Out of This World

How nice it was to be greeted at the arrival gate by my good friend Stefan and to not have to hail an Uber as usual.  In Europe, you do not stand in line at Customs with an agent who asks: "What have you got to declare?” while your suitcase is opened, and your dirty laundry picked through. Simply head to the sign which reads: Nothing to Declare and casually look the uniformed man in the eyes as you pass through the doorway.  Practice this technique well and you may get a job as a smuggler. The Oresund bridge from Copenhagen to Malmo. Half tunnel / Half bridge We crossed the Oresund bridge and drove the Volvo 45 minutes to their modern and aromatic home where Beata prepared a roasted free-range chicken dinner. With jet lag I lasted for about an hour of conversation before falling dead asleep in the pillowy guest house bed. Behind their house is a football pitch. I just came from my sister's place the day before where they have a Little League diamond beyond the house. Same idea...

    Eileen and Hank have a beautiful home on a golf course, a lake view across the street, and plenty of bedrooms.  Her brother, Paul, his daughter, Tori, and myself had a marvelous weekend in Gallatin, just outside of Nashville. (Spoiler alert - this is not their house, but it's nearby)   We are all from California and I asked what’s the difference with Southerners?   The term “Southern Hospitality” is appropriate as I learned driving into the neighborhood.   Strangers wave happily as you go by, though I think I would have gotten a different hand gesture if my car had New York license plates.   Eileen recalls the day they moved in everyone from the neighborhood came by with food to introduce themselves. Every week is Happy Hour at someone’s house and they bring their favorite dishes.   People drop by unannounced and freely talk politics, as most have the same viewpoint.   If you disagree, you might take Abe Lincoln’s advice: “Better to...

  My Baseball Week chapter mentioned out at home. Thursday morning, I felt a worse from the cold I carried since Monday.   Planning to be in Philadelphia for lunch and DC for dinner, I thought it best to get a Covid test – it was a positive which made it a negative to keep my schedule. I was shut out of Philly lunch, DC Cubs game, and out at my sister’s home. “Don’t come here with Covid”   My stepsister, Eileen, who I call a friend because we acted like friends as kids and never lived together, said “Come on down to Nashville – I had Covid 10 days ago and Hank hasn’t gotten it so he must be immune.”   The local Urgent Care doctor said my symptoms were mild and I should feel much better tomorrow with a low risk of contagion.   OK, Lancaster to Nashville, what’s on the way?                                Gettysburg!   I had to see the hallowed grounds...