Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wheel chair rolling. Pedestrian strolling. Corner approaching. Two souls rendezvousing.
An uneasy feeling. Back pocket starts squealing. Wallet's revealing some ringgits for dealing.
Some gracious accepting. Lives intersecting. Good deeds compiling. God must be smiling.
[2011]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 10^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2020: When I saw this transaction unfolding on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, I had to get to my camera fast. I knew something was taking place that everyone should see. I had to document it. Snap, snap, snap: Done. This is the way “almsgiving” works in a Muslim society. People take care of those who can’t easily take care of themselves, even if they are strangers. Just don’t call it charity! It is nothing “over and above”; it is the least that God expects. Here were a few seconds of performance art that made tangible one of the pillars of Islam. It reminded me so much of my studies and travels in the Arab World, where I met some of the kindest and most hospitable people anywhere. I am so glad I was quick on the draw with my point-and-shoot (so much more responsive than those old 35mm varieties I used to strap around my neck). After I returned home, I found the images here to be among my favorite mementoes. I liked the scene so much I wrote the poem above. D.J.Z.

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

   Separate, but tandem;
Their course: a bit random.
By the market they ride;
They feel the good vibe.
The brakes they apply,
A rack they do spy.
A heaven-sent sign:
"Lemonade could me mine,
Or fruit of the vine?
Perhaps we should dine.
Something light would be fine."
   With appetite sated,
Fatigue now abated,
Mood fully elated,
The day re-created,
Onward they ride,
A groom and his bride,
One more day by his side.
[2018]

Singapore, Republic of Singapore

Get ready, kids. It's Ask a Stupid Question Day. Your teachers are always telling you to ask more questions, so why not have some fun with them. Remember, no matter what you ask, their response will be the same: "There's no such thing as a stupid question!" [2011]

Wadi Qelt, Palestine

Welcome to the Judean Desert. It wasn't so welcoming to Jesus, though. He spent forty days here, in the wilderness, after being baptized by his cousin John. Here, he was tempted by the devil, but he never did turn stone into bread so he could eat. Hanging from the cliffs is the Monastery of St. George with its roots in the 4th century. [1998]

Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey: Total Modernity. Two Turks: The embodiment of Ataturk's secular vision of Turkey's future. But, now, Turkey has turned its back on much of what Ataturk envisioned. It has eliminated a free press, jailed opposition leaders, blamed its ills on outside forces, reduced governmental checks and balances, and given more power to its President. [2014]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

"People Make Glasgow" 💖 English teachers will mutter to themselves: Subject, verb, object, but no period. Geography teachers will mutter to themselves: Place-name, but no map. On that banner, there is room for a period and room for a map. Sorry, Zara, are we ignoring you? [2017]

The Rock, Gibraltar

Homo sapiens vs. Macaca sylvanus. Primates both: forward facing eyes, bony ridge above eyes, domed cranium, prehensile hands, opposable thumbs, pentadactyly, nails not claws, flexible shoulders and hips, ability to stand or sit erect, complex social behavior. Wait! Go back. What's pentadactyly? [2015]

Granby, Quebec, Canada

Twelve countries of Central Asia agreed in 2013 that "the snow leopard is an irreplaceable symbol of our nations' natural and cultural heritage and an indicator of the health and sustainability of mountain ecosystems." Yet, their numbers are declining, and once again, human predators are responsible. [2011]

Birmingham, Alabama, USA

If you have been to almost any zoo, you have tales to tell about the lemurs. Some of those tales must be about those tails. Long and mesmerizing, they become the center of attention. What's going on here? Perhaps he is getting ready for some stink-fighting with a rival! [2018]

Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

The world knows them as snow monkeys, but they are really Japanese macaques. Primates they are, and the only primates who are adapted to life in a cold and snowy climate: Just look at those fur coats. They are also adapted to life in the "hot tubs" that nature has provided on Japan's portion of the Pacific Rim of Fire. [2018]

Union City, Ohio, USA

What do you do with the classic cars you've been collecting over many years? Find an old filling station, buy it with your retirement savings, use it as your workshop, and dream about the day when the premises might be opened up as a museum. [2018]

Roann, Indiana, USA

As the days get shorter and the sun lower on the horizon, the colors of summer fade slowly into autumn hues. If the place is Roann, the side panels of the covered bridge are counted on (as they have been for well over a century) to showcase the changing seasons. [2018]

Vermontville, Michigan, USA

There's a little patch of New England in mid-Michigan, and Vermontville is its unofficial capital city. Just as you would expect, here is the Congregational Church, planted here after a Congregational minister visited the area in 1835. Even the architecture is reminiscent of the New England "meetinghouse." [2018]

Hopkinton, New Hampshire, USA

The Congregational Church is one of the foundation stones of New England. It was perfectly suited to the North American frontier because it insisted on the complete autonomy of local congregations. Compare that with the clerical hierarchy that governed the Church of England. The Congregational Church helped make New England new. [2018]

Two Rivers, Wisconsin, USA

The Ethnic Festival in Two Rivers is now in its 27th year, and the theme has never been more relevant. The city at the confluence of the East Twin and West Twin, however, may have a different definition of ethnic diversity than its peers in New Jersey or California. Whatever the specifics, however, let's all Celebrate Diversity in whatever form it takes. [1995]

Washington, DC, USA

More than one panel in the Aids Quilt used the American flag for inspiration. These were Americans, too, and HIV/AIDS was an American problem! By 1996, there were enough panels to cover the National Mall. Each one asked US to remember those who had died of AIDS. Next year, the Aids Quilt (only a part) comes back to DC, this time to the Newseum. [1996]

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Geographers might classify this as stimulus diffusion: The symbols of 'old glory' have been rearranged to form a hat and reshaped into a medallion with a paw-print on the canton! It is all in the interest of publicizing a summer basketball camp. Remember: The U.S. flag belongs to US, not the state! In other countries, a display like this might be illegal. [2018]

Jenner, California, USA

What difference would it make if we replaced the fifty stars on the American flag with the international peace symbol?  It would be even more fun to switch out each of the fifty stars for a set of ideograms representing the essence of American values and ambitions. Here is a chance to design some new emojis! [2005]

New York, New York, USA

It must be patriotic to buy Polo Jeans. What difference would it make if we replaced the fifty stars on the American flag with a single corporate logo or even fifty different ones: Wal-Mart, Apple, CVS, etc. Isn't big business more important to your life than the fifty states? Don't we really let corporations govern us anyway? [2003]

Shiloh, New Jersey, USA

Here's the American flag as we know it: 50 stars for the 50 states, 13 stripes for the 13 originals. It's a very geographical design. In fact, it's almost a map, or what geographers call a cartogram. The scene itself is a re-creation of New York City firefighters hoisting the stars and stripes above the ruins of the World Trade Center in the days after 9-11. [2006]

Forks of the Brandywine, Pennsylvania, USA

Should there be 50 stars on the flag's canton or a one-star cartouche encasing the phrase '50 United'? In the early years of the 21st century, right after 9-11, the nation was in a mood to think about how united we were, and had to be, as a county that had been attacked. Today, things may be different. [2003]

New Oxford, Pennsylvania, USA

All the small stars have been kicked off the flag's blue canton and replaced by a single large star. A single-star design suggests unity, but also refutes the principle of states' rights. We imagine our union as a constellation of 50 sovereignties, not a unitary state in which the national government is the only star on the field. [2005]

New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, USA

On this garage door, the flag's upper hoist (or canton) is but a field of blue. There are no stars. Did you ever think of the symbolism of those stars, or what the flag would mean without them? If you were designing the American flag for the first time, what would you put on the blue 'first quarter' (yet another name for that part of the flag)? [2002]

Bernardston, Massachusetts, USA

"In Our America" appears where the fifty stars should be. On this flag, it begins the sentences that continue on the stripes (albeit only 9). Are you a part of 'Our America'? If not, you must believe the opposite of each statement. Lest you think this is mixing church and state, remember: The flag belongs to us, not the state! [2018]

Northfield Falls, Vermont, USA

Labor Day is not for laboring. It's for taking a break and enjoying the last days of summer. Fall comes to Northfield Falls and the Green Mountains early, so this may be the season's last chance to bag some rays, imbibe some brews, and bathe some booty in the cool waters of the Dog River. [2018]

Contoocook, New Hampshire, USA

Here, along the Contookook River, a rare wooden rail car survives from the early 20th century. It served the people of New Hampshire well during the heyday of passenger service and is now being affectionately restored with one volunteer who was out laboring or Labor Day. See the covered railroad bridge in the background? [2018]

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA

Along Memorial Plaza, the Wall of Names honors the crew and passengers on Flight 93, one of the four hijacked planes that brought devastation to America on September 11, 2001. On the hill behind this couple is the Visitor's Center; ahead of them is the boulder that marks the crash site. The flight path (now walked by the grateful) connects the two. [2018]

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA

Visitors to the Flight 93 Memorial are now able to walk the flight path through gateway walls that mark how high the hijacked airliner was as it headed toward the place were it would crash on September 11, 2001. Through the portals is the overlook, from which visitors may contemplate the horror that unfolded that day, now almost 17 years ago. [2018]

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA

A boulder has been moved in from the countryside to mark the point of impact: the very place where Flight 93 was brought down on September 11, 2001, less than an hour after two other hijacked airplanes plowed into the World Trade Center and one more struck the Pentagon. United Flight 93's speed at impact was 563 mph. All were killed. [2018]

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA

September 11, 2001: "America Attacked!" It was horrific, and now it is memorialized. In addition to New York, there is another memorial expressly for Flight 93, the hijacked airliner brought down in a field only 20 minutes from DC as heroes stormed the cockpit. They overpowered the hijackers whose target was the Capitol. Thank them in your prayers. [2018]