On the Road in Portugal (Part One)

It’s interesting that people enjoy travel stories.  For one thing, why would you want to hear how someone else was having a great time while you were laying patio bricks during your week off.  And travel stories always come off a bit uppity, as in – “Garth and I had such a grand time sailing the Aegean with Lars Prendergast -- the world famous author and financier – that we felt we simply must share the experience.”  Even if it’s only an extended weekend at Earl’s Snake Ranch in Iowa there’s always the overtone of “nah nah nah nah nah nah” coming through in that ... [Read More]

For Thanksgiving — A Pilgrim Primer

You have to wonder who among the original Pilgrims came up with the idea of an off-season cruise to the New World. That name is lost to history, but we all know from our grammar school readers that the Pilgrims, unhappy with the leniencies of the early 17th century Church of England – something akin to associating Guantanamo with a Sandals Resort – resettled in Holland to practice a more austere lifestyle. Everything worked out fine until Dutch influence seeped in and the younger Pilgrims (wouldn’t you just know) discovered Heineken beer, cannabis cafes and banana bars. The story we grew up with is all too familiar. ... [Read More]

Wine, Waves & Flies

  Eight centuries ago the Spanish town of Girona had to choose between being infested with flies or infested with French. They went with flies. It was in the year 1285. The story goes that during the Aragonese Crusade Girona fell to French forces, who immediately set off for the collegiate of Saint Felix, where lay the uncorrupted body of the city's patron saint, St. Narcissus. Legend has it that to celebrate their victory the French soldiers desecrated the body of the revered holy man. Suddenly a horde of flies appeared and swarmed the French. According to the graphic description by Bernat Desclot, a monk from Ripoll who "jotted ... [Read More]

The Art of Cruising

I’ll admit that I’ve always held a stereotypical if not openly cynical image of vacation travel aboard a cruise ship -- matched-clothing couples swapping surgery stories over a game of shuffleboard, bloated bodies on sun decks ordering trays of crème puffs between meals, and those stimulating conversations at your pre-assigned group dining table -- “Now Arthur, put that down. You know how fried foods give you terrible gas.” Cruises are for, well, old folks -- not adventurous sixty-somethings like Carol and me! I mean, where on a cruise would be our usual European adventure of hauling overstuffed bags up narrow hotel stairways to tiny, ill-equipped rooms (“The ... [Read More]

Hit by a Tram in Prague

I recall stepping out into a Prague street. I recall lying on my back, staring up into the underside of a tram as pain seared through my body. I just don’t recall what happened in between. It turns out that just before strolling out onto Vyšehradská Street, a one-way thoroughfare near our hotel, I looked right, into traffic, to ensure the way was clear. Being a one-way street I didn’t look left. An unfortunate oversight since next to the three one-way lanes there was a tram lane, heading the opposite direction, with a huge tram bearing down on me at full speed. I stepped  directly into its path. My ... [Read More]

The Greatest Flower Show on Earth

Real estate guys, especially those who fancy themselves moguls, tend to be no nonsense, “don’t bother me with trivia” types.  Fortunately, softening usually comes with age.  I fondly remember one such iron-willed icon telling me, in the hushed tones of a confession, “I think I’m getting old…I’m beginning to like flowers.” I haven’t seen him in some time, but, if he meant it, I could well have bumped into him at Floriade, the world’s biggest flower show.  So big in fact that it happens only once a decade, each time in a different place. Organizers would wince and certainly dart disapproving looks in my direction for calling ... [Read More]

2011 “World Leaders in Trouble” Mediterranean Cruise

We’re all familiar with jokes that begin, “You can tell you’re getting old when…” The punch lines usually aren’t very funny, but, as you get older, you start seeing in them gnawing elements of truth.  The most rattling observation I’ve made as time plods on is that I’m beginning to like cruises.  It’s something that sneaks up on you – like age spots, sore joints, and a sudden, worrisome attentiveness to television commercials where naked couples sit outdoors in side-by-side bathtubs. I should acknowledge up front that “these little signs” about aging are more about me than my wife Carol, who retains a youthful exuberance about ... [Read More]

The Bitter and the Sweet

HeliportTeamWeb

I’ve been reading a book called “The Swerve,” about the miraculous survival of a manuscript of “On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius, which carried forward the philosophy of Epicurus. I had read a translation of that Lucretius about a decade ago, and found myself enthralled with the true nature of Epicurean thought, which is not hedonism but, rather, a way of being in the world. The other day at the Atlanta Botanical Garden I saw the “Epi-graph” in the photo below: Then last week, as I was about to board an overseas flight, I saw another epigraph: “Let each man pass his days in that ... [Read More]

Sinking of the Concordia

It's a long horrifying story of the traumatic impact; people, objects, furnishings flying; the confusion, loss of power, the earpiercing sirens causing babies and children to scream from fright and pain; generations of families vacationing, pregnant women holding dear to their unborns, while the crew held back stampeding humans desperate to get on lifeboats, all competing in volume to be heard. Only 50% of the lifeboats were available, shifting all the weight to the evacuating side with dangling lifeboats filled to capacity and slowing the evacuation. Hysteria became less contained. It was a major scene from a disaster movie. The shore of the tiny island littered with ... [Read More]

Galileo Galilei

Josh Merryman in Spain

Prior to graduating from college I had the desire for another practical experience abroad that I could add to my resume. I love a challenge and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish my goals, but for this experience I needed a more accessible destination. I am paraplegic and use a manual wheelchair for mobility. Since I have an interest in international business, and Spanish is such a common language in the world, I decided to participate in an intensive Spanish language program abroad. I took advantage of the considerable information available on the Internet and did a large amount of research and correspondence regarding prospective language ... [Read More]