Author Archives: Fred Hoyt
2000 years, two religions
January 5, 2019 The recent discovery of a new temple complex nearby (dedicated to the “Flayed” Aztec god—you wore the skins of the sacrificed humans) is a reminder of the rich Meso-American cultures waiting to be discovered, unearthed, and understood. What so far has been unearthed is spectacular, as we discovered at Teotehuacan, about 30 … Continue reading
Breathless in Mexico City—Literally and Figuratively
January 2, 2019 I’m breathless in Mexico City, and that’s only partly because I’m at 7200 feet, 19 degrees north of the equator, and about 1600 miles from Bloomington. My physical state is partly due to what we’ve seen and done the last day and a half. Carolyn has had a long fascination with pre-Columbian … Continue reading
Finally Louisbourg
August 8, 2018 I’m sitting in the Quality Inn Halifax reflecting on our week-long trip to the Atlantic Provinces grateful that our 24 hour plane delay (due to maintenance!) came at the end of our trip; had it come at the beginning, we might have had to scramble to book new reservations; by and large, … Continue reading
A four F vacation
August 5, 2018 Nearly a week ago, we left Bloomington on my quest to add one more experience to my understanding of the French and Indian War. Having seen where it started (Fort Necessity, thanks to George Washington), Montreal and Quebec (1759 and 1760), the big battles that determined North America’s fate (France traded Canada … Continue reading
Scout Camp Again–on the Equator
Scout Camp on the Equator May 20,2018 I’m literally in the southern hemisphere, having crossed the equator, in a TENT. Crossing the equator resulted in a discovery of a young entrepreneur. Stationed alongside the road, at the equator, is a sign indicating that you are in the middle of the earth. There’s a pull off … Continue reading
Legendary Scouter Baden Powell meets Legendary Scoutmaster Fred
May 19, 2018 I’m in awe as I write this, sitting in a 1927 lodge originally frequented by Lord Baden Powell, founder of Scouting. I was in my room when an attendant came in a built a fire to take off the chill of being at 6,000 feet, south of the equator by 25’. I’m … Continue reading
Longer than a Wagnerian Opera (not just this blog)
May 17, 2018 As sometimes happens, our scheduled morning visit got canceled: the visit was to a coffee company, and since 72% of the employment (but 22% of the GDP comes from agriculture, and this what L thought would be our only agricultural visit, I was a little disappointed. But, as I’ve said, you shouldn’t … Continue reading
The “Harvard” of Africa?
May 15, 2018 We went back to school today—actually, to two kinds of educational institutions. For about three hours, we shared teaching ideas and research possibilities with faculty from the College of Business at Makere University, which the dean described as the “Harvard of Africa.” The 96 year old school is the oldest in Uganda, … Continue reading
Just Like Scout Camp, only better
May 14,2018 I’ll be leading almost 30 boys to Scout camp in mid-June, so what I’ve done the past two days might serve as good preparation. For one thing, we ate common meals at the Lodge. Admittedly, there was no Paul Bunyan breakfast (thankfully!); instead, we had buffets that included a lot of Indian food. … Continue reading
A Nile High
May 12, 2018 Being Nile High As I warned, we are in de Nile, or rather in sight of de Nile, the Victoria Nile (one of the major branches) at Murchison Falls National Park, at 2400 square miles, the largest preserve in Uganda. It wasn’t always so. Though it was originally set up in 1910, … Continue reading