Intermission at Hansel and Gretel. Outside the Long Center in Austin. What a beautiful day.

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Scout day at UT baseball stadium Took this picture just as we hit a homer with bases loaded :-) Hook 'em.

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On a rainy day, we stopped in the local rock shop. The woman at the counter told us about Woodwad Ranch in Alpine: It is open to the public for rock hunting. After lunch in our cottage we headed out. The rock shop at Woodward was amazing in itself. Jan, the proprietress showed us what we would be looking for and how to identify what we'd likely find. Then she sent us off with 3 tin buckets and a map. A golden horse that we called Butterscotch followed us all the way to the gate. We spent a couplle hours scouring the hillsides and found a number of pretty good samples!

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Monday morning we stopped at the Pioneer Cemetery to make grave rubbings. The first plot we encountered: Dietrich "DutchAllOver" Dutchover. Amazingly, he was an ancestor of our wrangler from the day before.

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After dinner we stopped for a treat at an ice cream parlor set up in a retired caboose.

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As we were getting ready to saddle up, we recognized the other family with us: Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison and their kids. You just can't get very far away from the Austin music scene.

One of our wranglers turned out to be a history major and spent half the ride telling me about his family history. His 2nd great grand father came from Antwerp, Beligium. After making his way to North America, he was recruited into the army during the war with Mexico. He still didn't speak a word of English, so as the recruiters tried to get his name the most they could discern was that he was "DutchAllOver". So that became the family name (he later dropped the "all" to make it Dutchover).

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Broch, Stefano and I stopped for a pit stop in Junction, Texas onn our way out to McDonald Observatory. Only about 4 1/2 more hours to go.

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A highway rest stop between Sonora and Ozona helps burn off some energy.

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Now the modern big-boy. Great visitor center with videos and displays and a window into the working area of the telescope.

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We are inside the dome of the Harlon 107-inch telescope. All the kids on our tour got to work some of the controls. This thing was the 3rd largest telescope in the world in when it was built in the 60s.

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The boys got tiny solar racers from the obsevatory last night and couldn't wait for morning to come (and the sun to rise...) to get to use them. Science in action. Love it.

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This is dark without a flash, but Broch and Stefano loved this meteorite on display at the observatory. It was found in this county by a 7-year-old boy in 1907 and sent to the Field Museum in Chicago, where it stayed on display until it was returned to Texas in 1987. I probably saw it at the Field Museum when I as Broch's age...I grew up in Chicago.

The Star Party was really cool (and cold!). We got a "tour" of constellations from a UT astronomer who had the most far-reaching laser-pointer I've ever seen. He could actually point to each specific star he was talking about. Then we stood in line to look through different large telescopes set up around the grounds. This mountin air is cold at night, so we only lasted til about 9pm. But that was late enough after our long drive.

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We had dinner in our cottage before heading out to the Observatory.

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At the CII 2010 Brand Summit in Bangalore last week I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Krupalatha Martin Dass, founder and Executive Director of Sukrupa. Krupa, as she is known, created the school to serve the underprivileged and "slum" children -- a term that while factually accurate also points up the kind of labeling that would otherwise limit these bright young spirits. Krupa's passion is ensuring that no such limitation is placed on any child.

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The day that I visited I saw and talked with students ranging from age 2 1/2 onwards to nearly 20. They are schooled in English. Ironically, I was the one speaking Hindi! I met Raj Kumar, an 11 year old designing a water filtration system built from discarded bottles (see photos) and Anne Marie--the only child brave enough to speak to me in Hindi--who at 6 years old has penmanship and structured story writing skills that would be the envy of anyone, anywhere, at several grade levels higher. I met 4 young men, nearing graduation, all possessing exceptional clarity on their futures as they continue into advanced education and professional careers. All in all, I visited with about 200 students, and was left with a feeling of inspiration and wonder.

As I talked with students, I saw in them my own child, Broch. Broch is enrolled in Leander ISD's "International Baccalaureate" and QUEST programs. Check out this entry from his blog and you'll get a sense of the achievement that is "expected" in many families. Note in the photo his kart racing trophies, his keyboard, his personal computer, and the speaker kit he rigged up following an article he saw in MAKE Magazine. Now look at the photo of Raj Kumar: It is identical, and in particular the activated looks of wonder, curiosity and self-pride in both boys eyes. The difference is that for Raj, this was very likely <i>not</i> expected. Through the Sukrupa program, an expectation for his personal growth and development is now firmly established: Raj is thriving as all children he should, creating a new future for himself, his family, his peers, and his country as he grows.

What's important to recognize is that none of the children I saw would have the future that is now theirs were it not for Sukrupa. One woman, and a dedicated team of about twenty teachers, artists and cooks (the children get regular, nutritious meals at the school). This is the kind of visible, life-enabling difference that one person can make. This is Krupa's calling.

Take a look at Sukrupa and consider sponsoring a child or supporting the school: Tell three others about it as well, and bring the future that so many of us already have to those who, for a simple lack of someone telling that child that "you matter in this world" will otherwise never know it.

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Nothing draws boys together like a shared loved of Pokemon DS games. We're sitting in the Delhi airport waiting for our flight to board.

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Broch's enjoying one last ball game with the kids from downstairs on our very slippery granite driveway before we head back to the States tonight. Our flight is at 11:35pm. Not looking forward to international security.

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Had a SPECTACULAR brunch in the garden of the Claridges Hotel in downtown Delhi. What a great event - kids' activities, with Santas ranging from the great folks at Family Vision to an almost creepy (think "Carnival Santa") masked Santa that turned out to be a big hit.

The brunch itself was incredible, and the day was an amazing 75 degrees, clear and sunny. Santas, carolers and a super-swank Indian family that ended up inviting us to a wedding later next month. What a holiday! Took a quick stop in the Aura, the Claridge's lounge, where they serve over 75 different premium vodkas.

Most  amazing, however, Broch "misplaced" his new Titan "Dog Tags" watch literally on Christmas day. (You can see the chain in the photo.) The Hotel's Mr. Amit Metha took it on himself to find Broch's watch. After searching over night, the watch was found in the garden area where Broch had been sword fighting with other kids, and with Santa himself. Hey, the gifts were already delivered so the consequences of any "mishap" involving Santa and the swords were evidently less worrisome than 24 hours prior. Our sincere thanks to Mr. Metha, and to everyone at the Claridges Hotel for one of the most magical Christmas holidays on record.    

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For Christmas eve dinner we've come to one of Broch's favorite restaurants: The Living Room in Hauz Kas Village. They've got holiday specialty cocktails (my "Mistltoe" is an appletini with fresh apple pulp, yum) and they're screening "The Nightmare Before Christmas" on the wall of the dining room while Broch enjoys his lasagne bolognese. Christmas in India is working out pretty well so far.

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About 2 blocks from our flat there is a litter of puppies that we visit regularly. Their mother is, I believe, a street dog that lives in these people's front yard.

The distinction seems to be that if a dog is truly a "pet" it wears a wool doggie coat and is walked twice daily by a staff member (usually a dude) with a stick in his hand - reportedly to beat off any street dogs who may approach (jealous of the plaid coat perhaps?) This mother dog does as she pleases throughout the day.

The homeowners have put out blankets in the shade of the trees and set out a number of water bowls. They have even put collars on 4 of the 5 puppies, and bandaged up one little female who got too close to a car and broke her leg. The little things are hilarious and they sure brighten our day.

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Dave left for a 2 day biz trip to Bangalore, so Broch and I are running holiday errands. Khan Market is over by a lot of the embassies, so it specializes in items for expats like Ritz crackers. Lays potato chips and happy hours. This store was *only* Christmas decorating items and it was teeming with people.

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