Autumn Years Summer 2023

IN MY WORDS

Sharing Our Lifelong Love of Travel By Robert Penna

I believe it is important for everyone to pursue an interest no matter one’s age. Be it a hobby, sport or other diversion, it helps to keep us centered and not surrendered to the humdrum activities of daily life. My wife Angela and I have been married for 52 years, and we have resided in Bergen County since marrying. When we first met in college, we found that we had many similar interests. We loved classical literature, history and travel. After three years of marriage, we took the first of our international adventures. The year was 1973 and Americans were not welcome in the Soviet Union. Since it is imperative to know and understand your potential enemies, we decided this was to be our first adventure. A month later, we were not dissatisfied with our visit. We saw Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and the Crimea. We even took a side trip into the then communist Ukraine and discovered the unbelievable propaganda the communists had fed their people. Now over 50 years later, we can look back on a marriage filled with fascinating travel and unusual adventures. My wife and I have traveled to every country in the western hemisphere and Europe. In fact, we have explored more than 180 countries and territories. When we were younger, we climbed mountains, explored jungles and crossed deserts. We have used every mode of transportation from ox cart to jet travel and pretty much everything in between. Now that we are in our late 70s we use more reasonable methods of transportation.

we were fortunate to visit Saudi Arabia and gain entrance to the ruins of Hegra. This February saw us in Yemen to visit the ruins of the Sabaean Empire (supposed home of the Queen of Sheba) and March saw us in the Central African Republic and Camer oon. Hopefully, during the rest of 2023, we will venture to Bangladesh, Armenia and the Congo. We have been asked many times to re late our most memorable experience. How can we? There have been many wonderful experiences. Perhaps seeking the lost Ark of the Covenant is the one. Tracing the legends took us down the Nile to the supposed is land where it was originally hidden, then to a small village in Ethiopia whose inhabitants follow the Jewish religion, and finally to the town of Axum, which had been the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Travel is for everyone. My advice is not to limit yourself because of age or physical issues. All travel is healthy. Pick something that interests you and investigate if you can physically do it. You would be surprised how you will rise to the situation. Bob Penna, 77, gained his Ph.D. from Fordham University in 1975. He started his career as an English teacher in Cliffside Park and moved into school administration in the Leonia and East Orange School Districts. He retired after serving as a superintendent of schools in Guttenberg and Waldwick and later as the Director of Educa tional Leadership for Long Island University’s Orangeburg Campus. Presently, Bob teaches graduate courses part-time for LIU. He and his wife Angela reside in Franklin Lakes.

However, most important, we don’t just travel to see the ordinary. Imagine finding the lost pyramids of Meroë in the Sudanese desert, or searching for the lost Biblical city of Havilah in war torn Somalia, or visiting the ruins of the ISIS destroyed village of Hassan Sham in Iraq, or locating the tombs of such historical notaries as Cyrus the Great, Xerxes and Darius and so much more. True adventure travel does not happen with a group and is never selected from some glossy brochure. It is planned after determining a reason to visit a location based upon a historic, political or geographic reason. There are so many fascinating experi ences to relate when one travels. Perhaps the stories of what caused us to spend a night in a jail cell in Somalia, or visiting the battle site of Omdurman (greatest British victory), or seeking out the world’s greatest water falls, or finding the meeting point of three tectonic plates in eastern Africa, or our visits to Iran, Iraq or North Korea would encourage you to travel. Since we retired some 12 years ago, we found that we could take longer trips allow ing us to visit more exotic locations. Then in 2020 the pandemic stopped our travels cold, and age/health issues slowed us some what. Yet, we have recently restarted our adventures and have visited the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Senegal to swim with sharks. A trip to Pakistan last October allowed us to visit the Mughal ruins and observe the Wagah ceremony between the Indian and Pakistani armies. In December

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AUTUMN YEARS I SUMMER 2023