The Sun Will Set On The British Empire
The sun has not set on the British Empire for about 200 years. As a result of yesterday’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, this will no longer be true at some point in 2025. The point at which the sun will actually set is somewhat indeterminate because of sunlight in the British Antarctic Territory for several more months (see map projection below), but it is estimated that a setting sun in the Pitcairn Islands will mark the date sometime early next year. The Chagos Islands, also referred to as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), include Diego Garcia, where the U.S. has a joint military base. It will be preserved.
With all of today’s attacks on “colonialism,” I suppose that I shouldn’t find this sad. Still, as a descendant of some fine English stock of Empire-years gone by, I do.
Another Thing I Should Stop Doing
Talking to myself, aloud, in public. At least in South America, I do that mostly in English. Crossing downtown Florianópolis from my hotel to the bus terminal, I saw a girl walking in the opposite direction. She had a tattoo on her throat. I said, “Bad choice.” Then I passed an office of Banco do Brasil. I said, or rather intoned, “The full faith and credit of.” Luckily no one was there to hear that.
(And I do mean that was lucky. Brazil’s national banks – this one, Itaú, Bradesco, Caixa Econômica – all have the magic Soviet power to cause citizens to stand in very long lines for very long times. Even before they actually open in the morning.)
The worst cliche
A few years ago my wife and I participated in a hiking tour of Croatia. There were about 15 hikers on the tour. It was a fabulous vacation. The most memorable moment for me was when we were hiking up a steep mountain to visit an ancient monastery. Most of our group were younger and more fit than I was. As we struggled up a muddy trail in a very steamy mist that intensified the sting of sweat dripping into our eyes, we paused to take a breath on a bridge overlooking a boisterous stream. We were all too fatigued for conversation. I took that moment to declare unequivocally that if I die on this hike I do not want anyone at my funeral to say I died doing what I enjoyed.
Saying that someone died doing what they enjoyed is using the cruelest cliche of all.
Kyrgyzstan, By Me
When the night has come and the land is dark, the moon won’t be the only light you’ll see in the night sky of Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan. You’ll get the Milky Way, a million stars and even some random things moving around up there. I joined a small Korean group tour (as a DEI traveler who knew a couple of them) to Kyrgyzstan, and returned home a few days ago. Let me tell you about it. And let me tell you at the start, I’m no expert. And though I’ve taken several group tours, they’ve only been with Koreans.
Group tours are sold on TV in Korea, and the promotional programs can stoke wanderlust for any far-flung locale, especially if you’re watching in HD. You can save money. You don’t have to worry about logistics. And wherever you go, Korean tour groups will make sure you eat a Korean meal, twice a day on average. (Can’t control the hotel breakfast buffet.) I’m SURE that a Korean group tour of Antarctica could find a Korean restaurant there, that no-one else knows about. Not my cup of “cha” to be sure, but you win some, you lose some in a group tour.
Travel thoughts
Packing for travel is often more stressful than traveling. My wife and I have traveled the world for several decades, so we have learned through trial and error how to balance what we absolutely need to bring to avoid lugging the stuff around the planet that we should have known we would never need. We never check our luggage. If you check luggage your vacation is at the mercy of a vast bureaucratic system that is not your friend. Everything we think we need has to fit in a carry-on piece of luggage and a backpack no matter how long the trip is. It should go without saying that we differ on what constitutes the essentials.
We differ on shoes of course. I won’t denigrate Mrs. Pessimist’s choices but I stick to a lightweight pair of hiking boots that are waterproof and very comfortable. I only wear them for travel and serious hiking. You can recognize good hiking boots by the spots of epoxy glue that repair the worn seams. I haven’t worn them for a while, but when I tried them on yesterday, I thought, “I may sleep in these things.” I also bring simple lightweight rain gear. A camera, some deodorant, charging wires, and travel clothes that can be washed in the sink and worn the next day.
Killer B’s – Brooklyn, the Beatles, and the Botanic Gardens
I don’t miss work but I do miss Brooklyn. For many years I worked at a “major international bank.” One of their office centers was across the street from the Barclays Center … smack dab in the middle of hipster-heaven Brooklyn NYC. And while I don’t miss the 3 trains each way to get there, the neighborhood itself was tremendous. Entertainment, food, parks, bars, boutiques, history, unparalleled people-watching…it has it all. But two of my favorite places are the Brooklyn Museum of Art and its next-door neighbor, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. I hadn’t been there in a while. It was a gorgeous weekend so the lovely Mrs. E and I headed to the Botanic Gardens.
The Botanic Gardens share a parking lot with the Museum, so on a whim, we decided to wander into the Museum first. What a score!!!! From now through August 18th is an exhibit of about 250 photographs taken in 1963-64 … the onset of Beatlemania … by Sir Paul McCartney. It’s amazing! They are part of thousands of photos McCartney shot during this period but were never printed before.
The States, 1978: A Preschooler’s Travel Review (Side A)
Back when my parents were serving in Thailand as missionaries, the expectation was that every four or five years, the family took a year-long furlough in their passport country. The time away from what had become the homeland was spent connecting with supporting churches, speaking and giving updates, visiting family, and hopefully getting rest and enjoying what the country we called “The States” had to offer.
Our first furlough was in 1978. I was four years old and retain a whirl of impressions that, although vague, are real and are anchored in time and place by subsequent conversations with my mom.
Cliffside Trails at Torrey Pines
My brother and I hiked at Torrey Pines last Sunday. Despite two decades in San Diego, I never knew that Torrey Pines was a state beach with hiking trails. I always thought it was a golf course. (On the other hand, I do remember my now-husband and I visiting cliffs in La Jolla at night on a triple date –1993?) Anyway, I enjoyed this new experience. Pictures courtesy of my brother.
It took around a half hour of walking uphill to get to the trails. Then having chosen a path that meandered its way back down to the beach, we came to scenes like this. When all was said and done, we’d walked maybe four or five miles (and Danny went running for a mile and half or so on top of that). There was some rough going, especially with knee pain. I loved the sign that warned us there would be “100 stairs” before we got to the end.
Lord of the Rings on the No-Fly List?
CV NEWS FEED // A now-viral report by British government counterterrorism program Prevent stated that classic novels by authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis can be “red flags” for possible “far-right extremism.”
The Ubiquity of US Culture
We are nearing the end of our European trip (Danube Christmas river cruise) with a short stay in Budapest. It’s a day shorter than planned as Lufthansa cancelled our Christmas morning flight to Munich so we are on the train tomorrow. We have been walking around both sides of the river here and in Vienna and I’ve noticed kids from all over Europe wearing US themed clothing. Little Eastern European girls in “I ♥️NY” hats. And lots of clothing that sort of simulates US stuff – a 40ish guy had on a “Camp David Auto Repair” jacket with a big trademark logo. And I haven’t seen a single Che Guevara shirt. I guess you need to be in the US to find young people that stupid.
I can never quite put my finger on why the American stuff is so prevalent. Is our popular culture so ubiquitous that it’s popular with all these freedom loving Hungarians? Jeez, wait until they find out about Buc-Eees.
Today it finally snowed – big, wet flakes so it really feels like Christmas. Apparently the entire city shuts down tomorrow so it’s probably good that we are getting out of town.
Of Blast Furnaces, Bouffants, Buffoons, and Benevolence
Some years ago, my business partner and I needed to be in Bentonville, AR, for a client meeting. We flew in from Chicago the night before. Walmart was a quarter of the size it is today, thus the town hadn’t yet experienced its boom nor built its own airport. As a result, we touched down in Fayetteville and drove over.
At the time, business meetings were still done in a suit and tie. I commented how dapper he looked as we checked-out of our hotel. A chaired and distinguished professor from one of the top business schools in the country, he defied professorial stereotypes: that morning, he wore a hand-tailored double-breasted suit, a French-cuff shirt, Hermes tie, and little Italian loafers. He wore his hair long and perfectly coiffed – over his ears and beyond his starched white bankers’ collar (in the back). He was gorgeous.
