Well, when last we met, I promised to post some (more) photographs of my recent trip to Israel. If you’ll “scroll down,” (a good biblical reference) you’ll find some lovely photos of Tel Aviv, the Golan Heights, the Sea of Galilee, and food! Lots of great food! Most folks in Israel thrive on the Mediterranean diet, which is quite healthy, and insanely delicious. (Lots of hummus and eggplant, and assorted veggies, mostly grilled.) Seafood is also quite popular, and every time I “see food,” I stop for a bite or two. Which explains my recent weight gain!

After a week in Israel, made extremely pleasant by our wonderful guide, Udi, we flew to Budapest, Hungary, where I was also “hungry” for more delectable cuisine! (Think duck, great wine, and strudel.) From Budapest, we boarded a ship and cruised down the Danube for 10 days, stopping in many beautiful places, including Vienna and Prague. Naturally, we met some GREAT folks on the cruise, and I will tell you all about them next week. (and will include some more photographic evidence of my chicanery!)

By the way, my web coordinator tells me that we are back to our pre-Covid level of blog followers, which is somewhere around 100,000 to 125,000 good-hearted people. (gluttons for punishment, if you consider my lame jokes!) Nevertheless, I am VERY grateful for the continued support and interest. (Our blog is now viewed in over 93 countries worldwide!) No wonder the world is falling apart!

Incidentally, speaking of book awards, (we were?) my new history book, GONE BEFORE GLORY, recently received two more literary awards! The 2022 IPPY AWARDS (Independent Publishers) bestowed the Bronze Medal for “Best U.S. History Book of the Year,” and GONE BEFORE GLORY was also named as a FINALIST in the 2022 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD CONTEST! Both awards come with a HUGE monetary award (actually, a modest check) and some great publicity. Needless to say, I was thrilled to receive both awards, and I would like to thank the judges for their recognition.

Time to start packing for L.A. , where I will be going to an awards ceremony to pick up a Gold Medal for my last mystery novel, CAPONE ISLAND. The book was chosen as “Best Mystery of 2022” by the Los Angeles Book Awards and I hope to finalize some sort of film deal while I’m out there. Do you guys think Brad Pitt is too old to play Adam Gold? What about Ben Affected? Just curious.

Well, take good care of your wonderful selves, and we shall meet again soon…..

Love to all,

Doc Yanoff ******Photos below!*****