IT WAS A DAY - TO NOT REMEMBER

SO, YOU WANT TO TRAVEL, EH!

It was not Murder on the Orient Express, it was religion on the fast train from Antwerp to Paris! But after my experience, murder seemed appropriate. There I was sitting with my Belgian associate, Michel, a young Asian man and an Orthodox Chabad Rabbi. We were all heading for Paris with different reasons for being on the train, but there we were, together, traveling south at more than 300 kph!

After passing through Brussels I asked the rabbi where he was headed. The rabbi indicated that he ran a Chabad Yashiva in Paris and he was heading home.. My associate and I were headed for Le Bourget, a suburb of Paris that hosted the Paris Air Show and has a sad history of exporting Jews to concentration camps during World War II, for a meeting. The young Asian fellow remained silent.

There we were, traveling at 300 kph plus through the country side of either Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany or France. At that speed, who knows what countries were whizzing by? Now we arrive in Paris. I have to check my luggage in a secure locker area. It was like airport security. It was so hot in there and till I found a locker in the back of the facility that would accommodate my luggage, I worked up a good sweat.

Now after fighting the ticket machines that did not like any of our plastic cards  and walking mile to the platform we were on the local train to Le Borget. Then after a “local” lunch in a local brasserie, we walked to our meeting – or at least we thought we were walking the eight blocks to the building. After about a mile, we tried to get a taxi.. However, there were none available. Now we are going to be late for a meeting we traveled through four countries to get to! I stuck my thumb out got a cab to stop and pick us up.

 So much for walking or directions! That building was designed not to be found! The meeting went well in spite of it being held in an office that doubled as a sauna.

We were now back on the local train to the Paris Nord station. There I would connect to the EuroStar train to London under the English Channel. First I had to retrieve my luggage. Getting to England meant standing a in a long, stagnant line to buy a very high priced ticket from people who just didn’t care (the French)!

 I boarded the EuroStar train for Waterloo Station, London! (Waterloo – now I know why Napoleon didn’t like that name). Two and a half hours later, I have my 70 lbs (31.2 kg, according to the locals) of luggage and make the trek to get to the Underground for the ride to Heathrow where my warm, comfortable bed and room service awaits!

But, you must buy a ticket! There are ticket machines everywhere. Just put in your credit card and out pops the proper ticket to ride. That is how it is supposed to work, It didn’t work in Paris why would I think it would work in London? However, after exhausting all the plastic in my wallet, the ticket window finally opened and another line was formed. I now have a ticket to ride the Bakerloo Line to Picadilly Circus where I have to change trains.

There were several flights of stairs – many up and just a few down and one escalator. Once again, bathed in sweat, I arrive at the proper Underground station to go the one stop to Picadilly Circus. Getting off at Picadilly Circus I looked for the Picadilly Line to Heathrow – just a mere 15 stops or so. Up, down, (mostly up)  around, through this passage way to another passageway up stairs – down stairs – 70 pounds of luggage in hand – all three bags and I arrive at the platform where I will board the train that will take me almost home – that is – after the bus ride to the hotel from Heathrow and back to Heathrow and the 5200 miles in the air! This is the last train ride!

Because of the terrific down pour, the train was painstakingly slow! But nevertheless I arrived at Terminal Two – Heathrow airport and it is late!. I find my way to stop number 12 to take me to my hotel. Once again, I have to buy a ticket to ride. Of course there are ticket machines to buy tickets and as it was at Waterloo and Paris the ticket machines at Heathrow refuse to read my plastic. So, I asked the bus driver to drop me at my hotel and I would then pay him for the ride. “No, get off, I can’t do it, get money to buy a ticket before boarding, get off, get off, get off,” he said with no empathy in his demeanor or voice. So, in the rain, back into the terminal, up a flight of stairs down a corridor to a cash machine which read my card without a problem. Got the 10 pound note I needed for a ticket and the tip I would not be giving to the driver.

As we arrive at the Hotel I wondered what might else go wrong – I was soon to find out! “Mr. Freedman, we were waiting for you, you had a day rate and you didn’t arrive!” “WHAAAT?” That was my constrained response!  She added, “We are sold out. Everyone at Heathrow is sold out.” We are, in fact, oversold!” ‘WHAAAT?” “I can get the manager for you,” the polite desk clerk offered! “WHAAAT?”

The manager arrives and repeats what she had said. I was experiencing some hypoglycemia and my hand was shaking – my voice was shaking and I was about to shake Heathrow!

“Please have a seat and I will see what I can do!” So I sat and waited. Mind you it has been 14 hours since I left the hotel in Antwerp and to say I was close the end of the line – well that was true of my emotions and my location, I was very close – closer than the manager wanted me to be!

“I can squeeze you in,” he offered. It will be about 225 pounds.

“WHAAT?’

“With breakfast?” I asked.

“No.”

“Free movie?.”

“No.”

“Free internet?”

“No.”

“A bed?”

“Yes.”

“Sign me up!”

For more than $350 I was determined to stay in the room to last possible moment before gathering my luggage to venture to Heathrow! Upon arriving at the American Airlines counter and hearing “Mr. Freedman, you are all set on flight 137 – leaving on time,” I decompressed!

THUMBS UP – THE NEW COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS


We are living in a Blackberry world! It wasn’t so long ago that I expressed regret that I did not take typing 101 in High School. Watching my wife cruise the keyboard like a stenographic super woman, made me jealous of the amount of text she could out put while I still, after all these years, have to look at the key tops to insure that my typing reflects what I am thinking. Of course here is spell check!

My first Smith Corona portable typewriter entered my life at age 14. More than a half century later, I am only slight better at typing than I was then. It is not a matter of just speed, it is a matter of spelling, spacing, hyphenation, indents and so much more that makes written (typed) page a work of art! Be sure, I am among the vast majority who are NOT artists! Of course ther is spell check!

But I got along just like so many others! When I hired my first secretary more than 35 years ago I asked two basic questions: How fast can you type? (I have a cousin that once hit 90 words a minute). And, do you take shorthand? Later, working for Dictaphone Corporation, shorthand was not a requirement as we had telephone like devices on our desk. We just picked up the handset and started talking. We could say whatever was on our mind into this device as it was called the “Think Tank.” Somewhere a stenographer was typing our thoughts at blazing speed on typewriters that had balls whacking away on the paper in a blur!

Those were the good old 70s and 80s! Stenography was a career! Need a stenographer, just dip into the “pool.” They did it all – took your thoughts converted them to scribbles (shorthand), then typed them on correcting typewriters and voila – your thoughts on paper, spelled correctly with the proper punctuation and in one of maybe seven typefaces that IBM has on their infamous balls!

Now that we have desktop, laptop, netbook and notebook computers along with iPhone, Treos, Blackberrys and other devices that fin into a small bag, pouch, belt-clip or inside pocket, the world has changed - or has it?

Instead of using the Typing 101 we are still hunting and pecking on small keyboards with three of four key fingers. Laptops and notebook PCs do not accommodate fat fingers. So, even the best typists are somewhat slowed due to scale. Now let’s get into those Palms, iPhones, Droids, Treos, cell phones, etc.

“We are all thumbs” has a new meaning! Left and right thumbs are the new source of information. Left and right thumbs connect with the rest of the world. Just as Emperor Nero would put his thumb up or down to indicate whether the combatant would live or die, our thumbs do the same – will the deal live or die ? We thumb are way through the process no matter where we are.– will we have the meeting or not, we will have the date, is it a deal – so many questions rest on how well our thumbs communicate.

Even the worst typist can manipulate thumbs – after all, it is just two of our ten fingers. My thumb was once a proven method of transportation and now it is proven method of communication. My thumb got me all over the country, now I use it to get all over the world – instantly! My thumbs do not have to obey any posted speed limit! Thumbs take me to wherever I need to go with my thoughts and words.

Remember shorthand? It is back. Instant messenger made thumb based communications even easier as words are not required. “cul8tr.” “50.” So many cryptic messages, “cub.” The new shorthand! You bet! After all, how much work can two thumbs do? There is a new etiquette or a lack of etiquette that is acceptable when using just thumbs. Spell check not required.

We had to know this was coming. So many states have vanity license plates these days. There have been some very compelling messages on these plates with just seven letters.“htgrdma.” “l8agn.” Hot grandma and late again – for those of you who are ‘Thumbish” Language challenged.

For those of us that sort of miss the good old 70s and 80s where the English Language, and other languages of the world were all typed on a QWERTY keyboard, take heart.

Your left and right thumbs compete favorably to that stenographer who whizzed across the keyboard creating machine gun like sounds that would make a marine gunner proud! We have our thumbs to thank. Is it not our thumbs that separate us from primates?

Pull out your Blackberry, iPhone, Treo or Droid. Start creating information that will impact the world or your world, at least. Write that one great book that supposedly resides in us all. You can do it with just your thumbs. Imagine how fast you can create the tome of tour life if you are using “u” for “you.” “l8t” for “late” or “st8” for “state?” get out the dictionary of Thumbish or get a teenager to assist, they have the latest “411.”

As you can see all this technology made the world an easier place to be, that is, unless you are all thumbs!



©Saul Freedman, May 2010

OUR EGYPTIAN ODYSSEY

Why would anyone want to go to Egypt? Napoleon did, Rommel did and we did. Because that is where the pyramids are - all 97 of them. They range from the Giza plain to Sakkara in the south (which is Upper Egypt).

We were asked that question many times and the question was answered when we stood next to the Sphinx and the great pyramids. The question was answered when we flew over the Valley of the Kings in a balloon. The question was answered when we stood at the temple at Abu Simbel and gasped at the size of the statues and detail that ranges in age from 3000 to 5000 years old.

We have all heard about Tutenkamen - but how many have actually seen him? He is now on display in his tomb. We weren't allowed to take photos there, but the image of his ancient body is emblazened in our memories.

The trip we took was organized by Oversees Adventure Travel. This is NOT an ad for them but they did a great job for 15 solid days. Our trip leader, Emi, was like a mother hen - making sure we were all taken care of every minute of every day. Emi was also a major source of Egyptian information - more than we could ever absorb but we were all captivated by the stories and the history.

Why Egypt? Because you can go back - society as it was 3000 years ago still exists today.

If you call OAT mention my name!

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR NON PHOTOGRAPHERS

TAKING PHOTOS

With digital cameras so prevalent and easy to use and memory cards that can hold thousands of hi-res images, it is tempting to snap away wherever you are. Holding the digial camera at arm's length to view what is on the screen makes us look like zombies - especially if we are walking toward the subject.

Go to a tourist site and just watch. It is great fun to see the would be Ansel Adamses walking into other people, tripping over little steps and not being satisfied with the image they got.

I reallyhad fun at the Louvre watching peopele take photos of the Mona Lisa. The painting is protected by glass and the would be photogs are taking pictures with their flash and getting pictures of their flash - not Mona!

Rule of thumb - if you can see yourself in the reflection don't shoot. Move off to the side or disable your flash. Now that presents a problem because your camera may tell you that you need to make a time exposure to get the photo. Anything longer than 1/30th of a second will probably show camera movement (hold your arms steady in front of you for 1/30th of a second - bet you can't).

Tip: Find something to brace the camera with. Find a railing, a wall, a counter - anything imobile should work.

Most of all have fun and be sure to edit.