email from Jacob (writing in reference to his Feb. 25 post Pilgrimage to D.C.:
thanks for the posiivity, and excuse the spelling errors. i’m still travelling in israel (jordan, actually, at the moment) and have been carrying with me for 3 weeks the scribbled papers on which i took notes from that performance the night before i left, opening nite feb.2nd. it’s been weighing on me, and i finally sat down in a internet cafe and typed it. guy knocked the power out mid-session, so i was impatient at the end and hit ‘publish’…
i came to amman (capital) of jordan chiefly because i discovered that in roman times, it was PHILADELPHIA, and is one of the oldest inhabited places on earth. i had to come see and seek out some photos. i was thrilled when i first arrived at the nymphaeum (roman baths — one arched semi-dome left, in the midst of the crowded modern jumble), a bulldozer was parked squarely in front. just like the ruins of our philadelphia…
a few mornings later, i went up to the towering remains of the temple of hercules, and came across a woman milking a goat next to a burned-out auto wreck with the giant corinthian columns a hunred meters behind. wild.
hope all is well in the real phila. see you in march.
