisseez. Henanee.
Hu ar yu, shaddiy man?
Yur Henanee in my Henanee.

    "Zoma, it is I, yur Master,
    "El Shaddiy, ov yur shaddiy werldz.
    "Wut yu see iz wut I seed,
    "Yur werld within a mennee werldz.
    "Neer, so neer. Heer it sing.
    "Verb, reverb; my werd in yu.
    "Its skaelz: in jeyolojjek shaeps,
    "Its mellodeez: oesheyannek staets.
    "Now lissen klose; lern the trope.
    "Tern the key. My werld iz open."

Yes, I see annuther werld;
Parallel pepel in parallel lievz.
Heer a man kry; thare a man kriez.
Here he iz ignord. Thare... he iz not.

Du I see korrekt, or oenlee wut I expekt?

Heer I see a wouman despaerz.
The same thare; the same despaer.
Heer? Kiend werdz but stil despaer.
Thare? The werdz that kool, repaer.
Dizzolven borderz. Bareyerz innerwoev.
Three feenger breths divvide owwer werldz.

    Kross over, yu proffets and border-brakerz.
    A werld ov kiendness, but a breth awway.

Spring in DC

In DC it's hard to drive anywhere; the traffic's dreadful; the traffic management is worse than dreadful; and the drivers, well, until you've experienced it, you can't imagine the utter state of dysfunction that goes on here. And in spring it's even worse, because every 50 feet there's another remarkable picture of nature at its most wondrous.

Here are a few pictures I've grabbed on the fly, driving thru Rock Creek Park, and elsewhere:

Redbuds in a little park in Takoma Park:

Early spring, Beach Road in RCP, north of the 495:

Taken from the same spot as above, turning a bit to the right:

The following are all from today. This one, in RCP about a mile north of the ranger station, birch leaves unfurling:

Just down the trail from the picture above:

From a little parking area that led to the trail where I took the pix above:

From the same parking area, turning a little to the left:

Another mile up Beach Road I had to stop to capture this:

And as I walked a little trail to take the picture above, I came across this:

Two Sketches from a Bungalow by the Sea

Koh Rong

From a cabin just west of paradise,
Where wine flows free, liquor freer,
And smoke, it clouds the air.
O how peaceful, how sensuous
The women dance their drunken way.
Romantic and astute, the conversation slurs.
The cocks the crows, the birds they cheep
Among the eucalyptus and the palm.
The fishing boats, they grind and putter.
This perfect native life, this retouched paradise.


Interlude in a Breaking Wave

First light and the grumble and slosh of the waves
Washing the sands with the breaking of days.
Some remaining footprints and some bleached bones
Of moments that roared, their echoes mumble.

Each wave changes the quality of light.
A memory brightens;
Other ones turn darker, or fainter
In this the first light in the rumble of surf,
In the tumbling selves
As night washes back into sea.

letter from Cambodia, #2

Phnom Penh:
Took a sardine can on wheels from Kompot in the south to Phnom Penh in the center of Cambodia. A remarkable drive full of striking images. I recorded 4 pages of notes about people, clothing, architecture, flora, commercial vehicles, and took a lot of video footage. Planning on constructing a video of moving and still images, sounds, text, and voice over, a follow up to the montage I'm writing of the first surreal days here.

What a drive. Traffic is insane. Whoa!

Checked into perhaps the most elegant hotel I've ever stayed in. Took some pix. Antiques in the halls, beautiful old lithographs in our room, and lovely teak furniture. A balcony stretching the length of 2 sides of our large room. Entrance to the room thru a large open exterior terrace. 12 rooms in the whole hotel.

We got settled, and set out for the Russian market, Cambodia’s version of Istanbul’s covered bazaar, tho the passages here are much narrower. Grabbed a bite to eat along the way, a fish omelette for me, a fish stew/soup for Cal, both very good, $3 total.

It was over 90, heat and humidity.  No doubt, it will be another 2-shower day.

Rested and read for an hr or so, then off to find the riverfront and street food, preferably grilled. Funny thing happened along the way. Passed so many interesting restaurants, all upscale. Phnom Penh is a foodie haven. Came to one, La Table Khmer with a sampler for 2 consisting of 2 raw spring rolls, 2 fried egg rolls, pumpkin soup, mango salad, pineapple beef, fish coconut curry,and chicken curry, plus dessert of the day (turned out to be a coconut, banana boba-noodle-like preparation; yow!). Cal was intrigued so we went for it! $18. Amazing; the interior really lovely, and a kitchen that they teach cooking classes in during the day. We photoed it all. So we went from street food to tres chic. Who'd a guessed?

We then continued on towards the river, made a wrong turn off one of the main, and most up-scale boulevards in the city, and 2 blocks later we saw a strange building that defies description. As we got closer it appeared to be an abandoned building, many blocks long, with walls collapsing out and vines or trees growing among the ruins. No. More bizarre than any movie set, it was the most squalid, horrifying 4-story tenement either of us had ever seen. You could look up into tiny decrepit rooms with no exterior front wall, and crumbling interior walls and see people lying in filth, or legs dangling out the front. Cal went up to look inside and a few men came up to confront him. They offered him drugs, then sex  with children. Seems it was one of the centers of child sex/slave trade in Cambodia! I shouted  'No!' when Cal wanted to go in and check the place out, and that generated a few course comments from the pimps. I expected knives to flash at any second. Cal reluctantly turned back. Remember, it had been dark for an hour or more already. We walked a narrow dark alley that fronted the tenement for about 3 blocks. It was lined with squalid shacks made of tin, rubble, and scrap lumber salvaged from the building behind. They were tiny, businesses mostly: sewing shops, vile restaurants, I can't remember what else. People working, eating. Prostitutes staring at us. We were both appalled and shaken. Cal conflicted, as well, about not going in. We turned around, still lost, walked a mile or more in the wrong direction from the river, thru thick crowds and snarled honking traffic, finally hailed a tuktuk who couldn't understand a word we said. Another tuktuk stopped; maybe he grasped where we wanted to go, maybe not. We couldn’t tell. Bargained the price, $2, got in, come what may. He was shitfaced drunk, jabbering non-stop, including an occasional English phrase, or so it seemed, but he got us to the river in a slow weaving motion. We walked the quay silently, trying to grasp the evening and what we saw. But we had/have no context. Dispirited. Everything looked ugly and stupid to me. Took a tuktuk home.

I worked on this email, while Cal wrote in his journal about the evening. There is lovely live Cambodian music drifting in the window from a chic club down the street. There are child sex slaves a mile down the road.

Cambodia.

So far from home.

Pix:
Russian market:

Tuktuk, shop, apartment:

Machine shop and young teenager:

La Table Khmer:

Sex-slave tenement, night:

Street food:

Dessert, a compote of fruit, boba-like noodles, condensed milk, who knows what else: