Trip preparations

Off early tomorrow morning for a nearly 2 week trip to Europe. As always before I travel, my mind is pretty much consumed by preparations. You'd think after the amount of travelling I have done (53 countries, over a million air miles), I'd be more confident about being organized. But no, my 3am wonderings are usually mentally listing the things I've not packed, the bookings I should have made, the research I could have done.

I apply somewhat the same advice about leaving the house wearing clean underwear since you never know when you might be in an accident and,bring shame on the family name if your Jockeys are not pristine to leaving on an extended absence. I like leaving a clean house, because you just never know if it might be your next of kin who winds up next opening the front door. And no one wants to be remembered as a slob. So I...

• Have everything thing picked up
• Floors and surfaces clean
• All laundry done
• All dishes washed and put away
• Clean bedding on the beds and towels in the bathroom
• Empty garbage and recycling containers
• Any food that can spoil gone
• Bird feeders filled
• Garage swept
• Evidence of any criminal activities well-hidden (just kidding, Mom)

I would like to think my children can have a realtor show the place the day following the report of my demise.

Packing rarely takes too long. Unless I am speaking and need business clothes or engaging in an activity that requires special gear (hiking poles, bike helmet, snorkel and fins), I always go with just a small backpack and a rollybag*. I recently purchased a combo - a bag with both wheels and backpack straps that has a small backpack that can be attached to it. It survived one trip.

This trip was a challenging pack since I needed to bring my bike helmet and enough clothes to last nearly two weeks since I did not see a good day to do a load of wash during the bike ride. It's a tight pack! I keep watching YouTube programs that promise miraculous packing advice and find myself annoyed at spent time with badly shot videos that only state the obvious. The only hint I have which does not merit its own video is to bring an old washcloth and a Baggie with you since most European hotels don't supply them. 

I have never been a victim of a crime while traveling - knock wood. I owe that, I believe, to never getting drunk and always being back in my lodging before 10pm. I am however bringing a fake wallet ($2 at Goodwill) on this trip. The theory is that if you get mugged, you give the thief the fake wallet with just a little money it while you have your real wallet safely hidden somewhere else on your person. My fake wallet, for authenticity purposes, also contains my public library card and a couple gift cards with very small balances. The thief's disappointment will be palpable. 

And remember Evan Esar's famous words, "A vacation is like love – 
anticipated with pleasure, 
experienced with discomfort, 
and remembered with nostalgia." So true, so true. Now to remember to leave my little Swiss Army knife at home...

 * Johnson's 3 rules of travel

• Only take what you can carry in one load
• Always bring a book to read
• Never eat what you can't translate 

BFTP: Lessons learned from bicycling

This post was originally written June 25, 2006.  I've shared and updated it a few times, but I needed to review it because Wednesday I am leaving for an 8-day boat and bike trip in the Netherlands. Oh, the joys of retirement - may they never grow old. Pictures, I'm sure, in a couple weeks. The computer is staying home.

Your author just a few short years ago...

Some Lessons Learned from Bicycling:

Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia. H.G. Wells

1. Balance is a good thing.
2. It's usually uphill and against the wind. (Murphy's Law of Bicycling)
3. Most big hills that look impossible are usually a series of small hills that are possible.
4. I've never met a hill I couldn't walk up.
5. It's better to shift to a lower gear than to stop altogether.
6. Sometimes it's nice to be able to have equipment to blame things on.
7. You really can't make your own weather.
8. Coasting feels good, but you don't get much exercise doing it.
9. A beer at the end of a long day of riding tastes better than a beer when just sitting around (or at breakfast, I'm guessing).
10. Don't drink at lunch time and expect to enjoy the afternoon.
11. Bike helmets are a sure sign that natural selection is still a force of nature.
12. The few minutes putting air in your tires at the beginning of the day is time well spent.
13. There will always be riders who are faster than you and riders who are slower than you.
14. Watching old(er) people zip by you should be encouraging, not discouraging.
15. Too often we quit because our spirit fails, not our legs or lungs.
16. Spouses (or entire families) who dress alike should not expect the rest of us to consider them normal.
17. Too much padding between you and a bike seat is impossible.
18. The happiest people are the ones who consider life a ride, not a race.
19. The more expensive the bike and clothing, the higher the expectations others have of your performance.
20. The 500 calories burnt exercising do not compensate for the 2000 calories from beer drunk celebrating your accomplishment.
21. Everyone can look buxom on a bicycle - even guys.
22. You always feel the headwind, but never the tailwind. But it's there.
23. Most forms of travel involve some degree of discomfort. But keep moving anyway.
24. Cows always have the right of way.
25. You eventually dry out even after the biggest downpour.
26. Don't text and bike.
27. Always be on the look out for idiots. (See number 26.)
28. Be grateful for the ability to create sore muscles.
29. New places look better from a bicycle seat than from the window of a tour bus.
30. The office will do just fine without you while you are on your bike.
31. Keep your car keys in a zippered pocket.

And your observations, fellow bicyclists?

Family thoughts

 

Pew, April 22, 2019

Our family likes to joke that we love each other - in small doses. For better or worse, we are widely enough dispersed that small doses are usually all we get to see of each other over the course of a year. Perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder?

After a lovely long Easter weekend with my mom, sister, daughter, son, in-laws, and grandsons, I've been thinking a lot about family, especially after seeing the graph above from the Pew Center. I often wonder if those weakened family ties the study reports may not be a why so many in this country seem unhappy, radicalized, and dissatisfied with politics, with religion, with work, and with life in general. When we care about our families, we care about more than ourselves. 

Just as I have to remind myself of "white privilege," I also have to remind myself of "family privilege" having grown up in a stable and financially secure (not rich) home. Our family is blessed with overall good health - both physical and emotional. We don't have any real nut jobs to contend with at family get-togethers. No prison visits. No alcoholics or drug addicts. If we have strong political or social views, we don't tend to argue about them on Facebook. I believe our priorities of caring for each other supersede our care about "issues." 

My family, like most, is not a static entity. Births and deaths, marriages and divorces have changed the composition of those in the family calendar over the years. Yet somehow, anyone who has ever been someone  I've considered a family member will always remain one to me. My daughter and I once made a pledge that there would always be room in each other's homes (basement was specified) no matter what life threw at us. In my heart I know that any member of my family - present or past - could find shelter with me if need arose. I cannot envision an act so terrible that it would cause me to disown one my children or grandchildren. I am guessing even Ted Bundy had a grandparent who still loved him.

I recently heard a speaker carefully explain how a child's educational success was determined prior to entering kindergarten. Children who had been read to, spoken to, and played with came to school with better cognitive development. (Seems obvious.) The importance of a stable, caring family was the key to being a good reader which was key to doing well in school which in turn helped lead to a successful career. I could have been a better parent. Were there do-overs in real life, I would have spent more time, provided better homes, tried to have been more reassuring. I've often asked myself if my children have done well because of or in spite of their parents.

Last evening I volunteered to help at an event sponsored by my Rotary club at a local shelter for women and families in need. There were few in attendance in this clean, secure, and comfortable place - happy, oblivious kids and quiet, distraught mothers. I don't know the answer to solving societal problems, but my guess is that it must start with building better families. 

 

The family, Easter 2019