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Speak to Me Part 2: Mark Twain, David Sedaris and Ira Glass

June 17, 2013

On New Year’s 2013 I decided that once a month, I would seek out a nationally known speaker, comedian, storyteller, personality or teacher and hear them live, in order to learn one lesson about public speaking or storytelling. Here is what I’ve learned in this spring. April 2013- Mark Twain (Citizen Twain performed by Val Kilmer) Mark Twain, the quintessential American humorist and author, packed out theaters during the last twenty years of his life…

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Lynch Pin

June 14, 2013

How deep I am just now beginning to see: for I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ- in Christianity. I will try to explain this another time. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it. – Collected Letters, Volume 1 (To Arthur Greeves Oct. 1,1931) Throughout his life C.S. Lewis was typically secret about his affairs. He often avoided friendships…

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Redneck Road Trips

June 12, 2013

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve road trips. Whether we were on a cross-country cavern tour with a tent in the back of our station wagon or headed to Sweetwater for the annual Rattlesnake Roundup; memories were often built outside of the comfort of home. For me to go on to marry a nomadic adventure seeker was a natural fit. Now we are raising three little travelers of our own. My trick to traveling…

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It’s Time to Retire You Ol’ Bag!

June 10, 2013

She’d traveled with me for the last twenty years and I’ve loved her for it.  We first became acquainted on a trip to Guatemala.  I knew I needed her support and that the relationship wasn’t going to be a one-time deal. I wanted to take on a partner that was willing to be with me long-term.  For weeks I searched high and low until I bumped into her at a camping store in Dallas.  Is…

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Epitaph

June 7, 2013

Joy’s death, even though expected, was still an emotional pounding for Jack. Their marriage had been the romance of dreams. His love affair with Joy came years past his prime, when most when most men of his age had either accepted loveless marriages or longed for the fiery romantic days of their youth but lacked the energy to bring it to pass again. Joy and Jack had three years of whirlwind passion but it was…

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Travel Lessons from a Parisian Subway Blackout

June 5, 2013

Some lessons are best learned in solitude. Some are best learned through failure. And some come most clearly while stranded in a dark subway tunnel under Paris. When Christine and I were 25 — still acting like kids and newlyweds — we made our first visit to Europe. We had a friend, Selena, doing graduate work at the University of Liverpool. Selena was also friends with Christine’s sister Ellen, so we decided to take her along….

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12 Habits of Highly Seasoned Travelers

June 3, 2013

Ten years ago, National Geographic’s Adventure magazine published an article called “The 12 Habits of Highly Successful Survivors.” The premise of the article is that during crisis situations some people take charge and survive while others crumble and perish. Journalist Laurence Gonzales pinpointed the 12 behaviors that made certain people survivors. As I was cleaning out my files I found the article and started thinking about how I could apply these same habits to travel….

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