JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Friday, January 18th, 2008

Terry,

I meant to mention the Passion play and I am glad you reminded me. There's an interesting thing that happened recently. I had learned about the passion play and how immense it all is and the fact that it's been going on a very long time as you stated. I found a travel book about the guy who literally invented the term "travelogue" named Burton Holmes. He was the first traveler to educate people about the places and things he saw in a fun more casual traveler sort of way (rather than the dry collegiate way it was done in the past). He did these elaborate presentations every year in places like Carnagie Hall to sold out crowds for many years and is considered perhaps the most traveled person in history. He was an innovator and pioneer in both photography and film making, and was literally the first person to ever film on the continenet of Africa and in many other regions of the world. He was one cool guy.

This book is a sort of sampling put together by historian/librarians who got to catalog his collections. He passed away in 1958 after retiring in 1955 after touring dating back into the 1870's. I've been totally enamored with his story and his writing style, which reminded me a lot of my own approach to writing (at least what I strive for style wise, as he was far more accomplished than I in that respect having written over 80 travel books). So as I got engrossed in the book which showed some of his best photos with his own written commentary, I came across the thing that got him started on his interest in traveling. His grandmother took him as a young boy to see the passion play in Oberammergau, Germany. I was blown away because this is a small town that I hadn't heard of before researching this trip and to find out that a little town I was passionate about, this guy was as well in something like 1880 was an amazing connection to me. It has made all of the places he visted and stories he's been telling me more real and personal in some way. It's hard to explain, but it just seems like I was meant to discover this guy. Oddly enough, I got the book totally by accident. We were out to dinner and there was a Barnes and Noble in the parking lot. It was brutally cold (like low single digits and high, gusty winds with ice on the pavement) and we were very tempted NOT to go to the store, but we can't resist doing a little book shopping as we are rarely ever out shopping together as I travel so much and Linda works so much when I am home we just don't have time. So we went in and found some cool photo books on Rome and Paris (two cities we visited) and were ready to check out and Linda had to go the restroom. I waited a bit and then went to look for her and stumbled upon the photography section of the bookstore (we'd bought the other books from the coffee table discount books section at the front of the store). I glanced around a little at the art and photgraphy books on the shelf and saw this red covered book with an old photo on the front. I was curious so I reached up (could barely reach it up at the very top shelf) and pulled it down. I flipped through the book and quickly realized it was right up my alley. I looked and it didn't have a price tag. I figured it was probably really expensive, as those full price "art" books usually are. I took it to the register and asked the price and the woman struggled to find one. There was no bar code on the book. I was tempted to just move on without it but something pulled me to wait and wait and wait. I told myself as long as it costs under $60 dollars I am buying it (which is a lot for me to spend on a book.. perhaps the most I've ever spent on one actually). She found the price and it was 59.99. I thought.. hmmm.. this must be a sign I should get it. We went to the front and when the woman at the counter saw we had a bunch of photo books she mentioned she travels a month every year to a different place in Europe. We told her we'd just gotten back and we started a back and forth about where we'd been. Then she saw the Burton Holmes books and said.. "hey.. that's my special order." She had ordered it but decided she couldn't afford it so put it back into circulation. But she'd obivously just read it at the store (since the wrapper was off which is why there was no price tag) and she said she had to wait a month to get it and was glad to see someone else was interested in it since she didn't end up buying it. So it was not even a regularly stocked book and it was just a coincidence that it was there for me to accidentally stumble upon. I noted the coincidence and when I got home and started reading it, I thought to myself I really was meant to get this book. Then when I read what his motivation was to set him off on a lifetime of traveling I really was blown away. Yeah.. I know.. not a huge deal.. but my life is nothing if not a series of very unlikely and positive coincidences. (Like the fact that I ran into 2 JPF members totally at random in Europe on 2 different occassions in 2 different cities in Europe (Florence and in a small ruined villa in Pompeii just before closing).

So.. I am glad you brought up the passion play. I almost feel like I should go to the next one, though I know the reservations were all booked up and the tickets long ago sold out for it. Everyone in the town has a part.. it's a big deal.

Brian