Quote of the Day -- Ram Dass

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

 -- Ram Dass

Quote of the Day -- Desiderius Erasmus

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. 

-- Desiderius Erasmus

Quote of the Day -- Martha Beck

I really do think that any deep crisis is an opportunity to make your life extraordinary in some way. 

-- Martha Beck

COVID-19 and Politics

Things are so vivid now that it's hard to believe our memories of events, and particularly the sequence of events, will fade. But they will. It's important to record a few things while they are fresh.

As news commentators occasionally point out, we are so focused on the news around COVID-19 and the economy that we sometimes forget it is an important election year. In the past week or so, some big events reminded us, most notably Bernie Sanders' withdrawal from the race and nearly immediate endorsement of Joe Biden. As Bernie pointed out, it is critical for Democrats to unite to defeat the most dangerous president in US history. Far different from his lukewarm endorsement of Hilary and his failure to strongly rally his base to support her in 2016. Hot on the heels of Sanders' endorsement, President Obama, who has stayed on the sidelines until the primary race was decided, came forward with full-throated support and a promise to campaign vigorously. Now we await Biden's selection of a running mate. He's promised it will be a woman...

Also in politics, Wisconsin voters came out in droves -- wearing masks and mindful of social distancing -- to express their opinions. The Democratic Wisconsin governor had ordered the primary delayed until June because of COVID-19, but the Republican-controlled legislature took it to the conservative Wisconsin supreme court, where the executive order was overturned. (Republicans understand very well that voter suppression is an important strategy for them.) In addition to choosing Joe Biden (no surprise), the voters resoundingly selected a "liberal" candidate for the Supreme Court and threw out the conservative incumbent. Let us hope that is a good sign for Wisconsin in November.

Meanwhile, we are seeing signs around the country that the outbreak COVID-19 might be peaking. Leaders are starting to discuss what a "reopening" might look like. Governors, mayors, and business leaders are stepping in to fill the vacuum at the top. On both the west and east coasts, governors are forming consortia to jointly plan strategies for gradually lifting social distancing restrictions and getting people back to work. In Minnesota, our governor is also working with other government and business leaders on a plan to gradually "reopen." Given the lack of a successful federal program for the level of testing necessary, Governor Walz says Minnesota will have to "go it alone" in creating an infrastructure for adequate diagnostic and immunity testing.

President Trump has been holding almost daily press briefings that resemble campaign rallies. He and his staff are busily rewriting history to laud his great success in managing the pandemic. He's been searching for scapegoats, and this week he settled on the World Health Organization (WHO). He announced withdrawal of our WHO funding while his administration investigates their "mismangement" of the crisis.

Although he declared a national emergency in March, President Trump chose not to impose any kind of nationwide stay-at-home order. He deliberately left it up to the governors to make those decisions (and shoulder the burden of responsibility and blame). But now that we're talking about reopening, Trump wants desperately to be in charge and take the credit. Earlier this week, he said he would order all the states to reopen and, when he got pushback that such an order would be unconstitutional, claimed that as president he has absolute authority. Later, he walked that back, saying he will meet with the governors and authorize them to make their plans for reopening their states. I could write for days about how poorly suited he is to be our country's leader in this crisis.

But this story of politics is mostly good news. We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, and many highly competent leaders in state and local government, business, and public health are stepping up to plan an orderly, well-monitored return to work. On the flip side, those of us in the "high risk" category because of age and other ailments will still need to remain essentially under house arrest for the foreseeable future.

 

Quote of the Day -- James Clear

Whenever there is a gap between your habits and your goals, your habits will always win. 

-- James Clear

Quote of the Day -- Albert Einstein

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

-- Albert Einstein

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/albert_einstein_125368

Sweden -- My Patriam

My mom was a first generation American. Both of her parents were born in Sweden. My dad's maternal grandparents were also born in Sweden. So that makes me 3/4 Svenska flicka (Swedish girl). Sadly, my grandparents chose not to speak Swedish so neither of my parents learned it. But we definitely learned some of the traditions (especially the food), and I've always felt that I'm Swedish.

My first visit to Sweden was in the fall of 1998 when I was invited to speak at a conference in Sundsvall, about 225 miles north of Stockholm. I don't remember the routing I used to fly there. I do remember arriving foggily jetlagged and being hustled into a bus for a "quick field trip" to visit an amazing new bridge. I don't know where the bridge was, but I do remember gazing out the bus window as I struggled to stay awake and feeling like I was home. The landscape -- the rocks, the trees -- looked just like northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. And when I looked around the bus, the people looked a lot like me too. 

The conference organizers presented me with a lovely speaker's gift -- a hand-blown vase with highlights in Sweden's signature blue and yellow. I was a pretty novice business traveler at the time. I was headed to several destinations and hadn't learned essential packing skills. I had way too much stuff and no capacity to carry my lovely vase. I asked one of the local IBM people to mail it to me. Several months later, I was contacted by a customs agent in Chicago who wanted my credit card to pay for charges associated with importing my vase. They took pity on my ignorance and found a way to get my vase to a warehouse in Minneapolis with minimal charges -- still more than the value of the vase -- but to me that Swedish vase was priceless. And I learned valuable lessons about packing and never shipping things home.

My second trip to Sweden was in December of 2003. Despite the short days (dusk at 2:30 pm) and brisk temperatures, I fell instantly in love with Stockholm. I wandered Gamla Stan (the old town), completely entranced with the narrow streets, the wonderful shops, the warm, friendly people (who looked a lot like me), the Christmas decorations, and the scrumptious baked goods. I came home with a delightful pair of figurines sitting on a bench. On a later trip to Stockholm, I scored another coquettish little girl. Alas, in searching out the maker of these lovely pieces, I discovered they are made in Norway. But for me, when they smile at me from their shelf, they remind me of my Swedish heritage and of Stockholm, one of my favorite cities on the planet.

When Jim and I started planning our somewhat unusual 35th anniversary trip in 2006 (3 European cities in about 2 weeks), Stockholm was at the top of my list of places that I had visited and wanted to share. Jim fell in love with it, too, and it remains one of our favorite cities and rare "repeats." We never tire of walking through the charming, bustling old town, Gamla stan. We relish getting out on the water in the vast archipelago on a harbor cruise or a ferry. And we enjoy the museums. One of the fond memories from that trip was a lunch and tour with my mom's cousin David Holmes (who has since passed) -- a friendly and delightful "old Swede" who proudly took us to visit the large Lutheran church where he served as pastor for many years.

We've had the good fortune to return to Stockholm several times. In 2008, we made a whirlwind one-day tour as part of a Baltic cruise with Jeff and Jessi.  In 2014, shortly before Jim retired, he had the chance to visit Stockholm on business -- one of my rare opportunities to join him on a trip instead of the other way around. While he worked, I wandered, enjoyed, and got lost. (That was a 30,000+ step day!)  And in 2018, we spent several days sharing Stockholm with our dear travel buddies Acey, Jackie, and Suzanne at the end of trip to Norway and Finland. Although shopping opportunities abound in Stockholm, we were selective. We added to our Scandinavian Christmas collection with a charming "Father Christmas" piece, and we purchased a small, modern sculpture.

Quote of the Day -- Marilynne Robinson

When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. 

-- Marilynne Robinson

COVID-19 and the Future of Travel

Today, I feel fortunate and grateful. Last year, when we submitted our applications to renew our Global Entry, we had to list all the countries we had visited in the last five years. We knew our total count, but hadn't really looked at our adventures from that perspective. We were pretty surprised at the total -- and a bit impressed with ourselves. Since then, I've kept the list updated. Starting from March of 2014, we have been to 59 countries (including a fair number of repeats).

Especially since Jim's retirement in mid 2014, we've eagerly sought out new adventures, perhaps a bit too eagerly at times. As Jim emerged from cancer treatment, he said "I'd like to visit the German Christmas markets." It wasn't in our plans or our travel budget for that year, but we made it happen. Similarly, when our travel buddies said "would you like to join us in Tanzania next December?", how could we say no? It wasn't in the plans or in the budget, but...

When friends and family raised their eyebrows, we'd shrug and say "You never know what might happen. We're doing this while we are able." Or "You can't see the world on just one trip a year." We assumed that at some point, one of us would get ill or incapacitated in some way and we'd have to cut back on our travels. We never anticipated that the whole world would get sick and that travel would come to a standstill indefinitely. We are so glad that we were overly ambitious and often blew the budget, because, as we said, "you never know..."

This morning, I watched a panel discussion featuring four seasoned travelers / travel writers discussing what they think travel will look like for the next several years.  The women in the upper left, Barbara Weibel, writes a travel blog called Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel, which I read regularly. She's much more adventuresome (meaning unplanned) than we are, but has a similar interest in going beyond the iconic tourist spots and really learning about people, culture, and history.

All four panelists make their living primarily from their travel writing and photography. They all seem fairly intrepid, so I expected them to be upbeat and eager to be on the road again. But the discussion was very different -- sobering and realistic. Their assessment left me feeling grateful and fortunate (as described above) and really wondering if this is it. Will it ever be viable to travel internationally in a time horizon when we are still "young enough" to enjoy it?

Following are a couple key take-aways from the discussion:

• International air travel, particularly for tourism, is unlikely for the rest of 2020
• The cruise industry (especially massive ships) is probably toast for the foreseeable future
• Trip insurance, particularly for travelers over 60, may become harder to get, more expensive, and may include a COVID-19 exclusion.
• Right now, many countries have closed their borders. In the future, it is likely we will see something like the yellow medical card people carry for yellow fever shots. In order to travel, we will need to demonstrate that we have COVID-19 immunity or have been vaccinated (which puts many of us at fall 2021, optimistically).
• Travel will become smaller scale and deeper -- small groups staying longer in a single country, focused more on learning than getting that Instagram shot. Travel the way OAT and similar companies do it... if they can survive through 2020 until we are able to travel again. I think this might be a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the panelists because this is the style most seasoned travelers prefer. But if they are correct, it probably also means that international travel will become once again limited to the affluent or the people who are willing to go it alone -- no giant cruise ships, no big buses.

The future of travel -- and everything else -- is so uncertain right now. But I think we will need to supplement our world map adorned with pushpins with a companion map of the US national parks. I see at least one road trip in our future.

Quote of the Day -- Dr. Paul Nussbaum

Travel is good for the brain:


When you expose your brain to an environment that's novel and complex or new and difficult, the brain literally reacts... Travel by definition is dropping your brain into a place that's novel and complex. You're stunned a little bit, and your brain reacts by being engaged, and you begin to process on a deep level... Travel sticks with us and brings back positive memories and experiences. You have the ability to go back there in your brain. 

-- Dr. Paul Nussbaum