Mexican Injustce - 1996

 This story took place in July 1996 when Sue and I were returning from a second honeymoon in Cancun. The place was now a tourist trap, a far sight from what it had been 10 years previously. At that time it was still under construction after a devastating earthquake had ravaged the economy. 10 years later it was a tourist's Mecca. After 10 days, when we were on our way home, we got a taste of Mexican "injustice."

For some unknown reason I had misplaced, or discarded my Visa. By this time we were at the airport and without the Visa I would not be allowed to board the plane, which was only 40 minutes from its scheduled departure time. To acquire a new Visa would require a Police report in person at the Police station, which was about 20 mintes away. Adding the time it would take to file the report and the 20 minutes it would take to get back to the airport, it was clear I would not be making the flight.

Sue, naturally, was not willing to leave without me. I explained to her that staying would only leave both of us in Cancun, with me, possibly under arrest. It would be best if she were at home to advocate for my release, should that become a necessity

I had already been turned over to the airport's Security Office, where I was told that there was no way to avoid missing my flight. Again I explained to Sue that this was my problem and that under no circumstance was she to stay in Mexico with me. This is where the story really begins.

I now had about 20 minutes in which to resolve the issue of my lost Visa. I went back to Security and asked the officer to issue me a new Visa. He refused stating that without a Police report it was not within his power to do so.

At this point a long legged, stunning Canadian blonde came in and reported that she  had lost her Visa. Smiling, and with the utmost courtesy, the Officer opened his desk drawer, revealing a full pad of blank Visas. He immediately wrote her a new one and leeringly presented it to her.

Now, I did not posess the long, tanned legs of the Canadian woman, but I was determined that I, too, would have my Visa. I gave the Officer $20 to issue me one. No longer able to say it was not possible he pocketed the $20, which I had covertly initialed, and he gave me my Visa. The next step, since I now possessed the coveted document, was revenge.

Then, with only 20 minutes to go before departure I asked to see the Chief of Airport Security. I was directed to his office where I quickly ran through the events, stressing the Canadian woman's success at obtaining her Visa, and my $20 bribe to secure the same result. The Security Chief, bedecked with gold braids and epaulets, was furious. "We do not take bribes, Senor", he said with indignation. He then summoned the officer in question while I watched the clock on the wall nervously.

The officer initially denied having taken any money from me. I informed the Chief that it was in his breast pocket and bore my initials. The Chief had the officer empty his pocket. When the $20 bill was revealed the officer denied that the bill was mine and the Chief threatened me with arrest for making a false accusation. I quickly pointed out my initials on the $20.

The Chief asked me if the officer had demanded the money from me. If so, then the Officer would be charged and I would be held over for his trial for having accepted, or demanded, a bribe. At this point my Tactical Situational Awareness kicked in.

Diplomatically I explained that there may have been a misunderstanding. As the officer did not speak perfect English, and my Spanish was not exactly fluent, I said that I may have misinterpreted him and thought it was a fee. I was released, the officer was neutralized, I got an apology from the Chief, and then ran from the office to the Gate, joining Sue on the boarding line. Case closed. 

Gone to the Beach!

I'm taking some days off to go to the beach; first time in 4 years! Not sure I’ll actually be able to walk around on the sand; as a matter of fact, I can’t. But, just seeing it again after so long a time will probably be kind of emotional.

I grew up less than a mile from Brighton Beach; a mile from Coney Island; both in Brooklyn. And  just a half hour to the east by bicycle put me in Riis Park, Queens. The next stop east from those places would be Spain. I never did swim it. As Burt Lancaster said in the film “Atlantic City”, “The Atlantic Ocean? You should have seen it in the old days. Yeh, the ocean was really something back then.”

It’s like that in memory; we enlarge things. And sometimes we get disappointed when confronted with the reality of what something has become. Burt Lancaster was right in certain respects. Back in the old days the ocean was a huge barrier. No transatlantic flights; telephone service was expensive and difficult; and ocean travel was infinitely slower than today. So the ocean is smaller than it used to be in that respect.

But it still holds all of its majesty. It still has that fury when the wind kicks it up, or when the tide pulls upon it to excess. Ships still go down to the bottom; taking their crews with them; somethings never change. I've lived near it; worked upon it; swam in it; and fished in it my whole life; but it has never ceased to astound me. It’s still both bigger and stronger than I am. They say it's where life began.

Well, enough for now, I'll see you when I get back! Enjoy my vacation…

"1913" by Charles Emmerson (2013)

Author Charles Emmerson has done a really superb job at showing us how much the world has/hasn’t changed in the past 100 years. More importantly, by breaking the book up into chapters concerning all of the major cities of the era, he has also created a mini-history of the events which helped to create the conflicts of the 20^th century, as well as laying out the foundations for the things which trouble us geo-politically today.

With a careful eye to history, Mr. Emmerson takes the reader back 100 years to the most influential cities of the time, and the cities, for the most part, have remained the same. And so have the problems and crisis’ faced by the world today. In 1913 the Middle East was a broil in what was then termed an “Arab Spring”. Sound familiar? As the Islamic Empire began to crumble; setting the stage for the First World War, the people began to rise up against the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The repercussions of that period are still with us today. Of interesting note is that The Palestinians and Ottomans were fighting with the Europeans, in spite of the lack of a Jewish state at the time. This raises questions about the legitimacy of the claims today that if Israel were gone there would be peace in the Middle East. It’s likely not the case; as proven by history.

Russia was in an upheaval as well, with the various religious groups fighting amongst themselves, all vying for control of what would become the Soviet Union in 1917. With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989, many of the Baltic Nations have returned to independence, which has led to terrorism and internal strife between the various sects which existed back in; you guessed it; 1913.

The political/economic instability of the South American nations was, and still is, an issue. London and Paris were competing to be the capitol of the world as far as fashion; and they still are today. Paris remains the center of art which it always has been, and the United States continues “empire building”, with wars in 3 different countries as of this writing. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same.

China has undergone a tremendous metamorphism over the past 100 years; starting the century as a feudal society, ruled by warlords. By 1913 Chiang Kai-shek would be fighting for democracy against the Communists. That struggle continued for almost 50 years, until Mao took over in the late 1940’s. Although his regime was a failure, in retrospect it accomplished one very important thing; it rid China of the foreign powers which were exploiting her in every conceivable way. His emergence marked the entry of China onto the world’s stage as a force that needed to be reckoned with. Today she is an economic powerhouse.

When the Great War came in 1914 it was widely believed that this would be the “war to end all wars.” In reality, it was only the beginning of mass armed conflict in the 20^th Century, culminating in the first Atomic Bomb being dropped on Hiroshima in August of 1945. Though that action ended the war, it began an uneasy “Cold War” which would last another 45 years and cost trillions of dollars in defense.

Today we have come to a point where the conflicts are carefully orchestrated in order to avoid a wide scale conflict along the lines of both World Wars. But still, the world remains an uneasy balance of power and greed, versus community and the virtues of helping those who may be in need of assistance.

Whatever your political leanings may be, this book will educate and inform you of how similar we are to the world of 100 years ago, begging the question, “What have we learned, if anything, from the experiences of the past 100 years?” This is a very well written, and organized book.

Senseless Squabbles about Egypt

Marriage is a series of negotiations. From the first kiss, right up to, and including the wedding vows; and even the venerated 50th Anniversary; married couples are forever swimming in an ocean of potential misunderstandings and strife. Take this latest episode between Sue and myself as an example. It was the most passionate argument we have had since the one about recycling a few years ago.

When I was a kid I always dreamt of going to Egypt to see the Pyramids and cross the desert on a camel after poling down the Nile on a raft. So, when I got older, I did. Sue also dreamt of this same tableau, but never got around to it, electing instead to get married and have kids; a decision she does not entirely regret; but the desire to make the journey remains unfulfilled. That brings us to the “meat” of the story.

I can’t travel very well anymore due to some physical problems; so I won’t be going to Egypt anytime soon. Sue has no such limitations and would like to go tomorrow, if possible. She has expressed this to me several times over the course of our marriage. And, there was even a time when I could have gone. But that time has passed me by, and regrettably, we will never be making that trip together.

Well, last week, Sue and I had a knockdown, drag out fight about making the trip; that is to say the argument was about her making the trip without me. I was angry that she was taking the trip and leaving me alone and in poor health. I even hurled the “whatever happened to better or worse” bomb at her. And she, for her part, nuked me as a “dreamkiller”. Harsh words on both sides.

Now, the worst part of having an argument as you get older is that it is physically draining. Even a simple verbal dispute can leave both parties exhausted and feeling ill. And, beyond that, it’s a fact that due to age limitations, most wife beaters are young; as are most women who kill their husbands. Let’s face it, things are simply just too much more demanding as we age.

Now, this argument was a loud one; entertaining the neighbors being a by-product of marital disagreements; and so we even had a few neighbors standing outside in the cold night air to get a better take on the issue at hand. Most; no doubt; are even expecting a postcard from the Sphinx sometime soon. But here’s the rub.

There isn’t going to be any trip to Egypt in the foreseeable future. It’s not that I’m a “dreamkiller”, and it’s not that Sue wants to forsake her marriage vows concerning “better or worse.” Simply put, we don’t have the extra cash to take the trip, making the entire argument specious; or to put it more simply; totally unnecessary. But, after 26 years of marriage, it’s very important to keep in practice.

Now, that’s my side of it, here’s a few words from Sue; my better half; concerning the above.

As Robert said, it’s draining to have these passionate fights anymore, especially unexpectedly out of the blue.  I was just coming down from upstairs, where I was working, to have lunch when the trip to Egypt that I've dreamt of taking since I was a child was suddenly thrust at me. I still haven’t figured out why or where this came from, I've only ever wistfully mentioned that maybe someday I could see the Pyramids, the Nile and ride the camels.  As much as I want to visit, going without him would be lonely and I would miss him. He has been there before and could tell me of all the changes and a history of the area and people.

So, Egypt has been a dream that most likely will remain unfulfilled, but other dreams have been filled, and overshadow this one many times over; such as falling in love, marrying, and raising children together, having mini vacations and road trips.  My dreams are far from over; some are fulfilled (love); and others are benched (Egypt); while some fall totally by the wayside (winning that last big Mega Lotto) and new ones are made – Should I dream that we no longer fight over nonsensical things? Hmm, fat chance that that one will happen.

The World Almanac - 2012

This is the book; accept no substitutes. When the power goes out, and the computers don’t work, this handy book is the place to be. Great for settling disagreements on almost any topic imaginable, it also contains copies of the text of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, a full color World Atlas, biographies of every President since George Washington, a complete list of every nation in the world; with vital statistics on each one; population of the world by countries, population of the United States by cities and counties, a brief overview of the world’s major religions, records of every Presidential election in our history, a full color review of the highlights from 2012, playing card and dice odds, ancient measurements such as the cubit, conversion charts for temperature, wind chill, heat index, metric system, extensive alphabetical listing of noted personalities living, noted personalities of the past, Broadway show records, economics, music, a section on aerospace, astronomy, calendars of all types, computers and telecommunications information, distances between cities, air traffic routes, median prices of existing homes by location, Income Tax information, zip codes, area codes, Morse code, marital status by households, a history of the United States, a short history of the world, a list of colleges and universities, acronyms, eponyms, foreign words and phrases, origins of names, sign language, buildings, bridges and tunnels, and about 200 pages of sports records organized by sport, date, feat accomplished, and records broken; like this one for one of the longest sentences.

This book, which is not necessary to update each year, is a good solid addition to any personal library. I even keep an old one in the car for the rare times I am caught without something to read. The biographies of the Presidents never get old, and there is always something new to be learned; even from an old almanac.

Me and My Car

My car is 2 years old today. What I mean by that is that I have had it for 2 years. It's a 1996 Mitsubishi Galant.

They say that people often resemble their pets and I am inclined to agree. As a matter of fact I can even justify extending that viewpoint to include people and their cars. Take me and my car as a case in point.

We are both, as you can see by the picture, primarily gray and a bit battered in places. We both need a little TLC to get us going in the morning. For me it's iced tea, for the car it's radiator fluid and check the oil.

We're both a little tired and I figured out the reason why. I have traveled 3 times around the world with lots of extra miles operating at sea, add to that all of my road trips and commutes and I have logged about 189,000 miles. So has my car.

There are, in both cases, some bows to things modern. I love music and cherish my scan sticks. The car has a USB port. We were made for one another.

When I bought the car I was ill and wondered if I was going to make it. The car was in the same shape. Now here I am 2 years later and both the car and I are stabilized. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready for the Olympics and the car isn't going to be doing the Daytona 500 anytime soon, but we are comfortable with one another and our individual quirks.

So I guess we're like Roy Rogers and Trigger, sidekicks forever on a sunset trail.