This is the third in a series of articles about the transformative power of traveling.  No one really knows the impact a trip is going to have on their life.  It can be a restorative escape, educational, or thought provoking – often all at the same time.  Sometimes the experiences a person has while traveling, […]

It’s interesting to me that when most people consider a vacation in the southern United States, certain cities tend to come up again and again.  Nashville, New Orleans, Savannah, and Charleston regularly make the cut, yet Atlanta always seems to come up short.  In recent years this has begun to change, though.  For a decade […]

This past weekend I traveled to Gadsden, Alabama to take part in the Barbarian Challenge.  It was my third year to run in the race and I had the absolute worst finishing time ever for me, but it was also the most fun, most rewarding, and most moving race I’ve ever been a part of. […]

Music Festival season is in high gear these days.  The yearly calendar typically begins with Cochella in California each year, and carries on throughout the summer.  A music festival of some sort can mark nearly every weekend.  Some are festivals hosted by towns and cities, while other are huge corporate multi-stage festivals attracting hundreds of […]

Don’t email me angry emails barking that if I “like’em so much I ought to move there!”  I’m perfectly happy to be an American and to experience the best of American culture and everything it has to offer, both good and bad.  Thank you very much.  However there is one thing that I have always […]

Question:  What do four Americans, a Taiwanese manicurist, an Aussie comedienne, a Tanzanian priest, a Mexican housewife, and an unfortunately named Austrian woman known as “Irmgaard” have in common? Answer: Not much. There we were, though, on the first day of language school.  Last week I was in Paris attending classes at the Alliance Francaise.  […]

It goes without saying that Paris is unique.  Yes, it’s beautiful, and special, and oh so French, but so are lots of other places.  Paris is different because of its melancholy nature.  The gray skies and stone buildings combine with the people- sullen looking men and women who have mastered the look of perpetual annoyance, […]

Recently it was announced that US Airways, the Charlotte, North Carolina based airline was going to merge with American Airways.  It’s been many years since I had flown on US Airways, and I was aware of its long history of financial problems.  It had declared bankruptcy, but managed to hold on.  The first time I […]

Movie awards season is upon us once again.  This year I was struck by the diversity of the contenders for Best Picture as determined by the Academy.  The films take place in a rich universe.  Two films represent the Middle East (and it’s turmoil), two show 19th Century America, and others deal with France, India, […]

The holidays are over and I survived.  This year seemed to be busier than most.  There were of course the normal family dramas, the stresses of finding just the right gifts, and the food, good Lord, the food.  This year also came with lots of traveling for me over the last few weeks.  I made […]