100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience #13 Avoid the airport Taxi Touts

You will encounter taxi touts near the exit from baggage claim in arrivals at many large airports.  They stand there asking, "looking for a taxi?" They are after one of two things, tip for showing you to the taxi line that often is just outside of the door, or the worst, they are leading you to a specific car service, often not a taxi outside, where you will pay more than a licensed taxi cab.  Some of these are licensed private car services, some are unlicensed and unregulated drivers. They charge whatever they want to charge.  Before you get a chance to ask questions, your bags will be in the car, and you will find yourself being helped into the back seat.  Buckle up, you are in for a ride, or at least for a fleecing.  Travel reviews are filled with people who feel ripped off by taxi touts.  

Ignore them, it is easy to fein not understanding them.  Look for the line of licensed taxis outside. Even better, for an official taxi starter.  

I seldom use Uber or Lift. The ride sharing services are regulated differently and the price varies depending on demand, time of the day.  Licensed taxis have a regulated price.  When things are busy, a taxi will be less expensive.  Increasingly in smaller cities, taxis have to be called for, or ordered on an app.  

Thursday Ramble: Happy Independence Day

248 years ago the British Colonies in North America, declared their independence. There are debates on the actual date, when it was the document finished, when it was voted on, when it was signed, and when it was read to the public. July 4th is the date that is celebrated. 

There were reasons for deciding to go it alone.  Political decisions that were being made thousands of miles away, without consideration of the needs of the people impacted by them.  Political systems that empowered the rich, and relied in family connections.  Religious interference with the operation of government.  But mostly it was an economic decision.  It was a brave move, the people declaring independence were doing so from their national identity. 

Back in the mid 1970's, Donald, one of my grandmother's distant. English cousins came to visit one summer.  We visited "Greenfield Village" at the Henry Ford Museum complex in Detroit. Henry Ford collected many things, including the homes, offices and workshops of famous people.  We were in Daniel Webster's kitchen and the docent started talking about Webster's role in the American Revolution and the disagreements with England that led the way. Needless to say, the soliloquy was one side of a complex issue, Donald looked at me and said, "I better get out of here, before I say something I will regret" and out the back door we went.  He was a very educated man, an author, judge, and film producer (his brother wrote and produced porongraphic comedies.) I wish I had heard what he suppressed saying, it has taken me decades to understand that there are two sides. 

  

 

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws July 3rd edition

Where have I been this week? The farmers market, the gym, the pool, old town Alexandria, the Dentist,  

What broke this week? My Toto and my Peugeot. My bathroom has a Toto toilet, a masterpiece of Japanese design and engineering, except for the flush handle.  The plastic flange that holds it to the tank, failed for the second time since I have lived here.  It is easy to change, and  Amazon stocks parts.  A few years ago I was in Sur Le Table and found a Peugeot pepper mill on clearance sale.  Before Peugeot made cars, they made the world's finest pepper grinders. A few days ago, I twisted it and the grinder didn't turn.  I ordered a new one from Uncle Jeff, when it arrived I dumped the peppercorns out of the old one, thinking I could put them in the new one, a half a dozen plastic and metal parts came out. It was truly broken.  Why did I replace it, the adjustable grind on it is a work of art.  

Who have a talked to this week? Not much of anyone. My Sweet bear. 

What am I watching / listening to? The greatest bike race in the World, the Tour de France is on for the next three weeks. 

What have I been pickling?  I have a half gallon of dill pickles and two pints of pickled golden beets working away in the kitchen. 

HoW is my sister doing? She had a minor stroke at work, and surgery to remove a blockage from an artery in her neck. The incision starts just below one ear, and ends in her cleavage. She is home, doing well, healing, no apparent long term damage.  She looks like the winner in a knife fight in the back parking lot at McDonalds.

What do I think of the Supreme Court Ruling on immunity? Don't get me wrong, I loath HeWhoShallNotBeNamed, he a vile human being and totally unfit to be in charge of anything. The opinion follows hundreds of years of legal tradition, that government officials are immune for acts in the performance of their official duties. This goes back to the English Common Law, of sovereign immunity, and has been the law of the United States since before we were a country. The immunity does not extend to acts outside the performance of duties, ah- like running for office.  Reading the opinion, this controversy is a result of careless charging and overzealous defense arguments. Both sides should have paid attention to the concept of immunity during the first year of law school. The chorus of scorched cats and those celebrating are making the same error of reading individual sentences out of the opinion, and not the conclusions in the opinion (linked above, and fairly well written.)      

 

Travel Tuesday: Avignon - The Palace of the Popes

More of a castle than a palace, Avignon was on my must see list. I booked tickets online ahead of time. Follow the signs there is an underground parking garage under the village.  The exit comes out just across the square from the entrance.  

 

Moody Monday: Doing well

I am six months into retirement, and I am doing well.  We are spending less than projected, even with one kind of expensive trip completed.  I am writing as I wished to.  I am way ahead on my reading for the year, I finished reading the 40th book for the year last week.  I am staying active, walking pretty much everyday.  We have some adventures being planned.  The consulting agenda has been busier than I expected - but I know that is temporary.  I am meeting with my successor in a few days to talk about moving forward on a book project, that I volunteered to edit (I will write one chapter.)  I am having fun smearing paint onto canvas.  

I have noticed that I am mellowing.  I stop and rethink what I am saying, or writing, based on how it will make the other person feel. 

Idiots are still a danger in traffic, but I am much more patient to traffic delays.  An extra 5 or 10 minutes and I will be there just fine.  I always remind myself, I have more time than fenders (or as the brits call them "wings"). 

I was on a conference call with a bunch of older lawyers the other day. One of them said, "people keep asking me when am I going to retire, and I don't think I ever will, I think, what would I do then?"  And while I am happy with my decision, and seldom think, "what should I do today" his decision is right for him. 

People ask for financial advice on retirement.  When should they start pensions, or Social Security, how much can they spend or draw against investments and savings.  There are thousands of "experts" who think they know the right answer. That think that one size fits all. Often if you look at it, it is the answer that generates the greatest fees for the expert. But ultimately, the answer is it depends.  Each person's circumstances are different.  What do you need, what do you want to do in life, and what do you want to leave behind.  Don't take someone's else's answer, think about it and create your own answer.  (This paragraph is a spin off from an article I am writing for the ABA Senior Lawyers Division). 

There are dangers out there, I keep my distance, and don't feed the crazies. Kind of like the snake, leave him alone, and he will leave you alone.