We boarded the Viking Sigrun river boat at 4 PM yesterday and at 6 PM. We had our first trip briefing from the Cruise Director. He opened with the disappointing comment, but after six weeks of carefully monitoring the rain, River water levels and still making the passage from Amsterdam to Basel and from Basel to Amsterdam repeatedly, Viking has determined that continually has to end with this voyage. He told us that on Saturday…
Years ago, I cut out a New Yorker cartoon that struck me as particularly funny. It showed a Viking warrior, pushing up against the tree and said, “Even the Vikings had to stretch.” Interestingly enough today we are on our way to be Vikings, so stretching is on my mind.This morning I am dressed and packed and ready to go on a long car service ride to LAX for a flight on Lufthansa that takes…
Medicare was established in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law as part of the Social Security Amendments of 1965. It began covering enrollees the following year, on July 1, 1966. Johnson signed the bill in Independence, Missouri, with former President Harry Truman present. Truman had proposed a national health insurance program back in 1945, and Johnson gave him (and his wife Bess) the first two Medicare cards as a symbolic gesture.…
We have all come to a point in our evolution as members of our modern lifestyles where we all tend to use e-commerce for almost everything. I do most of my purchases, whether clothing or pharmaceuticals or gardening supplies, online. The other thing we all do online these days is purchase travel and entertainment. Thanks to Amazon Prime and other vehicles like Shop, PayPal and various other enabling payment and fulfillment providers, the process seems…
This morning I got an email from JetBlue, literally out of the blue. It informed me that I had a flight credit of some $4,000 that would expire in two weeks unless used. The flight does not have to occur in that timeframe, but I must book the flight by then or lose the credit. If this was a few hundred dollars, I might ignore this and consider it a come-on to get me to…
Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theater that dates back to the early 1600s, known for its highly stylized performances, elaborate costumes and makeup, and dramatic staging. To begin with, there is an all-male cast where even female roles are played by men (onnagata), a tradition that emerged after women were banned from performing in the early 1600s. There is striking makeup (kumadori) with bold, colorful face paint that conveys a character’s nature (red…
I will write this story and plan to publish it on Monday morning. That’s when we will be bouncing along on the 5 in a van on our way to the Royal Caribbean Terminal in San Pedro. That ride should take about two hours, so we should get there by about 11am, right on time for our special early boarding privilege (we apparently bought some package for preferential boarding and full internet usage that allows…
There is a line from a favorite movie that has always stuck in my mind. The movie is The Way written and directed by Emilio Esteves and starred in by his father, Martin Sheen. “The Way” follows Tom Avery, a California ophthalmologist who travels to France after learning his adult son Daniel died in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, the historic pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Rather than simply bringing…
July is turning out to be the month of theme parks for me. Disney, Eagle Gold Mine (a stretch…but sort of), Santa Monica Pier and today, Warner Brothers Studio Tour. We did the Universal Studio Tour and Park last summer so this will complete two of the three suite (Carolyn tells me that next year we have to do Paramount). It’s nice and warm here in LA, not oppressively hot, but still sunny and warm.…
With Kim away in Wabash this weekend and me taking the family (Carolyn, John, Charlotte & Evelyn) up to L.A. for the weekend, there remains the issue of “What About Buddy?” We are very attached to this little 7-pound fur-ball that can’t keep his yap shut. Our Buddy program consists of flying in Natasha to sit for long vacations, taking Buddy to Colean’s doggy day and overnight care and local kids who are looking to…