Monday Moods: Kindness and Humor

Reading blogs and comments this last week, someone (I can't find who for sure) mentioned a lack of kindness and humor in the world.  In many ways I feel this.  

I often write about tiny acts of kindness, being nice to one another. Go out today and do something kind.  Send a note to a friend that is struggling, open a door for someone whose hands are full, let the other person go first. Tiny acts of kindness add up. Leave a kind comment on someone's blog, or at least refrain from saying something negative.   

I find myself being touchy about things people say, likely in an attempt at humor, that I take offense at.  

I miss the Comics page in newspapers.  A full page in black ink, six days a week, about half of which were funny, multiple pages in color on Sunday.  Back when we read print newspapers.  A media that has all but gone away.  I read the Far Side daily (linked in my daily reads.) I miss Hagar, Andy, Snoopy, and the Family Circus. When I was in Orlando the daily cartoon on the editorial page was written by Jake Vest, 'That's Jake" always found humor in the weirdness in daily life.  

Back in my legal aid days, I would create and present an hour long ethics presentation every year for an annual conference. One year I illustrated the entire hour with cartoons I had collected over the years.  I remember one, two women standing next to a coffin, one says to the other, "can I tell you a secret, life insurance is easier to collect than child support." This illustrated the point that lawyers hear things from clients that they must hold in strictest confidence. Sure enough someone was offended, saying this promoted homicide. 

A brilliant therapist once told a dear one, "if you can't remember the last time you laughed, it has been too long." 

This week, let's commit to an act of kindness and to find something, anything to laugh about. 

 

The Sunday Five: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

1: Is there passenger rail service available where you live? 

2: How far is the nearest airport with airline service? 

3: Do you drive? 

4: Given a choice of planes, trains or automobiles for a trip of 500 miles, what is your choice? 

5: Have you traveled by long distance on a bus? 

My answers: 

1: Is there passenger rail service available where you live?  Yes, the nearest Amtrak station is about a 1.5 miles from home. 

2: How far is the nearest airport with airline service? About 5 miles. 

3: Do you drive? Yes, often. 

4: Given a choice of planes, trains or automobiles for a trip of 500 miles, what is your choice? For 500 miles, fly. 

5: Have you traveled by long distance on a bus? Only once when I was a teenager. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Adventures in Flying: When Things Go Thud

I changed planes in Charlotte North Carolina one morning, I had been flying since the day before. The last leg was on a small regional jet, the last leg home from my first trip to Alaska. 

We had settled in, I was talking to the guy sitting next to me who was flying out to drive home a car he had bought without seeing. The plane started to push back from the gate and it went thud. It felt like we had backed over a trash can or something. The plane pulled forward a few feet, backed up again and this time I could hear metal tearing.  We came to a stop, the pilot came out of the cockpit, opened the door and charged off shouting "what in the hell have you done to my airplane!" 

It took a couple of minutes for the flight attendants to assess what was going on, and make a call to the terminal. 

What had happened? 

We had backed into another airplane, twice.  

We would need to get off the plane while the damage was assessed.  As I got off, I looked over and the end one wing was torn loose and hanging down.  It didn't take long for the airline to say, please go stand in line at customer service for rebooking.  

I was flown to an airport, about 90 miles from where I headed, put on a chartered van and driven onto the airport. Several hours late, I did arrive home that day.  

100 Ideas to Slightly Improve your Travel Experience: # 27 Trains

Sadly in much of the United States, passenger rail service either does not exist, or it is terrible. Where is train travel does exist it can be a very pleasant way to travel.  On the east coast, from Boston to Washington DC, passenger rail service is good, relatively frequent, and often a bargain.  The California coast has good service, a mixture of a state run service and Amtrak, there is a main line up the west coast to Seattle.  Florida has expanded passenger rail. And there are a few other regional train services are out across the country. 

We are a ten minute walk from a subway station, two stops up the line and the train station is next to the subway station.  Wait on the platform.  Board, find a seat and settle in.  The train staff will come by to scan you boarding pass in a few minutes.  You can get up and walk about, the cafe car will be open most of the ride.  There is no X Ray, body scanner, metal detector. 

For me, from Washington to DC taking the train beats flying or heaven-forbid trying to drive up the east coast.  Our nearest station is Alexandria, Virginia.  If I take a train from there to New York, it takes about 4 hours.  It is a 20 minute ride into DC, then the train changes engines with a layover that takes 30-40 minutes.  If I take the subway into DC and take the train from DC to NYC the travel time is about 3 hours. It takes about 45 minutes to take the subway into the train station in DC from home. Strangely it is often cheaper to travel from Alexandria than it is from DC.   If I avoid holidays, Fridays and Sundays, trains are inexpensive.  The trip we just did was about $80 per person round trip.  If we took the night train it is about $50 round trip.  

Fridays and Sunday a lot of people travel to see family for the weekend, and it can get expensive.  A couple of years ago we went to Philadelphia to have lunch with a dear friend who was in for a conference (she lives in British Columbia) and the train was almost $200 a person round trip, up and back on a Friday.  

There are a few places, like Wilmington Delaware, that do not have airline service. To get there you take the train, or deal with miserable east coast traffic.  

When we travel internationally, I always look at rail.  Train service in Europe is generally excellent.  In some countries it is a bargain, in others it is not. Always worth looking into. 

 

Thursday Ramble: Real Bookstores.

Last Thursday evening, I went out for a walk.  After my post lunch nap, I looked at a map of the area around the hotel and found that I was only a few blocks from the Flatiron Building. I had never seen the building, famous in early photos of New York.  Sweetie Bear wished to continue his nap, so off I went on a nice walk. 

The Flatiron building is currently wrapped in scaffolding, undergoing renovations after more than 120 years in the City.

About a block away, by The Rizzolo Bookstore caught my eye.  I went in for a wander.  It is not the biggest bookstore, but it is elegant and refined.  It has an artsy, fartsy vibe that I love.  The offerings in local books, art books, history, photography, and philosophy are carefully curated to offer the best. The last room has the delightful orange chairs for authors to talk about their work. 

I purchased a volume of translations of Seneca, titled "How to Die" (I am doing research for a book project on legal and ethical issues in end of life.) I couldn't hold back by feelings, I told the young clerk that "I wished the store was across the street from where I live."

I miss real bookstores.  There are a few of them around.  I try to buy something and encourage them to stay around.  My local here in Alexandria, just doubled in size.   

My World of Wonders aka the Wednesday Ws October 9th edition

Where have I been this week? New York City, we went up last Wednesday and returned on Saturday. Sunday I needed to go to the grocery store, Monday the bank, Tuesday into the City for a surprise party for a former colleague who is getting married.

What is next?  I am home for two or three months, most likely the next trips will be New York to see a blogger and Phoenix near the end of January.

How Was the trip? Wonderful, I had a three nice walks in an area of NYC I had not spent a lot of time in.  The train up and back was comfortable, and only a few minutes behind schedule.  The hotel room made cruise ship cabins look spacious, but was comfy and quiet. 

What have I been eating? Lunch on Thursday kabobs at a Persian restaurant, lunch on Friday was New York deli food at Juniors in Times Square, Sunday I made a beef stew. 

Who deserves a big Thank You this week?  The condo security staff, I left the headlights on my car on the other evening and they called to let me know, just in time. 

What is in the photos above? The Post Office in the Moynihan Train Station at Penn Station in New York.  The original greek revival Penn Station was town down in the late 50's early 60's to build the Madison Square Gardens Arena, the train station was moved underground, under the Arena.  It was cramped and really ugly.  Across the street was a massive central post office in the same style as the original Penn Station, that was largely no longer used.  So it was converted to the new Moynihan Train Hall, it is elegant, and bright and very pleasant.  Across the front of it, there is the restored original retail part of the post office. Is it better in black and white or color? 

What made me laugh this week? I have been binge watching old British sitcoms, the Vicar of Dibley this week. 

What was the strangest sight of the week?  The Naked Cowgirl in Times Square, she has to be at least 80 years old, gravity has not been kind to her.  I didn't take a photo. 

What am I reading?  I finished "Finding Your Landing Zone: life beyond the bar," (I am reviweing this one for the "Voice of Experience") and How to Die. I am in the middle of "The Great Gatsby" and "It is good to suck at something."  Gatsby is a reread from high school, I still find the characters and narrators hard to follow - easy to confuse. The other book talks about the joys of doing something you enjoy doing, even if you are not great at doing it.  

What was the great AhHa moment of the week? Returning home from an adventure and not having to think about returning to the office. 

 

 

Travel Tuesday: The Cleveland Museum of Art - Collection Highlights

 

Monday Mood: It is all connected

 It is good to be home on this Monday morning, home for a few months.  We were in New York late last week to meet up with friends for lunch.  

The thin man above, is Stephen.  He is responsible for me getting started blogging.  He was blogging, and going away for a couple of weeks and asked for guest bloggers.  I volunteered and put up a few posts on his blog, and started my own.  He was in New York from London to celebrate his 60th birthday.  He is a lighting director in live theater in London.  

Through his blog, we met Bob aka Woodchuck, and his wife Kelly who were blogging.  The wedding two weeks ago was their oldest daughter. 

We met Mitchell, who is moving again, through blogging.  We have met him a couple of times in New York, and he introduced us the joys of a New York Black and White cookie.  The last time we met him in NYC (in January, the first trip of this year for us) we met Sassy Bear, aka Sean and Jeffery in person.  A really neat lunch we hope to be able repeat. 

The trip to New York had a very limited agenda, have lunch with Stephen and Duncan, and have lunch with Kent, my Sweet Bear's grad school mentor. Nothing beyond that.  I had a couple of delightful later afternoon early evening walks around Chelsea, an area of the city we had not spent time in. The City is looking good.  The Subway was kind to us.  

My mood is good, and content with being home for a few weeks (months.)  

The Sunday Five: Sleepy Time

1: Do you have trouble sleeping? 

2: Can you sleep with the television playing? 

3: Can you sleep in public places? 

4: How many hours do you sleep most nights? 

5: Do you set an alarm to wake up? 

My Answers:

1: Do you have trouble sleeping? Very seldom

2: Can you sleep with the television playing? Yes, and this is a new ability for me. 

3: Can you sleep in public places? Not really, I don't sleep in the theater or concert hall. 

4: How many hours do you sleep most nights? 8 or so most nights. 

5: Do you set an alarm to wake up? Only if I have a very early flight or meeting, I haven't in 15 years. 

Please share your answers in the comments.

The Saturday Morning Post: One Month Untill The Election

The United States general election is November 5th this year, one month from today. I for one am ready for it to be over. 

Racism keeps rearing its ugly head, shaded in a fear of a loss of culture or society, people fear the "other" and overlook that the United States has long been the great melting pot.  Every aspect of your culture and society are shaped by the remarkably diverse people who came here seeking a better life, and in doing so creoled into a country that people still see as a beacon of hope for a good life.  

Our legal immigration system is overwhelmed and out of date.  At best it is incapable of handling the volume of people who wish to move here.  There are systemic flaws in the system that need to be changed.  Decades of neglect has resulting in millions of people in the country, without a legal right to be here.  Many of them have been here for decades.  

The system needs a major overhaul. The most recent efforts to do so, were stopped at the request of HeWhoShallNotBeNamed, demonizing immigrants and baseless insults are the key points of his campaign. 

What no one talks about is that the United States is better off with immigrants.  Many industries including agriculture, construction, and hospitality can not operate without immigrants and foreign workers. 

This is nothing new, it has been this way for over a century.  I wouldn't be here, if persons born in the United States were willing and able to dig tunnels under rivers and lakes. My great grandfather, my father's mother's father was ready, willing, and able to do so and moved here to do a job no one wanted, and for a safer life for his family. They moved to New York on the eve of World War I. 

If Bubba thinks that an immigrant has taken his good job, I urge him to go sign on to hang and finish drywall.  It is back breaking work, that pays well, and the vast majority of the people who do it today, are immigrants.  Or go learn to finish concrete, it takes a year or so to master the trade, again most of the people doing this work today were not born here.  At least half of the hotel housekeepers are immigrants, hard work for modest pay, but it is an honest living. Thirty years ago Tony Bourdain wrote about the immigrants who are the backbone of restaurant kitchens in the United States, they still are.  

Farmers in Florida are complaining about crops left unpicked because of the state making it harder - even impossible for foreign workers, and an unwillingness of the locals to do the work. 

The country is in desperate need of electricians. The last time I needed one, it took me two months to get an appointment.  I talked with someone recently who is selling electric car charging systems, in most areas of the country they are waiting weeks or months for qualified electricians to install the hardware.  It takes several years to qualify as an electrician, but the jobs pay really well. 

The economy is booming.  Employment is near full, with shortages in some industries.  The investment markets are at all time highs. 

Make the decision, cast the vote. 

Are you better off today than you were four years ago? 

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #26 Global Entry

In the United States the trusted international travel program is called Global Entry. There are similar programs in Europe. 

For these programs you apply, a more detailed background check is conducted. And in person interview is done. You submit photos and fingerprints are taken at the interview.  If you are approved, you can use the express lane at Customs and Immigration when entering the USA. The entry process varies from time to time, and from airport to airport. You go to a self serve machine, sometimes you scan your passport, sometimes you don't, a photo is taken, sometimes you answer a few simple questions, sometimes you don't. The last time I used it, there was a brief interaction with a customs officer, by the time I got to the front of the line he looked at me, looked at the computer and said, "Welcome home David, have a nice evening" and waived me by.  The entire process usually takes less than 5 minutes. 

Global Entry includes TSA Pre-Check.  Two out of Three times I have been able to use it to enter the express lane in Canada. 

There is an application fee, and the approval has to be renewed every five years. I think it currently costs me about $100 every five years.  

The Thursday Ramble: Differently Abled

Blogger Blobby is recovering from a stress fracture, and is non-weight bearing on one leg for a few weeks.  A couple of his posts reminded me of the lessons learned nearly 10 years ago when I had an adventure in modern medicine.  Like Blobby will, I recovered, the lessons learned have stuck with me. 

Don't be shy about asking for the handicapped parking tag.  When mobility is limited, or difficult, you will find that parking a little closer makes a real difference in being able to engage in activities.  We went to Germany while I was still limited in mobility, and Germany honored the parking placard. 

Simply say, "Yes, Thank You!" when someone offers to hold a door for you.  Doing so encourages good behavior. Doors can be a huge obstacle and a little help goes a long way. 

Let those who are in a hurry, go ahead of you.  Trying to stay in front of them, won't make your day any better, and if you have time, the kindness of saying, "I am fine, please go ahead" will pay benefits in the long run. 

Don't be shy about using the electric shopping carts.  The carts are there when you need them. Doing so will help you to return to normal, to remain or engage in life.

When you recover, remember the million little kindnesses and help others. 

Few of us will get out of this life without at least a little period of being differently abled, it does not need to be the end of participating in life's activities.  Go and Do, and be kind to others along the way. 

My World of Wonders aka the Wednesday Ws October 2nd edition

Where have I been? We left Ft Wayne Indiana a week ago, drove to Dayton, Ohio, we toured the Air Force Museum, then the next two days drove on home. Home, the grocery store, kind of staying close to home for a couple of days. 

Who have I talked to?  I had breakfast with Diaday of House Dust and Wanderlust last Thursday morning in Centerville/Kettering a close in south eastern suburb of Dayton.  Her blog reflects her personality, perky, honest, and upbeat.  It was great to meet her.  And this checks one of my goals for the year to meet a couple of bloggers this year.  

When is the next adventure? I am headed to New York soon to celebrate the 60th birthday of the guy who got me started with blogging.  He no longer blogs, but he does have a pod cast.

What then?  I promise I am going to stay home for a while. 

How Was the trip?  Very good.  It was good to see family in Cleveland, we explored the town my mother finished high school in, the wedding was great fun with great friends, it was wonderful to see my family, and meet Owen, meeting Diaday was wonderful fun, and then a tiring drive on home, lots of wind, rain, and a little fog. 

What was the best hotel of the trip?  Home2Suites by Hilton is a new brand, we stayed in two of them.  The rooms are larger, and comfortable.  Unlike most "suite" chains, Home2Suites offers rooms with two beds.  

Who deserves a special THANK YOU this week? Former President Jimmy Carter on his 100th birthday. A role model for all of us. Thank you for all that you did for the world. 

Travel Tuesday: Cleveland Museum of Art - The Space is Worth the Trip

 

Monday Mood: Recent Photos and Reflections

When I mentioned to Bob that we were going to the Air Force Museum he said that they might have one of these, and he has always wanted to see one.  He is an aviation geek, he was flying airplanes before he had a drivers license. Only a handful of these were built near the end of World War II, and there are two of them in the museum. I texted him photos of them. 

Another rarity, from the end of World War II. 

When I checked into the hotel in Dayton, there was a gift of chocolates and a card waiting, from a blogger. 

Bears always want to be included in the picnic. 

We had a free day in Ft Wayne Indiana, I planned too many days there, so we went to the Zoo.  It is a surprisingly nice zoo.  A great Africa section.  I saw these two, and emailed the photo to our favorite giraffe lover. 

Not the best Scotch Eggs, but good.  I sent a photo to John at Going Gently, our dear Scotch Egg aficionado. 

A clean car is a happy car.

Here comes the Groom and Groomsmen 

Lake Michigan in the distance. 

It was a long trip, two weeks, five stops, six hotels.  A diversion.  It was nice to get away.  It is delightful to be home for a few days.