Why travel?

I've often been asked why I travel so much. Every chance I get, I'll take off. Either flying to a new locale, experiencing a different environ, culture and way of life. Or heading to a nearby town by road, re-acquainting myself with familiar haunts. These people who ask me the question usually say I'm just wasting my money. "Why bother going to a far off place where you have to adapt to different languages and foods, and sleep in uncomfortable, strange beds? They ask. "You can just as easily watch them on TV."

Being thankful for growing old

I recently caught a couple of talk shows where Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, made an appearance to promote her new book, Plan B. Having lost her husband suddenly a few years back, she shared about how she had to cope with that devastating loss. One comment she made struck me profoundly - that we should never take life for granted or gripe about growing old. “We moan and groan about ageing,” she said, “but I realized that my husband will never see 50.”