A Word About the Travels
Where am I?
I have been fortunate to have travelled extensively, learning about different cultures, different wines, different women and so many different angles on life. It has helped me realize the beauty of this magnificent planet and the strength of the human spirit. It is in this same spirit, that I have written a number of articles which travel the same roads, although with a little more introspection, a dash of spice and humor, and the longing to always hit the trail again. As a poet once wrote: "My feet are short, the road is long and my imagination infinite."
Travel Tips for the Tipsy
One of the hazards we run into if you happen to have to travel regularly is, among many other incidents, the seat companion. From the busy bus you occasionally take to the comfortable first class seat on a transatlantic flight, there is always the uncertainty of having to share a seat with someone that can only be classified as a pain in the horizon! Let me tell you about the heart-wrenching story of my last trip to Singapore, starting at New York's JFK Airport in New York.
While I am mentally prepared at all times, to have to share travel time with an undesirable seat companion, my rejection limits have never been thoroughly tested. The young lady that sat next to me in the window seat of that comfortable first class row, was the image of charm, beauty and seemed to promise through a seductive smile a most pleasant trip and who knows what post-flight exciting chapters! |
Paris on $20,000 a Day
Sitting next to me in the evening flight to Paris from JFK, was a successful young executive. The successful part of his equation was easy to perceive; he was wearing a 500 dollar shirt, a conservative but eye catching Hermes necktie, an impeccable Tahaney suit and, by his feet there rested a leather attaché case made of fine unborn calf finely designed and exquisitely finished metal locks almost screamed "I am a mark of distinction!" Responding to some unconscious quest for keeping things in their places, I mentally catalogued my seat mate, even before I had a chance to exchange a word with him. In this age of high executive salaries, quick killings in the money markets and sudden wealth appearing from sources of varied pedigree, I could not readily place him. I had to settle for one of those young lawyers who join Dad’s old firm and, true to modern American tradition, start at the top. I also figured he was single, as I did not see a wedding ring nor the tell tale sign of one. This, however, is not a finding of any certainty as present mores allow unions, arrangements, situations and joint ventures between heterosexual couples that no longer make use of socially imposed symbols. "Will you have champagne or something else?" -- asked the stew on duty. The question was directed at my seat mate first, as he was seated next to the window. "Just Champagne, please" -- His voice was well structured and his accent faintly smacked of Eastern Shore. And, of course, champagne was the right thing to drink at that moment. Continued... (Click here + more travel articles) |