Copacabana Beach is an expansive 2.5 miles long beach and Brazil’s most populous. The others include Leblon Beach with no crowds and clouds; Ipanema Beach, popular with the wealthy; and Praia do Leme, a lovely beach with clean water, but a bit too crowded.

In the distance, Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: (Cristo  Redentor) looked down at us. The statue was constructed in 1931 to commemorate Brazil’s 100 years  of independence from Portugal. At 98 ft, high with welcoming arms, stretching 92 ft. wide, it was selected as one of the modern 7 Wonders of the World.

“Yankee go home” were the first words we heard in English. They were delivered by an American expat with a decidedly New Jersey accent.  Along with his Brazilian wife they approached us.

“Gee, how’d you know we were Americans,” I laughed.

He replied, “Because your wife is carrying a camera (She only uses film) and wearing jewelry and you both have wristwatches, a dead giveaway that you were Yanks. Only carry the money you need for the day because you may be pickpocketed.”

“Try to see it their way. Imagine you’re a man who has not worked for five years, his children are starving and his wife has a devastating toothache. I’d steal a camera and then sell it on the black market. Wouldn’t you?”

Yes, crime is a problem. Rio remains dangerous. In 2023, the national rate was 18.5 per 100,000, while Rio’s was 21.3, ranking it among the top 10 highest cities.

Pixote (“Small Child,” “The Law of the Weakest”) is a 1980 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. It plays like a raw documentary, and informed the world how crime really is so horrendous in Rio. 

But the people on the beach seemed happy. Copacabana Beach plays host to millions of revelers during the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations, and for the first three editions of the tournament, has been the official venue of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. On December 31, 1994, Copacabana’s New Year’s Eve celebrations featured a Rod Stewart concert with an attendance of 4.5 million, making it the largest concert crowd of all time.

With all that is said and done, someday I will return to Copacabana Beach for a New Year’s Eve celebration. How can I not. I love the people, culture and pulse of life.

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Professor Sir Ludwig is renowned as the father of the Paralympic movement. He was the medical pioneer who proved that disabled sport could be as competitive and exciting as a non-disabled sport.  In September 1943, he took charge of the National Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville in England. He implemented his own theories on how best to treat patients who had paraplegia by introducing rehabilitation through sport. This led to national competitions, then to the International Stoke Mandeville Games and finally the Paralympic Games, which has become the third largest sporting event in the world.

The Beginning

Born in Germany in 1899, then later volunteering at an accident hospital in Königshütte in 1917, he encountered his first paraplegic patient, a coal miner with a spinal fracture. 

By 1933, Guttmann was working in Breslau (now Worclaw, Poland) as a neurosurgeon and lecturing at the university. Guttmann was expelled from his university appointment and his job in 1933 under the Nuremberg Laws, and his title was changed to Krankenbehandler (one who treats the sick). With the arrival of the Nazis in power, Jews were banned from practicing medicine professionally; Guttmann was assigned to work at the Breslau Jewish Hospital, where he became medical director in 1937. Following the violent attacks on Jewish people and properties during Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938, Guttmann ordered his staff to admit any patients without question. The following day, he justified his decision on a case-by-case basis with the Gestapo. Out of 64 admissions, 60 patients were saved from arrest and deportation to concentration camps.  

Earlier, in 1928, Guttmann was told to start a neurosurgical unit in Hamburg, but this post only lasted a year when he was instructed to return to Breslau as a first assistant. He remained in this job until 1933 when, under the Nuremberg Law, the Nazis forced all Jews to stop practicing medicine at Aryan hospitals.  Under such oppression, Guttmann became neurologist to the Jewish Hospital in Breslau and was elected Medical Director of the whole hospital in 1937.

On November 9, 1938 (Kristallnacht), Guttmann gave orders that any male person entering the hospital was to be treated, despite the racial laws specifying that Jewish doctors could only treat Jewish patients.  The following morning, he had to justify the large number of admissions (64 patients) to the SS and the Gestapo.

Like all Jews, Guttmann’s passport had been confiscated, and he was not allowed to travel; however, in December 1938 he was ordered to travel to Lisbon to treat a Portuguese associate of the dictator, Salazar.  On his return journey he was granted permission to go to England for two days.  He managed to secure a visa and emigrate to England with his wife and two children. Guttmann was already in contact with the British Society for the Protection of Science and Learning and was offered a grant.

Guttmann started his medical studies in April 1918 at the University of Breslau.  He transferred to the University of Freiburg  in 1919 and received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1924.

Escaping to Britain

The Guttmann family left Germany on the 14th of March 1939, and went to Oxford where the family found a small house to live in. Guttmann was working at the Radcliffe Infirmary and at St Hugh’s College Military Hospital for Head Injuries. In 1943 he was asked by the Government to become Director of the new National Spinal Injuries Centre at the Emergency Medical Services Hospital at Stoke Mandeville. He accepted the post on the condition that he could treat patients in his own way with no interference.

1944-66 The National Spinal Injuries Centre

The new Spinal Injuries Unit was opened at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in February 1944 with Dr Guttmann in charge. It had 24 beds and one patient. It was initially very poorly resourced, but the medical need was clear; within six months Guttmann had nearly 50 patients.

When Ludwig Guttmann started work at the Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville, the average life expectancy for paraplegics was only two years from the time of injury. Guttmann refused to accept that a spinal injury was a death sentence, and his advancements in the treatment of paraplegia revolutionized the field. He influenced and taught a whole generation of physicians from all over the world in his methods, and centers were established worldwide.

Rehabilitation

An important part of the treatment was to ensure that patients maintained one hope of making progress and returning to their previous life. Patients took part in activities to keep them active – a social rehabilitation as well as a medical one. Workshops where the patients could do woodwork and clock and watch repairing were set up in the hospital. But it was the encouragement of sporting activities that was to make the greatest impact on the wards. The first sport was wheelchair polo using walking sticks and a puck, but this was soon replaced by wheelchair basketball. Guttmann noted that in mixed basketball games between wheelchair athletes and non-wheelchair players that the wheelchair athletes would generally win, having stronger upper muscles.

Archery was also popular; it too relied on upper body strength which meant that paraplegics could compete with their non-disabled counterparts, and it was archery that was the first competitive sport at the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948.

1966-80: Retired but still active

Following his retirement from the Spinal Injuries Centre in 1966, he continued to be focused with the games and the national and international organisations, both sports and medical. That year he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen, becoming Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann. In 1969, a new sports center was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital grounds, later renamed ‘Ludwig Guttmann Sports Centre for the Disabled’ after his death.

As well as his involvement with the games, he continued to travel and lecture on spinal injuries all over the world, continuing to educate and influence others with his theories and methods. However, it was his leadership of the disabled sports organizations that occupied him through the late 1960s and 1970s. It was in the 1970s that Guttmann spear-headed the conversations with the International Olympic Committee about the use of the term, and the later establishment of the International Paralympic Committee.

It was Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann’s drive for disabled sportsmen and women to be included in the Olympics that gives us the Paralympic Games today. The London 2012 Paralympic Games showed how close the world has got to Guttmann’s vision with the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games being organised in tandem. However, there is still a way to go to see the two events combined into one sporting event where disabled athletes compete alongside their non-disabled counterparts.

Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann died March 18, 1980 of heart failure. He did not live to see his vision realized, but his work continues through the current disabled sports organizations and through the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville, which continues to be a world leader in the treatment of spinal injuries.

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Svalbard, Norway – Wildlife

As late as 1990 there was virtually no tourism to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Located between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole, Svalbard was first the place for explorers, then whalers and coal miners. But thanks to companies like Hurtigruten – the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, it is now on the tourist map for the whole world to see. My adventure began aboard the coastal steamer MS Nordstjernen from Longyearbyen – the most northern city in the world. Heading northwest, I experienced breathtaking fjords, calving glaciers, unique animal and plant life, and a midnight sun that refused to go down. Over 60% of the archipelago consists of national parks, nature reserves, and bird or plant sanctuaries. Only four land mammals can survive on this barren tundra: the Svalbard reindeer, the Arctic fox, the Svalbard mouse and the polar bear – which has become the very symbol of Svalbard. The largest living land carnivore, they are considered the only animal that actively hunts humans. Actual encounters with this mighty species are rare, but their presence is felt all around. Visitors cannot leave settlements without a weapon or armed guide, and instructions are given on what to do with an unexpected encounter. From the deck of the vessel, I spotted a mother and her cub sleeping on an iceberg. After a couple of restless nights of my own, I would have liked to have asked them how they managed to sleep through the midnight sun.

Tahiti & Her Islands – Cuisine

The first thing you notice is the fragrance. The intoxicating perfume of the tiara flower announces to your senses that you are in a tropical world, overflowing with island vegetation and soothing trade winds. Indigenous Tahitian cuisine features what’s available from the land and sea. With such a plethora of fresh fruit and fish, it is virtually impossible to starve on the islands. Due to presence of the French (Tahiti is part of French Polynesia) there is a delectable hybrid of French and Polynesian creations. Coconut milk and vanilla – much stronger than the vanilla found in Mexico – are incorporated in many of the dishes. Poisson Cru, tuna cured in lime juice with chopped green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes; and Fife, a chicken stew with spinach-like taro leaves are among my favorites. The taro root (more flavorful than Hawaiian poi) is boiled like potatoes and not pounded. Breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and plantains also offer typical island starch fare. Mangoes, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, guava, sour sop and pummelo are in abundance. From the lagoons come parrotfish, perch, and mullet; from the open sea the freshest of tuna, bonito, Wahoo, scad and mahi mahi. For an insightful overview of these gastronomic delights, visit the main market in downtown Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. Bon appétit!

Corfu, Greece – Literature

In Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, the mythical Greek character Odysseus builds a raft and attempts to return to his home island of Ithaca. But Odysseus’ enemy, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, unleashes a storm and the raft is destroyed. Half-drowned, Odysseus washes ashore on the island of Corfu. He staggers into an olive grove and collapses. My arrival on Corfu was a slightly different experience. Poseidon must have been smiling for the seas were calm and shimmering. And my mode of transportation was the 360 feet long luxury sailing vessel the, Star Clipper – but my thoughts were colored by Homer in preparation for my arrival. In the story, Odysseus is found by a local family who nurse him back to health. Soon he tells the family of his 20-year odyssey, which began with his departure for the Trojan War. Homer, a traveling blind minstrel, articulates the narrative orally in “heroic hexameter” – known as a form of meter in poetry or rhythmic scheme. His approach to the story is considered by many a landmark in literature as the first-time most of a story is told in flashback. Today, odyssey means ‘an extended adventurous voyage or spiritual quest.’ I’ve often wondered how Odysseus was pronounced in Greek. So with a look of a surprise when the question was proposed to a local resident, I was told, ‘O-da-Say-us,’ of course!”

Venice – Romance

Arriving in Venice on a sweltering summer morning is similar to negotiating Disneyland on opening day. Hordes of day-tripping tourists pour into the city in search of Venice’s seemingly endless attractions that include San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, Doge’s Palace, fish market, various boat excursions on the Grand Canal, and a sampling of Venice’s famed seafood and risotto. With a dwindling population of 90,570 designated as permanent ‘lagoon city’ residents, it has been said that every door in Venice now leads to a shop. But who was I to complain – after all, I was a tourist too, and Venice now belongs to the world. For many, the centerpiece of a trip to Venice is taking a gondola ride on one of its many canals. It is touristic, can be expensive and you’ll find a plethora of hungry gondoliers anxious to take you on a short trip. My advice is to wait until the sun goes down, when most tourists have left the island, and taking a gondola ride on the quiet, back canals, avoiding bumper to bumper gondolas during the daytime. Riding on canals in less touristic areas allows you see a different perspective of the city. The best way to do it is to walk a few blocks off the Grand Canal and look for a gondolier who is anxious to please. At that point, you can choose what neighborhood you want to explore. A standard gondola ride is 40 minutes – and yes, to my surprise, it was romantic. The gondolier even honored my request to refrain from singing as he gently maneuvered the gondola through Venice’s  back canals.

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Q one: What was your first memory of Seattle?

When my family arrived from Canada, I was eleven, and was very naïve and ignorant of the ways of the world that day. So, my first memory was moving into a small apartment on Lower Queen Anne Hill. Eventually I would become a high school student on the top its hill, the first place I met my lifelong friend, Ed Boitano, now an editor of www.TravelingBoy.com.

As we unloaded our baggage, though there wasn’t much, for the small apartment was fully furnished, I noticed there was a strange buzz in the air, unlike anything I had ever heard before.

Later, I learned it came from concert at the site of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, by a rock group from Liverpool, who had shockingly long hair. They were named the Beatles, and in a few years would have a great impact in my own life. Soon I transitioned to John Lennon government issued horn rimmed glasses and began to wear my hair long.

Q two: When you were young, how did your parents transition into a new life in Seattle?

My father was a Cockney Londoner, who was a boxer before joining the British Merchant Marines. One of the vessels took him to Winnipeg, where he met and married a 14-year-old Canadian farm girl, who gave birth to my brother and me.

My father, Peter, found a graveyard position as a security guard in downtown Seattle’s new 50 Story Bank Building. We were proud of his new tenure, though others though it was absurb to take pride in such a low profession. But we would remind them, it was an honest job, and he was in charge of protecting a high building, which was then the tallest throughout Seattle.

Q three. You speak with admiration about your father. You must have gotten along with him.

As I said, my father was a Cockney from London, and my brother and I would laugh, when others could not understand what he was saying. And sometimes we would laugh at ourselves, too; for we couldn’t understand a single word he was saying either, and were given a one-way ticket to be alone in our bedroom.

In the early morning, around 6 a.m., his night of work was over, and he would pack our family in a Studebaker for a trip to Seattle’s Green Lake.

And it was there that he taught me how to swim and dive. Due to the early morning hour, the area that surrounded Green Lake was empty of people, and we had the lake to ourselves. And I enjoyed the solitude, for no others would see me struggle and swim, and laugh at me as I crawled up to the shore.

Our high school on the top of Queen Anne Hill was famous for its setting and spectacular city views. But for us it was just an old building and we would barely notice the views. Ed Boitano had Norwegian uncles who were QA Grizzly graduates in the 1910s. Recently, he informed me that General Leslie Groves, who was played by Matt Damon in the 2023 film, Oppenheimer, was QA alumni of the class of 1914.

My Seattle friend, Ed, would boast that he could watch the Space Needle’s construction from his elementary school playground at the Seattle district of Magnolia. He would also boast that he was a native Seattleite, while I was only a mere transplant from distant Canada. These things have always been important to him… for he likes to be one up on the next guy.

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