The Pocket Tree Canopy Needs Some Help. The City Wants To Give: Fill & Download for Free

In 2003, when my mother was so sick and weak she could barely walk, I moved back to New Jersey to take care of her. She still wanted exercise, which seemed like a good idea, so I took her on a daily arm-held hobble to the end of the driveway and back.As she gained strength, the journey increased. First we continued out our driveway and halfway down the long driveway of the new, across-the-street neighbors we'd never met. We neither saw nor heard signs of life over there. With the increase of my mother's stamina came the revival of curiosity, and we began to wonder about them. My mother only knew that they had a Greek name and some small children.Gradually, the tortured hobble became a slow stroll and one day we made it all the way to the end of their driveway where we found a young boy and girl playing in the garage. I thought, in this day and age, when children are warned early about all sorts of things, they may be alarmed by strangers appearing in their yard. But it's a quiet neighborhood and they seemed at ease.They were Kiri, age 7, and Andoni, age 5, both outgoing and adorable. What with all the recent pain and hospital horrors, we found it refreshingly distracting to meet some chatty children. We stayed and talked to them a while. Eventually, Eva, the mother, came out and we talked with her, as well. My mother's step was a little more lively on the way back and we remarked on what a cute family lives across the street.Until that distance became too short for my ever-strengthening patient, we saw Kiri and Andoni nearly every day. When my mother got strong enough to drive me crazy, my own daily, solo walks became a necessity and I'd run into them regularly, which always perked me up.Sometimes Eva passed me, alone in her Land Cruiser; she'd wave and occasionally stop to chat. I saw them a lot throughout the Summer, but then, oddly, never laid eyes on them again once school started, though I was still around, walking for my sanity, for quite a few more months. Eventually, my mother got better and I went back to the desert.Flash forward to Autumn 2004, when I returned to New Jersey because of my step-father’s death. During shiva I raced in and out of the kitchen, making sure everyone had enough to eat and drink. From one day to the next, a notice appeared on the refrigerator. It announced that a couple of days after the end of shiva, our adorable Greek neighbors were hosting a wine and cheese gathering for The Englewood Historic Preservation Society.I was determined to go and suspected my mother would be glad to join me. After all, I'd never met Kiri and Andoni's father, and was interested in Englewood's historic preservation, since it’s the town I was born in and where I grew up. I asked my mother about it and she said she had no idea how the notice got on the refrigerator, hadn't seen it before, but would like to go.One evening, after the nightly minion, I walked my mother's old ailing friend, Shirley, to her car. As busy as I'd been, hosting, I hadn't been outside in the evening and was surprised by how many cars lined both sides of the usually empty street. All the occupants were obviously in our house. Eva's Land Cruiser was pulling into her driveway just as I piled Shirley into the car. Eva leaned out and said,"Sorry for your loss.""Thanks," I said, "how did you know?""I saw all the cars, sort of suspected, and asked someone. How's your mother holding up?""She's doing great, actually. He was sick for so long, she was used to him being out of the house, and she's enjoying having everyone around. Her health has been really good, too. She's even jogging again.""Oh, that's wonderful.""Well, hopefully, we'll see you Thursday night," I said."That would be nice," she responded.Tuesday was the last day of shiva and all of the extended family was gone by Wednesday. I stayed until Sunday and people continuously clamored to take us out to every meal. When I discovered my mother had double-booked Thursday night -- accepted a dinner invitation that overlapped with the meeting across the street -- I figured I'd back out of the dinner and go to the meeting by myself.I wonder now what may have happened had I done so. But when I pointed out this error to my mother, she insisted on making the dinner earlier and getting to the meeting late.I kept looking at my watch during the fatty, over-cooked meal at a restaurant to which my mother's friend, Helen, insisted on taking us. Not only were we going to be later to the meeting than I'd hoped, but I was becoming increasingly nauseated by the smoke coming in from the bar.Finally, we got to leave. I dropped my mother at the meeting, parked our car in our garage, ran up to pee, then across the street and up the path to the front door I hadn't been through since the Sullivans lived there 40 years earlier.I crept in with the meeting in full swing.There were couches and lots of chairs, both hard-backed and over-stuffed, placed in a sizable, haphazard circle. My mother was already seated. The speaker had begun, so Eva motioned me over to the only empty chair -- a large, oddly shaped, intricately carved wooden thing that looked like it had come out of an ancient castle. I was delighted, because nothing else in the room looked anything like it. But when I went to sit in it I discovered there was no way to do so comfortably, as the angled back was miles from the front of the chair and there was no obvious direction in which to aim.I may have spent more time fidgeting if I hadn't immediately spotted the woman sitting 2 people away from me. I thought I'd been trying to wean myself off older women, since it seems I'll never have one, but there I was, at the Historic Preservation meeting, with a brand new hard-on.I was thankful to be a woman myself. Between the hard-on and the difficult chair, if I'd been a man I wouldn't have been able to sit at all.She appeared to be in her late 60's - early 70's, had a head of big white fluffy shoulder-length hair and a gorgeous Jewish face. I could tell that in the 1950's she'd worn black turtlenecks and berets, smoked tons of cigarettes, and swirled around in scarves, with a straw-covered bottle of wine balanced on her head. I couldn't take my eyes off her.Though she was only 2 seats from me, the circle we were seated in caused her to look straight ahead at the speaker while I had to turn at a full right angle to face him. Because of being so far to the side, however, with so many people between me and the speaker, I couldn't see him anyway so only looked at Her.Something about her reeked of artiness, which made it easy to fantasize about her coming to visit me in the desert and falling for me on the basis of my extraordinarily arty house. Only about 3 minutes had passed since I'd sat down, but my hard-on had already carried me over the moon. She was facing the speaker, straight ahead. I'd only seen her in profile, but I couldn't stop staring. So far I hadn't seen anything but her.Suddenly, she turned, looked right at me, and winked. My face burned, hard-on swelled and I fidgeted some more. I didn't imagine it was me she'd winked at, so I turned to see who behind me had warranted that blessing. But my awkwardly uncomfortable chair was against the wall. I decided she must know the old coot between us.Even so, my body reacted as though she'd winked at me, and it sped up my fantasies. Not only that, but when she turned, I noticed she was wearing a name tag and, from there, that everyone else was, too. Because of her side angle I couldn't see the last name, only the first, and, get this: her name was "Pepper"."We all enjoy the beautiful old homes of Englewood," the speaker said, "and thought others did, too, that people are attracted to Englewood because of its quaint beauty. But these homes are being demolished at an increasingly rapid rate. 5 years ago there were 1-2 of these beauties being torn down a year. Now it’s up to 7.“People are moving in and putting up huge houses that aren’t in keeping with the look and feel that attracted us here to begin with. At the current rate of mansionization, before too long we will lose the soul and spirit of the town we love."We are proposing an Englewood Historic Preservation Advisory Committee to design and recommend an ordinance appropriate to Englewood...""But is it voluntary?" Pepper interrupted at the top of her slow, raspy smoker's voice. My startled hard-on shrank a little."I'll get to that," said the speaker."The proposed ordinance is not only consistent with state legislation," he continued, "but may help get grant support for the renovation of Liberty School and City Hall...""But is it voluntary?!?" Pepper interrupted again."I said I'll get to that," repeated the speaker, and I could hear Pepper mumble under her breath though I couldn't hear what she said. Down it went, some more."Benefits of the ordinance are that it would establish a genuine historical presence in Englewood. Neighboring communities have adopted a commission for Victorian and Colonial homes, the listings of which generally fill a volume. Englewood, a smaller town than many, has 3 volumes..."That husky drawl I'd come to dread as a manifestation of my bad choices, boomed out,"Five years ago you talked about the need for preservation but you were talking about people voluntarily signing up, and now you're talking about an ordinance. That doesn't sound voluntary. Could you address that, please?" And she mumbled some more.I got her point, probably shared her fears. I'd lived on Nantucket Island in the 70's and was theoretically petrified by the fact that it was against the law for every house not to look identical. I may have even gotten up and said so if it hadn't been that Pepper was being so obnoxiously disruptive.At the same time I wondered if I should hate myself. It's not in my nature to care what the crowd thinks. Was I not joining in because my mother was there and it was her neighborhood? Because it was Eva, Kiri and Andoni's house? Or was it because Pepper's valid opinion was invalidated by her behavior?I flashed back to her pre-rasp youth, when she was used to being able to blurt out whatever she wanted, whenever she pleased, simply because she was so damn alluring. Was it her fault that what worked before, worked no more? I think you're still beautiful, Pepper, but won't you shut the fuck up?"Yes, it's voluntary. I've got a list I'll pass around. All the historic houses in Englewood are on it. If your home is on the list, you may choose to sign up. If you do choose to sign up you will be held to the...""'Held to'. That doesn't sound voluntary," said you-know-who."Please stop interrupting," said Eva."Signing up is voluntary," continued the speaker. "Once you sign up you will be held to the guidelines. If the house is sold, it’ll be sold with that commitment. We hope to replace the current advisory committee and establish procedures for designating streetscapes and districts.“It will be necessary to acquire a certificate of appropriateness from the committee in order to demolish, relocate, add an addition or major alteration which is obviously visible from a public street. The ordinance will encourage newly constructed homes to be compatible with their neighbors...""Taste Police!" Pepper shouted out. And I finally heard that it was "fascists!" she'd been mumbling under her breath."We hope to discourage demolition and encourage preservation. Studies of mansionization prove that increasing code restrictions will not stop demolition. The only way to safeguard is to enact an ordinance which will restrict plans of properties that don't aim for compatibility with our traditional structures and the character of our streetscapes.""Taste Police!" Pepper tried again, then turned to me and beamed.Now my clit was all a-tizzy, didn't know what to think. How had she brought me into it? I'd never opened my mouth, and she couldn't possibly have seen me looking at her, because I was looking at her the whole time, so I knew she wasn't looking at me.Yes, I felt her; there was some of that. I understood her argument. But I was also heartbroken whenever one of those fabulous old homes came down.My mother's house was 1 of only 3 on her street that wasn’t on that list. I was the hated enemy whether I choose to be or not, I, whose childhood was survived, partly, by walking the tree-canopied streets of Englewood in the middle of the night, memorizing the details of the, even then, historic stone mansions so contrary to the 50's house my parents built, where I grew up and my mother still lived.The meeting went on a little longer, though nothing new was said. The speaker preached, Pepper interrupted, and the silent choir shifted, uncomfortably, in their seats. When it was over, people got up to mingle.Immediately, Pepper ran over to me, threw her arms around me, and roared, "You look so..." I thought she was going to say "familiar", but, no, she said, "You look so interesting! I have to know everything about you! Who are you?"She held on, alternated between hugging me and shaking me by the shoulders. But, as she was facing me now, I could see her entire name tag. It said "Pepper Pollack", and what came out my mouth did not filter through my brain."Are you Bruce's mother?""You know my Bruce?" she asked, "How do you know Bruce?"I could see she was disappointed. She thought she'd made an exotic discovery, probably expected me to have an accent, and now I'd brought up her son."I don't really know him -- I went to school with him. And I was friends with Robert Forman, still am. My parents and the Formans were together a lot when I was growing up. Robert Forman's younger brother, David, was good friends with your Bruce. We both hung out over there.""But tell me about you," she insisted. "Do you live here? Who are you? You look so... amazing. You can't live here. What do you do? You must be an artist.""I live in Arizona. I'm building an adobe/rock house in the mountains outside of a little Mexican border town where there are no building codes.""Fabulous," she said, "See? Right? No building codes. That's beautiful."She'd let go of me but grabbed me again. I hated myself for hating myself for consorting with the enemy, then wondered if that cancelled itself out. I looked at her and wanted her, but wished she'd shut up.I knew if I'd been young and drunk I wouldn't have minded. In my 20's I was so selective, so in need of a bohemian intellectual superior. Now I was re-experiencing my adolescence through menopause, and my clit made all the decisions."Well, what are you doing here?""My step-father just died. My mother lives right across the street. I'm here for that.""Who's your mother?""Ruth Sarnoff -- she's right over there.""Your mother? She's here? I've got to meet your mother!""Don't you know my mother? How can you not know my mother? She's lived a block away from you for 40-50 years, best friends with the Formans, your next-door neighbors. Don't you know her? She's right over there," and I pointed, hoping to avoid an introduction. But, no, she insisted."I don't know her. I want to meet her."So I introduced them. I suspected that, aside from the sexual aspect, my mother probably felt the same way I did: uncertain about the issue, annoyed by Pepper's attitude, but not really concerned with crowd sentiment. She was also oblivious enough that she may not have realized that she, too, was the enemy, having gone against the grain and built that eyesore 50 years ago.Pepper did most of the talking, going on about how wonderful Debby Forman was, how sad it was when she died, what an unrecognized genius Robert Forman is, what fascists the preservation committee are. I could see my mother was tired and eager to go home, so I was determined to make a break and get her out of there.But what would have happened if I'd been there by myself? I wasn’t young or drunk, but I’d gone a whole lot longer than ever before without being with anyone, so I probably would have gone home with Pepper Pollack. And she would have had me. Even if she wouldn't let me fuck her, I'm sure she would have been thrilled to have me go home with her and talk some more. That killed me. But Ma was tired and we needed to go. Damn. We broke away and home we went.I didn't stop thinking about Pepper Pollack. I had a feast in bed that night. And in the next couple of days my fantasies erased her repugnance; I could easily picture her with her mouth shut.What's so bad about her mouth, anyway, I speculated; I, too, hate a cookie-cutter life. Maybe if I'd never left the suburbs I'd also still be resorting to adolescent shock tactics. She's just a victim of her time and place, I justified, but aren't we all?Saturday night, my last night in town, my mother and I attempted to go to the movies. But we got lost, got in a fight, and came home. She'd been yawning on the way, had expressed how tired she was as soon as she got in the car. We hadn't fought the entire time I'd been there and it was a shame to do it on my last night.She went to bed as soon as we got home, though it was only 8:00 pm. So then where was I? I was wide awake and had expected to spend my last night alone with my mother so hadn't made any other plans. It was Saturday night and I now felt ridiculous. I paced the floor. Tried to read but couldn't. Called all my local friends but they were either not home or not available.What made me so antsy was that I couldn't get the idea of calling Pepper Pollack out of my head.I'd looked her up in the phone book Thursday night when we got home from the meeting, written down her phone number and address, thought maybe I'd write her a brilliant letter when I got back to Arizona. Then, maybe, she'd fall into my heart, my life and my arms. Or so sounded my fantasies.Call Pepper call Pepper call Pepper, went the beat. You schmuck, don't do it, went the response. I paced some more, wondered who I was kidding, then called Pepper. Pepper Pollack, who'd drawled the night of the meeting, "I sleep in New Jersey but spend all my time in New York." Pepper wouldn't be home on Saturday night. But she was."Hello?" came the rasp."Pepper?""Yes?""This is Emily Fisher. I met you the other night at that meeting?""Oh, hi. How are you?" She didn't sound a bit surprised to hear from me, but then maybe it was part of her blase attitude left over from when she ruled the world. "You're still here?" she asked. "I mentioned you to Bruce and he remembered you. He's here now. Well, not here here, but he came home for his 30th high school reunion. That's where he is now.""Mine was last year. As I said, I really didn't know Bruce. I only know who he is for two reasons. One is because of the Formans, and the other is because of Andrea Stevens.""Who's that?" she asked."A girl from the 2nd Ward. I wasn't particularly friends with her, but I discovered at 12 that Andrea had an older sister who dealt marijuana and I figured it was high time we tried some. Andrea was nice enough, but she was so desperate, always tried so hard that she never really had any friends. So I felt sorry for her. And there was that weed...""What's she got to do with my Bruce?""I semi-befriended her, we'd get high, and we'd talk. I don't remember a time when I wasn't sexually aware, but I certainly never talked about it with anyone. Besides, until the following year, when I fell in love with a teacher I'm still in touch with, my sexual fantasies were never personal, never about anyone in particular.“Andrea, on the other hand. My payment for her stealing her sister's reefer and secretly sharing it with me — no one else knew I was getting high, none of my close friends — was that I'd listen to her go on about Bruce Pollack.""Bruce? You're kidding.""No. I don't even know how she knew him. She was a year older, lived in a different ward, so she'd never gone to the same school he did, wouldn't have been on the same bus, either. Granted, he was absolutely gorgeous, but he was 11 years old, for fuck's sake, and as far as I could tell, he was too shy to ever open his mouth.“I listened to her, yeah, because she insisted on it. I was amused by the sex talk but couldn't begin to relate. She went on and on, in great detail, about what she would do to Bruce Pollack if she could.""I can't believe it. Bruce.""You must know how gorgeous he was.""Of course he was gorgeous. But Bruce? He never had a girlfriend, even all through high school.""Well, he could have had Andrea Stevens if he'd wanted her. Not that he'd have known what to do with her -- he was 11 years old! But, from the sound of it, Andrea would have known what to do, or at least knew what she wanted to do, which seemed legit enough to me.“If it weren't for the fact that I was so sexually aware myself at that age, I'd now wonder if she'd been acting like someone who'd been abused. Given the rest of her disposition, and the fact that she became a stripper, I still wonder it. But that's so cliche. In the end she married a Jewish doctor, moved to the street in Englewood her mother still lived on, and had babies. A different cliche.""This stripper-to-be was after my Bruce. I still can't believe it.""Is it too weird for me to be discussing your son's sexuality with you?""No, it's fine.""Then how would it be if I were to tell you I wanted to fuck you the minute I laid eyes on you at that meeting?"She coughed. I was about to make fun of her for losing her composure, but she didn't stop coughing. When she'd regained her equanimity, or at least caught her breath, she acted as though nothing had happened, neither my comment nor her coughing fit.The coughing had gone on long enough that I'd stopped thinking it had to do with being caught off guard, so I couldn't really give her a hard time about it. But it had interfered with my flow. I tried to continue,"Yeah, I came in late, sat down, and you were the first thing I saw. Who is that beautiful woman, I wondered.""Thank you," she rasped.That seemed to be a dead topic so I fell back on describing my house. We talked about that awhile, and the desert, the border, my freedom."That sounds marvelous,"she said."Come see it. I've built it for people to come to, and they do. It's actually close to impossible to describe so you should just come see."There was an unexpectedly long pause, after which she said, "I can't fly.""Why not?" I asked.Another pause, then, "I have bad emphysema. Whenever I fly I get a cold I can't shake. So I don't fly any more."That cough. Oh. I'd told her I wanted to fuck her and it nearly killed her. I'd liked that she wasn't too old; she’d seemed the perfect age, still very lively and physical. Guess I was wrong. Her mad-paced fucking days were over. Damn."Have you tried any alternative treatments for your emphysema?" I asked."Like what?""Well, what comes to mind is acupuncture. And I had an amazing breath-opening experience once with Cranial-Sacral. I'm sure there are at least acupuncture treatments specifically for emphysema. It's worth a try.""That's a good idea.""I have a great acupuncturist right on the Upper West Side.""I don't go to the city any more.""Why not?"That long pause again, then, "The tall buildings, all the people, I feel like I can't breath...""What, so now you're telling me you're agoraphobic? What ever happened to 'I sleep in New Jersey but spend all my time in New York'?"Great. I'm just out for a good time and now I've got another god damn patient on my hands. This older woman fixation has got to stop. Not that it ever got started."No, I just, I, I can't deal with crossing all those streets, being with all those people.""I think there's a name for that," I said, icily, disgusted. Sure, I should have had some sympathy, some human kindness, but I didn't even know the woman. I know me, though, and I know I'm too tempted to take care of people. I didn't need another one, especially in the midst of giving being horny a shot.Pepper bemoaned the fact that she'd never gotten to have the sort of freedom I have, that she'd married quite young, moved to the suburbs, had kids, and given up a lot of her choices. Now she was about to turn 70 and it freaked her out."I got divorced not too long after my 3 boys were born," she said, "I had 3 boys, same as the Formans. God, that Debby Forman was a wonderful woman. I got divorced, so was pretty much stuck at home until the boys went to school. I was always a potter and painter, though. I'd go into the city every day, once the kids were in school. Down to The Village where my studio was. I guess I never imagined my boys not being around me.""Where are they? Where do they live?" I asked, knowing I couldn't take it if any of them were dead."Well, Bruce and my youngest live in Boston. My middle one lives here in Englewood."She went on in a way that made it clear she was disappointed in her sons, that they weren't cool enough. She was probably wishing I was her daughter, while I just wanted her to be agile, breathing and fuckable.Or I had. Her piled up neuroses had long since turned me off, and I was only still on because I had nowhere else to go. We'd been talking for an hour and a half by then and I was beginning to be sorry I gave such good phone."I guess I've become a bit of a ____Mom," Pepper said."A what?""Well, you've heard of a Soccer Mom?""Yeah, I got the mom part, but you're a what kind of mom?" I was becoming impatient."A Security Mom.""What the fuck is that?""Someone who's very concerned with security.""Security? What kind of security? What the fuck are you talking about?""Well, 9/11 really freaked me out. I feel like National Security is the biggest issue right now.""What the fuck are you saying?" I asked, sensing doom."That I'm someone who's pretty disillusioned with Kerry.""ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU'RE VOTING FOR BUSH???""I'm undecided.""You're UNDECIDED? Are you insane? I feel like I should just hang up.""Well, you can.""No, I can't. The fact that you said you're undecided gives me a responsibility."I hadn't needed Ativan for a while, never actually even had one until the previous year when I was taking care of my mother. But I was capable of getting too worked up. Because of that, I never got into political discussions. I couldn’t. Just couldn’t take it. I'd never try to talk someone who was voting for Bush into not voting for him. But she said she was undecided. I had to try to sway her. But first I had to get over my shock."You? You're an arty, outsider, rebel-type -- how can you not hate Bush???""You hate him?""Do I hate him? Ohmygodohmygod! Hate isn't nearly a strong enough word! He's an evil, lying, war-mongering monkey! How could you? Debby Forman would be ashamed of you!""I just feel like he's the one to make us safer...""Are you insane? Safer? Do you realize how many more people hate us since he's come into office? And for good reason! He's a big fucking playground bully!""You think he's a bully?""Damn right he is. People are drawn to him because they're a bunch of pussies who are scared they'll get beat up if they're not on the side of the bully. Either that or they're for him because, like him, they care about nothing but their pockets, care nothing about education, poverty, Medicare, stem-cell research or, really, about anything but themselves."The way she was questioning me indicated she really may have been seeking answers. And all I was doing was yelling at her. But I couldn't stop. Until that phone call I'd forced myself to maintain some hope for the election. The fact that arty-outsider Pepper was talking this way destroyed all my hope. It was too disturbing for me -- I was not cut out for that job."You weren't here for 9/11," she said, "you didn't smell the ash from your bed...""I don't give a fuck!" I screamed. "Not only is it absurd to think Bush is making us safer, but even if it were true (which it isn't) -- so what? It'd be better to be blown up than to live in the world he's trying to create! You're the one who was screaming out 'fascists!' at your neighborhood meeting! You know who's a fucking fascist?!?"""Stop yelling!" Pepper said."STOP YELLING? NO, I WON'T STOP YELLING. YOU'RE MAKING AN INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS DECISION AND IT'S NOT EVEN BASED ON REALITY!""What do you mean 'not based on reality'? What reality? What do you think it's based on?"I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself."I think you're mixing up National Security with your own fatality. You're pushing 70, have severe emphysema -- on top of whatever agoraphobic/claustrophobic neuroses you're carrying around -- and, as lively as you are, you're scared to death!“Please, separate the two issues. Don't add to the brutal mistake of misguided sheep." (I imagined she wouldn't like being called a follower.)"You're facing your own mortality because of your age and condition -- not because of Kerry. Bush will get you there sooner!""I can still taste that ash...""You know what,"I said, "I'm going to hang up on you.""Go ahead," she said.And I did.

A story!I’ll answer both the question asked, and the question not asked that the other answers presumed was asked.And, yes, you knew it would happen: a real-life story to illustrate the answer. Don’t complain. It’s better than watching the Corona channel 24/7.Gather ‘round.As the question is stated, a “pilot us[ing] the left rudder during a turn to the right” (crossed controls) will have a very uncoordinated, mushy, poorly defined right turn slipping to the outside.Dangerous?Yes. And no.This is potentially dangerous, but not always. The risk of a spin in this situation is negligible since the controls are crossed and the wing (the right wing, in this example) most likely to stall in the turn is not exacerbated by the adverse rudder. In other words, crossing the controls is unlikely - by itself - to result in a spin.Sometimes, in a really steep turn, opposite rudder is necessary to keep the nose picked up. But that’s more in the realm of aerobatics.However, the risk of a stall is increased since the effective wing airfoil surface (lifting surface) is reduced. On the positive side, the upper (left) wing will stall first which results in reduced lift causing the wing to level. None of this is a problem at altitude. However, near the ground (i.e. pattern altitude) with an unaware pilot ham-fisting the controls (pulling the stick (or column) back hoping to flatten the decent rate) is a sure way to exacerbate a stall. Add rudder in direction of turn and you’re entering spin city…usually fatal at pattern altitude.The solution? Coordinate your turns.And spin training. Forewarned is forearmed. Pay close attention during spin training. Know how to recognize the conditions for a spin, when a spin is imminent, and the technique to recover from a spin. Spins are relatively benign when you know what’s going on, and absolutely terrifying when you are ignorant of them.Answer to the question not asked….Many responses provided here actually answer the following question which was technically not asked:“what happens if a pilot applies left rudder while using right aileron?”The answers, mostly from glider pilots, are correct: the technique is deliberately applied to cause a side slip (rapid loss of altitude), sometimes combined with a crab (to correct for crosswind, especially on final approach) to lose altitude and correct for crosswind on landing.[Side note: most pilots are already very familiar with a crab angle when flying cross-country with a cross-wind. Most times they’ve used this technique at altitude to correct for winds blowing across (sideways) to the flight plan’s intended ground track. This subject is part of flight-planning 101.]Soaring pilots sometimes need to land their gliders in appallingly turbulent conditions…the kind of conditions that one almost never, ever, ever! sees in a commercial airliner, and desperately hopes to avoid in a single engine aircraft.Why would a glider pilot want to fly in such conditions?Not for fun.No glider pilot enjoy wrestling their gliders onto the ground. But sometimes the soaring conditions are just so freaking good that we’ll accept a superlative soaring flight as an acceptable trade for a white-knuckle washing-machine ride on the landing.Hopefully you’ll see why. Story time.In the nineties I flew thousands of hours at Sugarbush Soaring, located in the central Green Mountains of Vermont.There may be a more beautiful soaring location than Sugarbush somewhere in North America. If so, I’ve yet to hear of it. Above: glider on short final, Sugarbush Rwy 22.The club owned many ships available to the membership to fly… assuming appropriate flight training, experience, and check-out rides. Of the higher-performance two-seat gliders, my preference was The Grob 103 Twin III Acro (“Grob” rhymes with “globe”).Aside from the Grob’s excellent flying manners, it had one feature I sought above all others: a seat to take your friend along on a flight.The Twin III was beautiful ship: sturdy, great soaring performance, as comfortable to ride in as your grand father’s Cadillac. Above photo: yours truly with my friend Dave after after a nearly 5 hour glider tour around northern New England. Beers to follow. Good days. Damn good memories.Unlike the club’s ASK 21, the Grob 103 could (and would!) spin like a top. But it gave extremely predictable signs of imminent stalls, spins, or spirals, with equally predictable recovery. The ship was an absolute joy to fly.Sugarbush is a highly productive soaring site. Excellent thermal soaring over valleys and ridges, as well as ridge lift and wave lift; sometimes all three in the same day! It’s a rare day that a pilot falls out of the sky off tow.Anyway, we’re here to talk about the mountain waves. They occur most often in late summer and fall (and winter!). Summer thermals disrupt the wave down low, so it’s not until the fall cold fronts sweep through that the wave cranks-up. Here (below) is the ground view of the wave forming “wave windows” in the sky.The local National Weather Service office produces soaring forecasts for our region. They don’t predict wave conditions, so glider pilot’s apply their own skill and art to the forecast to predict wave conditions.When the wind and temperature aloft forecasts line-up, I get on the phone to offer a lucky friend the soaring adventure of a lifetime.One Tuesday in early October 1997 the stars aligned and my friend Frank jumped at the opportunity. The morning rain moved off the coast to the east. By early afternoon a WNW wind started galloping over the mountains. When I started pre-flight around 2:30 PM, the sky looked like this.Sky like this cause glider pilots to go into heat. You can’t get into the air fast enough. Also, a sky like this is predictive of wildy turbulent conditions near the ground.I buckled Frank into the 5-point harness in the front seat, showed him what to touch and what not to touch in the cockpit. The pre-flight spiel:“It will be rough near the ground. Really rough. The glider will be fine but you may get worried. If you get scared, you can hold onto your belt strap by your shoulders. Better yet, sit on your hands! Don’t do anything unless I tell you to do something!”I tightened his harness for emphasis.With that, the ground crew helped roll the glider out to the take-off point. I climbed in, belted, and went through the check-list. Ground crew connected the glider to the tow rope dragging behind the tow plane. Final check, thumbs-up signal to the wing runner and he picked up the wing. Waggle the rudder and the tow plane leapt forward. Equipment clattered as we lumbered over bumpy ground, and then….Silence as wings bit into the air.We lifted skyward with the tow-plane, and the canopy filled with Green Mountain scenery in full autumn splendor.It Never. Gets. Old.On tow departing runway 4 to the north. The above sky indicates light-to-moderate turbulence in thermals near the ground. Imagine a westerly gale pouring over that terrain and it’s a whole other story….Crack! My head connects with the canopy. We’ve run through our first turbulence of the flight. They’ll be more. I tighten my harness further.We’re through 1000 feet AGL in less than two minutes, rising up the east ridge in huge lift. I hang on for another 200 feet to be sure. Gentle back pressure on the stick to put tension on the tow rope, pull the release….BANG!…and we’re free of the towplane. Tow plane dives left while I angle briefly right, then start to climb.There are moments in life you never forget. No matter how many times I’ve released from tow onto the east ridge, it never gets old.I give silent thanks for being alive.But this is ridge lift. It’s rough! I check with Frank to make sure he’s cinched-in. Yes!? Sounds apprehensive.After gaining a thousand lumpy feet, I started penetrating upwind in what I hoped was some weird hybrid of thermal-ridge lift. I managed to climb slowly while heading upwind. I worked pockets of lift, paying attention to the clues offered by the clouds, turbulence on the wings, and the rising and falling notes of the variometer.By trial and error we gained another hard-won thousand feet of altitude. By now I weaved around rising wisps and tendrils of darkening clouds that materialized all around. We were still climbing so I pushed the nose down to remain clear of the cloud deck overhead (visual flight rules), and quickly reached 120 knots on a westward heading.As if a curtain was yanked back, we emerged into brilliant sunlight. Slight back pressure on the stick to climb, trading speed for altitude.The turbulence stopped. Eerie quiet. Surprising. Half out loud: “huh, what just happened? Did we just fall out of the bottom?”But a quick check of the instruments showed the stunning opposite: the variometer displayed a steady nine knot climb. The altimeter was visibly winding up altitude at an astonishing rate.The flight was smooth as cream as we rose up and past the wave deck off the left wing.We had solidly connected with the mountain wave!There are few moments as awesome and profound as climbing skyward in a glider as fast as you can pedal a bike forward.The view out the canopy?Two wave windows from approximately 5500 feet AGL. There are very few things more exciting in life…For those who aren’t familiar, the signature feature of wave is silky smooth lift. Contrary to the turbulence near the ground, the conditions in wave lift are incredibly calm and serene.Smooth! There’s no way to put the experience into words. It’s laminar airflow writ large across the mountain terrain. And it flows with nary a ripple.I tell Frank he can loosen his straps and stretch out. I do the same. The shoulders say “thank you” where the harnesses bit into them.The wave windows extend north and south as far as the eye can see. We start flying north, and when we pass 11,500 feet AGL, put the nose down to pick-up our pace. Notable peaks of the state - Camels Hump, Mt. Mansfield, and Jay Peak - dot the spine of mountains below.We flew 70 miles north to nearly the Canadian border, then turn around and fly south. The wave window slowly undulates, but maintains it’s presence. We observe the window carefully to make sure it doesn’t close-out with us above the clouds.You glider pilots know what I mean. This view soaring up past the edge of a well-established wave window taken at about 9000 feet AGL.In case it needs to be said, wave soaring is an experience you don’t forget.Anyway, I got distracted. Back to the question. It was a question about turns and opposite rudders, right?After two hours at altitude, we’re ready to come down. Which means we have to leave that beautiful smooth wave lift. We cinch tight the harnesses and descend into the maelstrom waiting below.We slide off the ridge at 110 knots and cross the runway at 1500 feet. Rough as stink. The wind-sock - standing straight out - has swung to a westerly component of the wind. We’ll land on runway 22.The Sugarbush runway is oriented 22–04. The mountain chain that forms the wave lift is to the west (right) in this photo.Gliders at Sugarbush fly right-hand patterns regardless of which runway they land on. The initial point for runway 22 is 1000′ AGL above the small hill to the right edge of the above photo. When the wave is roaring, turbulent rotor conditions often touched down on the runway.Today was that day.The glider bucked and rolled as the turbulence worked the long winds. I hung on to the stick, feet in rudder straps, to maintain control while the glider threw me hard against the harness. Amazing how “tight” is never tight enough.It felt like I was wearing the glider. Barely.Rowdy! Think gorilla-shaking-a-toy-airplane-rowdy and you get the idea.I decided I’d carry an extra ten knots airspeed to help maintain control in the pattern. The runway is long enough to be forgiving.The downwind leg included a large crab-angle to compensate for the crosswind. I set-up a ludicrously long base leg, half-airbrakes to bleed energy. But even with a calculated fat base leg the turn to base quickly merged with a steepening turn to final. It was happening so fast….“Things are going to be rough on final!” I said, observing the wingtips describe large circles as they flexed in the turmoil.Up front Frank sat stone-silent. I assumed he wasn’t enjoying this.I had the final glide path reasonably stabilized, a sharp crab to the right to maintain the ground track.But we were at 400 feet in rising air that must have included up-rotor roiling over the thrashing trees.The Grob’s powerful airbrakes were full-out, and still we were too high to make the runway.We finally come to the point of this answer:Too high on final!We needed to scrub a lot of energy. Two options remained, only one of which I liked.Gentle S-turns on final can be useful. But on days like this it’s far too easy to get blown off-course down wind.I opted for the second choice: a manly hairy-chested side-slip to the right.Hard right aileron dropping the right wing. Mashed the left rudder to the floor, aggressively crossing the controls.“oh fuck” Frank gasped, falling heavily against the harness, hands flailing to brace on the cockpit walls.We dropped, literally sideways, out of the sky, the glider jittering and vibrating from the disorderly airflow over the lifting surfaces.The closest I can come to describing this approach? The clacker-ball in the bottom of a can of spray paint being shaken by a huge hand comes to mind. Even on final at 100 feet we violently gained and lost altitude as we crossed the airport boundary.I eased the slip as we reached the grass over-run at 50 feet but held the crab. Half airbrakes bleeding speed from 70 to 60 knots as we reached the threshhold at 10 feet.I just wanted the wheel on the ground!Pavement beneath us, leaves blowing sideways past the canopy, I waited as speed bled away. Kicked left rudder to stop the crab and orient with the runway.Mercifully, the glider settled onto the pavement.Back to full airbrakes, upwind wing held low, cycling the control stick to work against the turbulence, forward on stick to plant the nose wheel, apply main wheel brake…. and by god…. we rolled off the runway to a stop on the grass.Silence, save for the wind and blowing leaves.“I’ll need a minute to catch my breath” I told Frank.We sat as gusts shook the glider in the dusky fall light.Popped-open the canopy and breathed in cold clean air. Loosened the seat harness. Leaned back and closed my eyes in the seat.“Tim, that may have been the three most amazing hours I’ve ever spent in my life. Not sure I enjoyed every moment. But absolutely beautiful. I’ll be thinking about it for weeks.”Debbie drove over from the office in the golf-cart as we dragged the glider to the tie-down. “I saw you land. I couldn’t believe that slip! The glider was bouncing up and down so much on final I didn’t know what was going to happen. Glad I wasn’t there with you!” she laughed.So…crossed controls? Bottom line: they can be an incredibly effective tool to get rid of excess energy in the pattern. Because sometimes, you just have to fly.But you must always land.Photo attribution: All photographs used herein were taken by various pilots - including myself - flying with Sugarbush Soaring.

BY NAVEEN GUPTAROLLER COASTER TOUR OF VARANASI OF SOUTH – “THE RAMESHWARAM”, GHOST CITY – “DHANUSHKODI” AND TEMPLE CITY – “MADURAI”Trip Duration – 27 Dec 2017 to 30 Dec 2017.Marvelous temple town Madurai’s Mattuthavani bus stand was the place where our tour operator Amitesh travels had sent car to pick us up. Driver Pandi who was waiting there for us welcomed us. We had boarded the bus at 8:00 PM the previous day and reached Madurai at 06:00 AM next day. So our tour started on 28 Dec 2017 at 06:00 AM from Mattuthavani bus stand for Madurai – Rameshwaram – Madurai – Munnar – Madurai, covering a distance of approx. 1000 KMs.At Pamban BridgePandi with his car was to remain with us for full 4 days upto 31st Dec night. We had already booked bus to return to Bangalore. It was scheduled at 10:15 PM from Mattuthavani bus stand on 31st Dec, so on new years’ eve we were in Madurai. Mattuthavani bus terminus is one of the largest bus terminal in Tamilnadu situated in Madurai, Melur high road spread over an area of 18 acres. It has all the amenities which a traveler will need. We got ourselves refreshed by using washroom of bus stand, then ate breakfast at ‘Temple City’ restaurant opposite to bus stand. It is clean, spacious with very good vegetarian south indian food with good prices. We enjoyed its filter coffee & badam milk and were on our feet again.Courteous behavior of Pandi will be remembered by us for long time, but he didn’t understand Hindi and knew English little bit. So language was a problem but we were able to somehow convey our thoughts to him. The plus point was that he was familiar with the places on our itinerary.We had well planned itinerary in our mind. Our first priority was to go to Rameshwaram & have darshan of Jyotirlingam there. We had planned so that each and every minute is utilized and no place worth visiting is escaped. Internet research has made the things and planning so easy. We put all our heat & soul in planning and as usual our stay at Rameshwaram was already booked.Drive from Madurai to RameshwaramWhile driving from Madurai to Rameshwaram we noticed that nowadays going to faraway places have become quite easy because of vast roads and all types of transport availability. Superstar Rajnikant is so popular here that our driver Pandi had set “Rajni Uncle” as his caller tune.On the way to Rameshwaram From MaduraiWe stopped our car for a while on the way when we saw an old lady selling fruits. We asked the price of bananas and she told in Tamil which we couldn’t understand then she depicted us 50 Rs currency. We purchased one dozen bananas. Those were very small in size but quite tasty. However, coconut water we drank on the way was quite refreshing and delicious. The quantity of one coconut water was sufficient to fill stomach of two persons. We never missed the opportunity to buy coconut water. Creamy layer of coconuts was very sweet and tasty.Enjoying speciality of Tamil Nadu – Enormous CoconutsPamban bridgeAt last we reached Pamban bridge. Pandi itself stopped the car to take some good snaps. Cool breeze was blowing which was quite refreshing. We had come from Delhi’s harsh winter then experienced Bangalore’s charming climate (like spring season in delhi) then Tirupati’s climate which was neither hot, humid nor cold in December (Trimala was cold at night in December because it is situated on a hill) and Madurai was quite bearable during day time. It must be quite hot in summers. So we can clearly see that December is the perfect season to go to southern states of India.My dream destination Rameshwaram was only a few KM away from us. Rameshwaram is a town on Pamban island. Indira Gandhi raod bridge ie Pamban road bridge connects shores of Mandapam (a place on Indian main land) and Pamban (a fisherman town in Rameshwaram island).At last we reached Rameshwaram town on Pamban island, the most charming and divine place located at the southernmost tip of India.We had already booked the hotel “Tamilnadu” a TTDC hotel only 1 KM from Ramnath swami temple on TTDC website. Its location is superb, very near to agniteertham beach. We got a sea facing room on first floor. You can witness best sun rise here and atmosphere is also peaceful. The manager of TTDC provided us a comfortable stay. We reached there in about 3.5 hours at 11:15 AM, covering a distance of 176 KM.At Agnee teertham beachWe were so excited that without wasting a minute, we kept our luggage in the room, picked our clothes bag (with fresh clothes we will need after bath in Agneeteertham beach).Quite worrying about how we will be able see such a big temple ourselves we headed towards temple, we were expecting a person who could guide us. Hotel Manager suggested a Panda and were convinced after having a discussion with him. He asked us to hurry as temple gets closed by 1 PM. Again, you can have darshan in the evening from 03:00 PM to 09:00 PM. Panda (Priest) offered us to take us for bath at all the kunds (22 wells). A dip in the holy wells started from sea beach (Agneetheertham). It is considered very auspicious and is equivalent to performing a penance.22 Kunds Holy bathAll this while the Panda (Named Arsu, mobile number can be shared on demand), took care of our bags. He stood near it while we were having bath at Agniteertham. I had kept money in my shorts pocket. It was carefully well wrapped/covered in plastic bags. We entered the sea with wearing all our clothes. In the excitement to have bath at Agniteertham beach I forgot about money and somehow my shot pocket got flipped and money packet got slipped from my pocket and it started floating on water. My wife noticed it and alerted me. Thank GOD, I successfully caught the bundle in time. I had money only with in that bundle that I brought with me from my hotel room (also we left all our mobiles except one at hotel room only) and only from it I was supposed to pay Panda’s fees which was quite high. Anyway, I took a sigh of relief.We all had entered the sea holding hands of each other. Big waves of sea were pushing us hardly. There were some stones also below on water which could prick and injure the feet if not careful. Though waves were high, my both sons enjoyed swimming even we asked them not to.We all closed our eyes and prayed to Lord Rama. We were blessed to have bath at the same sea that Lord Rama had crossed to go into the territory of demon Ravana.It is said that first kund/teertham now lies submerged under this sea. So the bathing ritual commences from this place. I prayed to Sun God taking some water in anjuli (folded hands), eyes closed, hands joined in prayer, head lowered. My wife and both sons followed me.After 15-20 minutes, we came out. The Panda picked our bag on his shoulder and asked us to follow him. He took us to a place and deposited our Chappals there. It was a counter in a corner for depositing shoe, chappals etc. Next he took us to all the wells one by one, 22 to be precise.Rameswaram has 22 Theerthams in the form of wells in various parts of the temple. Taking bath in all these Theerthams purify the body as well as the mind. It is believed that this water is holy and also having medicinal qualities. At Kodi Theertham pilgrims take their bath lastly and end their pilgrimage of RameshwaramMahalakshmi Theertham is situated in the South of the Hanuman Temple. Dharmarajan bathed here and got riches.Savithri Theertham is situated in the West of the Hanuman Temple. King Kasibar got rid of his curse.Gayathri Theertham is situated in the West of the hanuman Temple. King Kasibar got rid of his curse.Saraswathi Theertham is situated in the West of the Hanuman Temple. King Kasibar got rid of his curse.Sethu Madhava Theertham is the tank at the third corridor. One will get Lakshmi’s blessings and purification of heart.Gandamadana Theertham is in the area of Sethumadhava Temple. One will get riches and their sins will be absolved after getting rid of their penury.Kavacha Theertham is situated in the area of the Sethumadhava Temple. One will not go to hell.Gavaya Theertham is situated in the area of the Sethumadhava Temple . Shelter under Karpaga Virutchaga tree.Nala Theertham is situated in the area of the Sethumadhave Temple. One will get Soorya Teejas and reach heaven.Neela Thertham is situated in the area of the Sethumadhava Temple . One will get the benefit of Samastha (entire) yaga and receive Agni yoga.Sangu Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. Vatsanaba, the Sage, got rid of his sin of ingratitude.Sakkara Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. The Sun got his hand turned golden.Bramahati Vimochana Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. Bramahati was absolved of his sins.Sooriya Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the temple. One will get the knowledge of the past present and the future and reach the worlds they want.Chandra Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. One will get the knowledge of the past present and the future and reach the worlds they want.Ganga Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. Gnanasuruthi Rajah attained wisdom.Yamuna Theertham is situated in the inner corridor of the Temple. Gnanasuruthi Rajah attained wisdom.Gaya Theertham is situated in the in the inner corridor of the Temple.Siva Theertham is situated in the South of nandhi Deva in the Temple. Completion of Bhaira Brahmahathi.Sathyamirtha Theertham is situated in the Amman Sannathi. Emperor Bururoonu got rid of his curse.Sarva Theertham is situated in the front of Lord Ramanatha’s Sannathi. Sutharishna got rid of his blindness (from birth), iliness, and old age and then he prospered.Kodi Theertham is situated in the first corridor of the Temple. Sri Krishna got rid of his sin of killing his uncle kamsan.All kunds lay scattered all around the temple premises. There are arrow marks to guide your way from one well to another. Water of each teertham tastes different and contains medicinal properties. Legendary I can say, faith is all you need to feel blissful. We did as the Panda instructed us to do. We reached all the wells following the Panda. At every Kund, we all gathered at one place and Panda (or his associates) fetched a full bucket from Kund and poured on each of us in turn.It was a divine experience and feeling cannot be expressed in words. We were enjoying every bath (chanting Harey Ram! Harey Ram!) and thanking the GOD, the almighty that he had provided us the opportunity to be there. Taking baths at every kund was quite tedious and we were able to do it as we were having Panda with us otherwise it might take hours.My both sons enjoying every minute of each others companyRamanatha Swami TempleThe temple premise is very big and walking under a canopied massive structure carved on row of pillars (1200 in number) the temple corridor, the longest in the world (197 meters long and 133 meters broad) was fete indeed. This temple finds a mention in ancient Hindu Purans and has been glorified by sages with verses over the years. Our guide cum Panda cum priest (you can call him with any name) helped us in every way. We were quite happy that he was doing his job decently and in perfect manner and every penny paid to him was worth his efforts. He charged us 1200/- (for 4 members) though after a great negotiation which he demanded 3500/- initially. The amount we paid after entire sequence of bath at 22 kunds and Darshan. Happily, we also gave some extra amount due to his job perfection. You can find guide because there are plenty and they come to you by themselves to offer help obviously for a price.After bathing at all the kunds the guide took us to changing room, separate for ladies and gents. The guide took us to the place where the Ramalingam sits pretty in a partially lit sanctum sanctorum. It is visible only from a distance. The priests are performing Abhishek amid a string of chants. We stand in queue while the guide waited at a distance. The beautiful shiv lingam in black stone, my heart sings Rama! Rama! Shiva! Shiva!This highly esteemed temple is one among the 12 shiva jyotirlingam temples in India. After moving out from Darshan area, we bowed our heads in all the temple strewn all around the complex. These include Lord Vishwanatha, Goddess Parvati, Ashta Laxmi, Ganapati and others. After 2 hours we were outside the temple premises, we bade good bye to guide and headed to food joint serving steaming south indian meals.We called our driver Pandi to take us to Dhanush Kodi. First we reached our room at TTD Tamilnadu hotel, picked the mobile phones and another set of clothes to change if needed after masti at Dhanushkodi beach. We also took water, some eatables like biscuits, dry fruits and a plenty of chocolates, Namkeens etc with us as Dhanushkodi is known as ghost town and not many options of vegetarian eateries are there.We witnessed faith, mythology and serenity all at one place at sacred land of Rameshwaram island. It is said that bhagwan Rama built a bridge from here across the sea to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from her abductor Ravana.Rameshwaram is a bit polluted because it has more tourist attractions. Rameshwaram temple compound is like a virtual water world and whole temple is drenched in water because of 22 kunds snan. However, the Titanic Ramnathswami temple with its famous corridor (4000 feet long), the pillars (1212 pillars on either side), the Gopuram will remain in my heart always as a placeof Chardham yatra. The other being Puri (East), Dwarka (west) and Badrinath (North).It is the pride of India and one of most visited place of India. Paying the guide, Panda, priest whatever you call them can make your whole experience much smoother without hassles. It is morally correct or not, I cannot say.Now was the time to go to sourthernmost tip of Rameshwaram known as Dhanushkodi, the hometown of former president Dr. A. P. J. Abdul kalam sahib. A stroll across the calm waters of Dhanushkodi beach take you to another world.DhanushkhodiA small island in the tip of sourth india with its white sand and blue waters has flourished as a best tourist spot. Dhanishkhodi means one end of the bow in local language. The floating bridge called Ram setu between mainland & srilanka was built by Lord Hanumana along with his army to cross the sea to reach srilanka (it is just 31 Km away from Dhanushkhodi).Enjoying Cool breeze at Pamban BridgeDhanushkhodi is just 20 KM away from Rameshwaram and only 50 fisherfolks live here with a population of not more than 500. It was once a flourishing town until 1964. A cyclone devastated it washing the entire village.Evening at BeachBordered by Bay of Bengal on one and Indian ocean on the other Dhanushkhodi is one of the most spectacular stretches of Tamilnadu. The incredible views of the sea take your breath away. Before cyclone of 1964 Dhanushkhodi had railway track, steam engine, hotel, textile shops, school, post office etc. There was a train service upto Dhanushkhodi called Boat Mail from Chennai Egmore and a steamer transported passengers to Sri Lanka. But, on 19 Dec 1964 a cyclone crashed Dhanushkhodi totally. Over 1800 people died and all houses and other structures were ruined. Eyewitnesses said that surging waters stopped short of the main temple at Rameshwaram where many people had taken refuge.Following this disaster, the Govt. declared Dhanushkhodi a Ghost town and unfit for living. Now jeeps and cars take you to upto beach because a very good road has been built. This 20 KM long straight ride is an exciting experience and you can see remains of the school, hospital, office building and rail track.We reached the end of the land where the two oceans meet. The driver parked his car and we watched the deep blue sea, the sand we had to cross to reach the beach. After a short walk on sand we reached the beach and wondered how peaceful the place was. The gorgeous blue water of Bay of Bengal mixing with Indian ocean and you find yourself on a strip of land, no sign of life. You cannot venture the sea only step in and wade a little because sea has sudden depths Swimming is quite unsafe here.Coast guards keep a vigil on tourists and keep whisteling if anybody dars to go beyond a point. There are no rest rooms and changing rooms or shack at beach. Only a few stalls are there that sell some shell items and jewelry.Shops at Dhanush KhodiWe spent 2 hours on its beautiful shoreline and took unforgettable photos of this picturesque place. We also saw the particularly beautiful stretch of sandy shore from where the Ram setu starts. It is believed that Vibhishan asked Lord Rama to break the bridge after the war was over and Lord Rama broke the bridge using his bow & arrow. A recent NASA image has confirmed that the stretch of Land formation visible between Dhanushkhodi and Sri Lanka mainland is certainly man made.Ram setu globally known as Adam’s bridge was built by Vanara Sena. Unparalleled natural beauty of the place never ceases to charm you. It is a paradise for birders because rare migratory birds fly to this place from faraway places. The water of the sea kept changing its colour with setting sun. We witnessed the sun set sitting on a wall (platform which was there between road and sandy area). Coast guards shove the people away by 5 PM. Cool breeze had dried our clothes. We left for our hotel again enjoying the 20 KM long ride upto Rameshwaram. Newly built road has made the ride up to Dhanushkhodi very easy but certainly the life of local people (fishermen) is quite tough. Women have to dig deep into sand with bare hands for drinking water.Checking mobile network, showing You are in Sri LankaDhanushKhodi is in news these days because a proposal of a bridge from India to Sri Lanka is on the cards. If the project kick starts, then this place can get its lost glory. How lucky we were, we had been to the place from where we could see the origin of Ram setu. It is a place shrouded in mystery and will remain in heart because of its mesmerizing overall scenic beauty and sunset view.At Dhanush Khodi beach, enjoying sun setWe went to see Dr. Kalam’s house and visited the gift item shop of his brother on second floor. Museum on first floor was closed at that time so couldn’t see. It is on the main road and we stopped here for only 15 minutes. The house is very humble and gives the feeling that simple beginnings do not matter to make your life big.We had a sumptuous dinner at a purely veg Bhojnalaya and liked the food which was like home cooked at Gujrat Bhojnalaya near to main temple.We reached our hotel, took bath because all our clothes and body were drenched in salt & sand, water had dried. My elder son was quite keen to experience the train journey on Pamban bridge so we booked train ticket for Rameshwaram to Mandapam on irctc website for next day at 05:25 AM which reached Mandapam at 06:00 AM on 28 Dec 2017.At Mandapam Railway StationTrain Journey to iconic Pamban BridgeOur driver reached Mandapam taking our luggage. We were quite excited as we boarded the train, but it was an everyday affair for local people. As it was early morning, Rameshwaram railway station had deserted look. Train arrived on time and when it passed the Pamban bridge it slowed down and we enjoyed the view from both sides of our coach, pristine blue water till as far as our eyes could see.Inside the train passing on Pamban BridgeIt was a thrilling ride on this outstanding engineering marvel called Pamban bridge. Its construction started in 1911 and it was opened in 1914. This bridge survived the cyclone of 1964. After 1964 the railways halt train movement on bridge when the wind speed exceeds 58 KMPH.View from Train passing on Pamban BridgeThere are not too many trains that go over this bridge. We were lucky to get seat however it was our sudden plan on advice of our son and we got the tickets in Tatkal booking but it was worth every penny.At Pamban Railway stationMadurai to Rameshwaram we had come via road route and clicked some photos standing on Pamban bridge which runs parallel to this bridge on which train runs. It is a narrow bridge spanning 2 KM between mainland india and island Rameshwaram.After 40 minutes we reached Mandapam station and our driver also came there via road route. He took us to Mandapam beach park where we enjoyed for a while about half an hour.Mandapam BeachWe again started for Rameshwaram – Madurai and stopped at a place to drink fresh Coconut water. Here coconuts were quite large @30/- Rs / piece. We slept during the journey because we had wake up early today while Pandi was listening to Tamil songs and was driving at high speed. In fact I cautioned him many times to drive slowly.Road is very good from Rameshwaram to Madurai. Cool breeze embraces you when you stop at Pamban bridge on the way. We reached in 3 hours from Mandapam to Madurai covering a distance of 152 KM. We had not booked any hotel at Madurai so asked the driver to take us to any good place where we could stay that day. We reached a place near to Meenakshi Amman temple and took a decent room. It was four bedded nice, clean room with attached bathroom and on main road.We placed our luggage and headed to a nearby joint Manorma for breakfast, on suggestion of our driver. We reached Manorma and its tasty Idly and Vada, hot sambhar and Chatni were really good and were served on banana leaves. We had our breakfast to the fullest. We came to know that temple opens till 12:30 PM so we planned to have darshan in the evening when it opens at 4 PM. We had a lot of time with us. We reached our room and took bath, rested for a while and reached Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal which is known for its majestic Indo-Darvidian architechture and beautiful interiorsWe took a tour of the whole palace and reached our room. We asked the driver that he can take leave now and should come at 3 AM next day for our Madurai – Munnar trip. Driver also needed rest and he was basically from Madurai so he happily agreed and went home. We left our mobiles, leather purses etc in the hotel room and headed for Meenakshi Amman temple on foot.We kept our shoes & chappals at the locker available in the temple and after security check stood in the queue.Meenakshi Amman TempleThis temple is considered one of the oldest and largest temple of India. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations of south India dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi & Lord Sundareshwara. This is architectural master piece built over a vast area (45 acres) with 5 different entrances. Superb craftsmanship, stone inscriptions, drawings and paintings on walls make this temple a place worth spending your time. We explored the temple area for a good 3 hours and did darshan of the deity seated in garbhgraha of the temple.The traditional music, the Hindu rituals, incense scent and smell of flowers still wander in my mind when I recollect the time spent there. Conservative dress, which does not reveal legs or shoulders is a must while visiting the temple. You are manually searched by guards before entering the temple.This temple was announced as the Swachh Iconic place in India in 2017. The streets surroundings the temple are also swept and are neat and clean. Water dispensing units are used for this purpose which helps to make toilets usable for tourists. Main highlight of the temple is its stunning hall of 1000 pillars. Goddess Meenakshi can be identified because she is always represented as a graceful lady wearing a green saree holding a parrot in her right hand. Meenakshi = Meen + Akshi means a lady with eyes of a fish.The idol of Shri Meenakshi Amman is made of greenish black stone. The Linga of Lord Sundareshwara is believed to be one of the 68 swayambhu Lingas worshipped in India. Swayambhu lingas are not man made and are naturally occurring. The Linga is supported by 64 Bhootaganas, 32 Lions and 8 elephants.A huge Ganapathi idol supposed to be 1500 years old is worshiped just outside the sanctum of Goddess Meenakshi.As we came out of sanctum of Goddess Meenakshi we looked up to the ceiling and saw a recently painted 3-D image of Lord Shiva’ linga. This Linga gives us an illusion of following us as we circled around it below. We were so satisfied with the darshan that a sense of pride filled our heart. Everything was well organized right from security check to ticketing to generaal cleanliness.This temple is world class and truly represents the energetic, ancient city on Vaigai river Madurai. We bought Laddoo Prasad, Maduari special Kumkum and auspicious picture of Goddess Meenakshi from counter selling these items outside temple premise.After exploring the market surroundings, the temple, we purchased some eatables, fruits etc and came back to our room. Packed the whole luggage and slept setting alarm for 2 AM. Got refreshed and Pandi came at sharp 3 AM as promised and were quite excited as we were visiting God’s own country Kerala’s gem, the paradise on earth “Munnar”.When I think about the time we spent during our trip of southern states, I realize that life becomes pretty amazing when we tour new places. God has made this earth so beautiful with diversities that humble souls like me can only try to reach the places which are in our budget.As Edith Wharton has said, “There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”.I think I am trying to be a mirror by writing about the beautiful places I have visisted. I always see the scenic site of a place. The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.Munnar….we are coming………… J