Haiti Trip (March); Day Four: Broad daylight does not eliminate the existence of one’s horrors, it simply retreats these horrors to that place within us where our soul is meant to dwell alone. This was the thought that ricocheted around my brain as I sat and listened to a damaged young man (Ronald A.)

  Haiti Trip (March); Day Three: As I sit here typing this post through crossed and blurry eyes, I find it hard to believe that I can be this tired after only three days here in Haiti. As for today’s activities, I spent the morning and early afternoon in Croix des Bouquets touring a new, state-of-the-art,

  Haiti Trip (March); Day Two: *transcribed by Alex via phone While today’s activities centered around two particular topics, this post will focus on a very unexpected occurrence. During a discussion about a job creation initiative for Mole St. Nicolas, a gentleman revealed that he had been personally responsible for the creation of the second

  Haiti Trip (March); Day One: It’s very early Tuesday morning and I am awaiting my flight from Tampa to Miami en route to Haiti. Since I will be on the go from the moment I deplane in Port au Prince, I thought it wise to check-in now while I have a access to the

  Haiti Trip (March – near Lutz); Prologue: As most of you who know me can attest, (and apparently everyone who has actually sees me seems to agree), January’s trip to Haiti was exceptional brutal on me. As a result, I cancelled my February trip and instead spent the last 8 weeks allowing my body

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine.

I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image.

  It’s right around 7:30 pm and I have just landed in Miami. All around me the hum of life fills my senses and I am thankfully for this much-needed infusion of energy. As my recent posts had indicated, over the course of the last 8-days I interacted with scores of people in a wide-array

  A few months ago I passed along one of my favorite quotes which went something like this: “One day your life will pass before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” If I lived to be 100 years old, I may never have a day that surpasses today in scope or in sheer importance.

Today I met privately with two key members of President Martelly’s inner circle. One is the Special Counsel to the President and the other is the Special Counsel to the First Lady. Both individuals were very professional, and considering today was Sunday, quite gracious with their time. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss

  Three years ago today close to 300,000 Haitians lost their lives in less than a minute. If death wasn’t a cruel enough fate for the fallen, most found their way into the back of dump trucks and were unceremoniously buried in mass graves in a place called Titanyen. Only Dante could embrace such an