How all the traveling began.

Last week began the saga of how and why Fritz began his love affair with travel, but the chapter was a long one and unfortunately was not scheduled at the Writers Group with sufficient time for them to finish reading it.  So, they didn't comment on it except for the small portion they read, which they liked, but it only set the reader up for the travel that was to come.  They didn't get to the details of the first trip to Europe we made in 1954 after the war.

This week's chapter talks about all the trips in general terms that we made during the thirteen years we lived in Phoenix. And it tells in more detail how eventually I became an important factor in being able to afford the travel. This is a partial account of that component.

While the trips to Europe began every other year, they became more frequent over the years. Some years we even squeezed in a second trip. Fritz’s idea of the perfect vacation was to pay for a two-week Eurailpass and then see how many cities he could visit as he rail-clicked on to the southernmost point of Italy or Spain. As a result, it strained our finances.

But then, Fritz came up with a new idea. He had seen an ad in a travel magazine about having an import-export business and being able to deduct travel costs on your income taxes. Of course, he couldn’t do it, because he was manager of the Phoenix office for Carrier.

But I could run it. I, who had had no business training, would be the owner of Impex, and we could make trips to Europe, buy samples of ethnic items, have them shipped to our house and I would sell them to the tourist shops in Scottsdale. He explained enthusiastically how it would work. He bought a book on importing, ordered some business cards, and Voilá, I was in business! “Wasn’t it great?” “Wouldn’t it be fun?” 

Duh!  Not exactly.  But I struggled on, as you can read eventually in the book.  He was ecstatic about being able to take each trip, tax-deductable. Didn't get any better than that!  If any of you insist on knowing the ending Right Now, let me know and I'll put the entire chapter on the blog.  

But I know you guys are busy, so we'll leave it here.  ;)

Ciao!

A life well lived

This morning I finally finished reading The Aviator's Wife  by Melanie Benjamin. It is a historical novel which is a popular method of writing these days: you take an actual historical fact and then embellish it with your imagination.  Sounds sort of like writing your memoirs, if you'll forgive the quip.

I mention it because as I read the author's development of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life after marrying the most famous hero of all time, captured from Anne's own diaries and those of Charles Lindbergh, so much of what Anne went through, was identical to parts of my own life.  Mine lacking the importance, of course.  Lucky Lindy made his famous flight to Paris in 1927, the year I was born. He was at the launchpad of Apollo XI when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set off to land on the moon, and Lindbergh placed his hand on Armstrong's shoulder and said "I'm proud of you."  Armstrong replied, "We are only following in your footsteps, Sir."

I took copious notes, but am not sure if I'm allowed to make comparisons, because I would have to quote the author.  She expressed my thoughts and feelings so much more captivatingly than I could myself.  Maybe I can just describe the emotions without quoting them, we'll see.

I remember when I read Anne's famous book A Gift from the Sea (was it for a book report in high school?  That long ago?)  I must find out if it is now in Large Print, so I can read the poems again.