Na, Na… …Na, Na

Every morning, around 8AM, I would be awoken by shouting from a man walking down the street outside my apartment window. Where was this? Ville Nouvelle in Meknes, Morocco.

He was yelling NaNa, NaNa…with a lot of nasal. He, wearing qadrissi pants (characterized by a wide and low crotch that reached to the knees), was walking with his donkey. And the donkey’s two saddlebags were chock-full of freshly cut mint clumps for making mint tea at home.

Fresh mint–the only way to really enjoy it is the Moroccan way. Grab a bunch of freshly picked mint and just add a pinch of black tea, too much white sugar and a sprinkle of orange blossoms on top. The water should be too hot to touch, too hot to drink. Got to slurp it. Hospitality without words.

This is local-agriculture-home-delivery. I had seen it once before in the early 1950s where I grew up on the East Side of Detroit. Then it was a local baker–up and down neighborhood streets. What kind of neighborhoods then? One car per family used by father to get to and from work. Neighborhoods sized by cars–not by pedestrians–no walking–only driving. But late 20th century–Meknes, Morocco. It was walkable and local. I loved it.

Had to tell that story–thus CJ was born. Read about his experiences in Morocco. He wrote about them in Tangier Gardens: Out of the classroom into real life… via plant portals.

The ebook is FREE now at Smashwords via this link.

How Easy Is It?

Morocco

How does a beauty such as this…come into reality?

What was there in that same place before?

How does water get there?

Where does the water come from?

Who made the design for the tiles?

Who made and colored the tiles?

Where did the color come from?

How long has the fountain been there?

Why did people stop using it?

And how does the fountain fade away and die?

Is it a cultural museum piece?

In Tangier Gardens, CJ had plenty to examine when he went to Morocco for his term abroad design study; but somethings got in his way…

Somethings?

These are what CJ describes in his curious tales.

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Those tales are very short stories, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve: find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!

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All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

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If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, here: https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

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Dragons’ Blood Trees

Dracena cinnabari and Dracena draco, found on the islands of the Socotra and Cabo Verde archipelagos.

These dragons’ blood trees are found naturally in only two places, both in the Tropic of Cancer. These two places are separated by a continent and 8,000 kilometers.

The mature dragon’s blood trees regularly have four meters or more clear trunk before the branching and leaves. They are rare and unusual–magnificent trees to behold.

More surprisingly, different cultures, separated by oceans and thousands of kilometers, agree on the paranormal curative properties of the dragons’ blood trees.

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In the La Montagne region of Tangier, CJ was on his way to visit the old residence of the Portuguese ambassador, now a private villa, named, “Loins du Monde Real”, (far from the real world), when he encountered not one but a forest of dragons’ blood trees. He was reaching his first plant portal—it was real but there was nothing normal about it.

CJ had no idea what was a plant portal until he visited with the Russian and British horticulturists now living in the “Loins du Monde Real” villa. The strange culture, the North African landscape and Mediterranean gardens were not what he expected.

CJ tells about his adventures in his short stories, his tales. Those tales are, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve: find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

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The first three episodes are FREE and they include SIX tales. Find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!!

***

All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

***

If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, here: https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

What do you have to lose?

CJ’s Journey

Tales til Christmas–CJ’sJourney

What???

Majoun, jajouka, gnawa…CJ wasn’t sure where to turn. He just wanted to finish his term-abroad design study. But all around him…culture, landscape, gardens; they were all different. They were all strange. He thought he knew what he was getting into…but did he? He did know one thing for certain—he wanted to be home for Christmas. Read his short stories.

Those short stories are, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve: find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!!

***

If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, here: https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

Tales til Christmas

Stinger in the tail…or tale?

The strange culture, the North African landscape and Mediterranean gardens are not what he expected.

In June 2000, Christopher Janus, an American landscape architecture student at a mid-western university, finds himself in Tangier on a term-abroad design study. 

CJ, as his friends called him, could not wait to be home for Christmas.

To complete his Moroccan term-abroad design study, CJ writes about his strange culture, landscape and garden experiences in a series of 40 short stories.

Those short stories are now, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve.

http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

Take a break and ENJOY!!

My Town of Birth

Detroit

The great and prosperous 1950’s USA cities are now, 70 years later, looking more often like this.

Decaying, falling down, not habitable. The big tree of hard working people, families and jobs that supports great and prosperous cities–cut down in its prime. Sad.

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But what about cities that still thrive after centuries–like Tangier, Morocco? Check out Tangier Gardens for an inside look–the ebook is free at Smashwords.

Thank you.

Trapped?

Trapped in the dark? You do have options.

There is light, sunlight, transcendental light… look for it.

It’s always darkest before the dawn–the dawn does come…wait for it, go to it, change will come.

You can see through the dark times.

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In Tangier Gardens, CJ was submerged in dark times; but with the help of his girl friend, Sachy, he found the light.

If you’re into these kinds of stories, please join my mailing list, more are on the way–stories from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

My Secret Pleasure

My secret pleasure? I find it when I see clouds forming and escaping from the mountains.

When the temperature, humidity and barometric pressure are amenable, I can see the mountains breathing.

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This pleasure from nature, the landscape, the topography, the plants…that is the heart of CJ’s discoveries in my novel, Tangier Gardens, where the student becomes mesmerized by the northwest Africa landscape and Tangier gardens. Interested? Buy the book.

Want to know more? Join my email list–discounts and more.

Thank you

Mountain Stream

The flow.

Mountain stream above the tree line, clear and white–straight flow to the pineal.

The stream takes advantage of the eyes and ears as paths to the pineal.

Words and talking get in the way–the stream continues; but the pineal flow stops.

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In Tangier Gardens, CJ discovered this flow.

He didn’t know what to call his experiences, paranormal, gnostic portals, or the answers to existential unknowns–but he knew the inputs were from nature, its landscapes and plants.

Want to learn more about these experiences in nature, in the landscape? Please join my email list.