Travel

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The Great Train Race

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

I have always loved trains – they have always occupied a sweet spot in travel for me between the intimate contact with the land that car travel offers and the fast, but depersonalized and remote sense you get from air travel. I had resigned myself to the fact that passenger trains might one day disappear [...]

Tiffin – Meals for Millions in Mumbai

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

It is a low-tech, high-volume service that has Western business management experts flocking to the crowded, dusty streets of Mumbai. Each weekday, the Tiffin delivery network provides hot, home-cooked meals to a growing population of office workers in India’s financial capital. From the city’s outer suburbs to the bustling downtown core, the small, aluminum boxes [...]

Hank Rust

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

Once a year I used to fly up to Alaska to do some serious salmon fishing with my friend Bob, my workmate Pete, and Pete’s wife Linda. Upon arriving in Anchorage we would hop over to Lake Hood, just a short distance from the airport, purchase several cases of beer, and board a single-engine float [...]

China’s Blazing Fast Bullet Train

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

If the Opening Ceremonies for the summer 2008 Olympic Games were any indication, the People’s Republic of China is intent on changing their global image. Under the rule of one of the last Communist governments, China has been under intense scrutiny for a myriad of social concerns – including their use of sweatshop labor, extreme [...]

The World’s Most Determined Bird

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

When I was thirteen years old, vacationing with my family on Cape Cod, I had a seagull encounter that stuck with me. I loved to go running over the many sand dunes, and on one particular run, I must have gone too close to a seagull nest, because a gull started attacking me. Twenty-five years [...]

Before ATMs

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

In 1971, at the age of 27, I took my first trip to South America. I had just finished spending the summer in Panama City, Panama, consulting for Booz, Allen and Hamilton. Since I’d earned a lot of vacation credits and was already halfway to South America, I decided to keep heading south for a [...]

Swine Flu – Then & Now

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

We can learn from our history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. – Gerda Lerner For several weeks this past spring, millions [...]

In Celebration of Trains!

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

On Friday, May 8th, railroad enthusiasts across America celebrated the 2nd Annual National Train Day. The railroad played an integral role in the development of the American West, and continues as a work horse today – transporting freight and passengers around the country. I have long been a train enthusiast. So, in honor of this [...]

Adventures in Zip-Lining

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Not too long ago I served as a “dance host” on a two-week cruise from Santiago, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. What is a dance host? Many cruise ships hire gentlemen who are accomplished dancers to be available to dance with women. Our typical daily schedule involved being on the dance floor at six o’clock [...]

Flipping Out Over the Flip Video Camera

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Well, it’s official. I’ve FLIP-ped. No, I haven’t become a raving lunatic – just a big fan of the FLIP video camera. A few months ago, I was searching the internet for a durable, low-cost camcorder to document my travels as well as do some video recording for my speeches and other activities related to [...]