The People You Meet

June 20, 2017

I haven't been here for a while, most of my blogging attention has been focused on my travel blog (The Erudite Tourist) and this space has been a bit neglected. 

I tend to write things here that I'd like to say, but might not be inclined (for whatever reason) to broadcast on more interactive social media platforms. If someone happens to stumble upon my writings here then great, but if not I'm happy for them to be out there if and when they are discovered. In other words, I'm not necessarily looking for feedback, but if it comes, OK. This was written on June 20, 2017, but I never got around to publishing, so here it is.

A promising start to the trip

I'm currently sitting in the Charlotte, NC airport, waiting for my flight to London which is scheduled to depart in 7.5 hours.

I was supposed to arrive in London almost 11 hours ago, but Mother Nature decided to unleash her fury on the Eastern United States yesterday and the air traffic system ground to a screeching halt.

A Few Thunderstorms

So here I sit in the American Admiral's Club (thanks to a Business Class ticket) sipping a Cuba Libre, reflecting on any number of topics, but mostly thinking about people and specifically how we deal with random encounters and connect with others. Given the current socio-political climate in the country this has been a common topic of late, so it certainly makes sense. 

Thanks (?) to Mother Nature I've had several encounters in the last 24 hours and I'll list them here with some thoughts on each. For some reason I've been more engaging than usual, a bit by design but mostly due to circumstance.

• The lady sitting behind me on the first leg who pushed everyone out of her way to de-plane when we arrived is completely forgettable. Just your average inconsiderate traveler. Not a good experience.
• The gentleman that I walked with down the concourse during my layover, sharing observations on the need for a more efficient way to get people from the end of Concourse E up to the Concourse D walkway in Charlotte. They've added a tremendous number of gates to the E concourse over the years but haven't made any provision to expand the choke point at the escalators, creating quite a mess at times.
• The lady with four kids who pushed in front of me as we waited to board the flight to JFK. Her rudeness would only increase.
• Colin, my seat-mate on AA 1972 (or at least the attempt at such.) His phone was dying so I pulled out my booster battery (Amazon owes me a commission if he ever figures out how to get one shipped to one of his addresses.) We chatted off and on for hours, sharing anecdotes and jokes of the struggles of modern air travel. He was just trying to get home.
• Colin's co-worker, who sat behind us and across the aisle. Offering witty retorts and joining in the banter as we sat and waited, and waited and sat.
• The guy behind us, another New Yorker, who was generally non-plussed and also lighthearted about our shared misery.
• The lady across the aisle from me, from Raleigh, also trying to get to London, who works in the biomedical field. She was on a flight from RDU the previous evening which was cancelled due to mechanical issues. A friend of mine was also on that flight, trying to get to Stockholm, he ended up making it, albeit 24 hours late as well. An experienced traveler, she was going with the flow and hoping for the best. Her flight from JFK to LHR was also delayed, but the cancellation finished things off.
• The flight attendant "up front" for the adventure was just a good guy. He chatted and joked with us as well as sharing whatever information he had available. At every twist and turn he maintained his sense of humor and communicated a very strong sense of "we're all in this together." This guy was the epitome of what it takes to keep passengers on an even keel in an unfortunate situation.
• Captain O'Toole (a name I won't soon forget, since he was on the PA about every 98 seconds giving us updates as he received them from various sources.) He gave us the best he had and stood at the cockpit door every time the jetway was connected, chatting and joking with passengers. Based on his demeanor I'd fly with him any time - he came across as a real pilot's pilot.
• The young lady from France who is a member of the USC track team who stood in line with me waiting to be rebooked. I think I was on Face-Time with her boyfriend more than she was, as she was holding her phone at an odd angle. I hope she made it to Paris with minimal hassle. She was helped quickly by the agent at the customer service counter, so I think she ended up in good shape.
• The group in front of me in line, trying to get to Italy and working the phones to sort things out with Travelocity and the other airline. Apparently they ended up with a refund from AA, not sure how things ended up with their second flight. Lesson learned - make sure you have plenty of padding if you're trying to glue together your own trip with different airlines.
• Kim, at the American Airlines Customer Service Counter on C Concourse last night. She was cranking people through the system and had me rebooked in minutes after I finally made it to the front of the line. Despite the crushing number of passengers she kept a smile on her face and did everything she possibly could to say "yes" if at all possible.
• Jackson, my Ghanaian Uber driver, who provided a clean, safe ride and a fantastic conversation about his country. I have other friends with connections to Ghana, so it was easy for us to find a connection.
• The staff at the Hilton City Center in Charlotte. Due to fatigue and lack of attention I didn't catch any names, but everyone was amazing, from check-in to check-out. The young man who delivered toiletries to my room spoke very little English, but was a delight to interact with and went above and beyond to make sure I had what I needed.
• Donald, the Uber driver who took me back to the airport. Another clean, safe ride with good conversation. Never found out when his son played golf for NCSU, but hope that turned out well for him!
• The TSA agents in the Pre-Check line were friendly and engaging. I think the size of the airport and volume of passengers may contribute to their generally superior demeanor. No screaming instructions (for either line) and no condecension was offered that I heard, quite unusual given the varied experience level among travelers.
• My friend Paul, who happened to be connecting through Charlotte on his way to Newark. By chance I saw his post on Facebook and went to visit his gate. We were able to chat for a good thirty minutes and that alone almost made the whole delay worth it. It definitely made the day much more tolerable!
• The grandparents from Kansas with their 4 year old "Cars" fan on their way home from Disney who had their flight cancelled last night. They made me realize that yes, I am old enough to be a grandparent, even if I still see myself as a kid sometimes. Now I'm pretty sure that the reason grandparents are so crazy over grandkids is because it gives them an excuse to be young and goofy again. It seems to be a reward for having to be more serious while raising your own kids.
• The former Montessori teacher who spoke so softly that I never figured out where she was going (I think she was also going to Kansas, but not sure.) She's been to London a few times and has a relative who married a Scot and lived in the UK for a while.
• The family from Columbia with the toddler who was too cute for words. With a mother who speaks at least four languages other than English and a father who speaks at least three more he's destined to be a polyglot.
• The lady from California, who was nice enough to recite not only her SSN and personal details, but also her credit card information, all while sitting in a large room surrounded by countless others. How does identity theft happen? Just like this...
• The arms dealer who sat across from me talking loudly on his phone so everyone could hear how important he was. I quickly located him on the internet (luggage tags and stickers on laptops can divulge a lot of information that Google can turn in to actionable intelligence.)
• The staff in the American Airlines Admiral's Club who made sure I was comfortable during my protracted wait. They checked on me "just enough" without being overbearing, and each time the snacks were updated they gave me a rundown. Top tier, all the way.

Finally Leaving Charlotte

I got to London 24 hours late, with no luggage. Somehow it made it to JFK without me, but before my flight from CLT-JFK was even cancelled, then had to catch up to me in London. Yes, it defies logic...

What and Why

General observations, sometimes rants, of the world around us. Occasionally an anecdote.

I consider it therapy. My cardiologist endorses the activity because it keeps my blood pressure manageable. 

There's no telling what you might find here, so fasten your seatbelt, I'm not everyone's cup of tea. I'll defend my LGBT friends with my 2nd Amendment rights and think we should spend marijuana tax revenue with fiscal restraint. 

I often write quickly and edit poorly, due to a desire to get thoughts down before I forget them.

Content is added sporadically. Sometimes I edit to update links, but I don't change content. Sometimes I predict the future (Obama's first election) – sometimes my predictions fail (Obama's second term.)

I hope to do better going forward, now that I've rediscovered this neglected corner.

Dad and Nixon

First, a bit of background. My Dad (stepfather) may have been as close to Forrest Gump as anyone has ever been, at least when it comes to finding himself in the presence of famous personalities. This is a verbatim copy of his handwritten account of one such event that took place in November, 1977. He was attending the National Soft Drink Bottler’s Association Convention in Anaheim with his friend and long-time business partner, Carl Brown. 

Politically Dad was more concerned with issues and integrity than party, and while we never discussed Nixon from a political standpoint I’m comfortable saying that he was probably in agreement with many of his policies and initiatives, but disappointed in his conduct with respect to Watergate. 

Regardless of politics, he was certainly aware of the significance of his experience on November 16, 1977. I’ve shared bits and pieces of this with friends over the years, but haven’t heard/read the full account for forty years. So here it is. I’ve made every effort to maintain the precise spelling, capitalization, and punctuation of the long-hand version, so any syntactic anomalies are intentional. 

"Let me tell you about the most exciting part of my trip. After spending two full days – Monday and Tuesday on the Convention floor – seeing the Exhibits – talking to Suppliers and other Bottlers – I was beginning to repeat myself. It was time to change the scene. 

Since the Pepsi Bottlers Association was scheduled for Thursday, Carl Brown and I decided that if we were to see anything of Southern California, that it would have to be on Wednesday. We thought it would be nice to drive down the coast, all the way to Tijuana, Mexico. So after breakfast Wednesday morning, we took the car that I had rented on Sunday and we headed for the coast and South. The weather was good. The coastline is really pretty along the way – Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc and we were getting into enjoying the trip and the scenery. 

Down the road – and as we approached San Clemente, I said to Carl that “what we really should do is to stop in San Clemente and pay our respects to Richard M. Nixon.” Carl said “Yeah, we really should.” And so having that settled we started looking for signs, or something, that would indicate that we were approaching what used to be the Western White House. No signs or recognition, so we stopped at a service station and asked the man for directions to where Mr. Nixon lives. He gave us some general directions and we proceeded on. 

When we came into the general area we saw a security guard shack with a man on duty and told him that we would like to drop in on Mr. Nixon. Turns out that he wasn’t the one to see – he was on duty for the benefit of the other residents. But he told us to “go down that road to the Coast Guard gate – before you get to the gate there is a phone on a post – just pick it up and the Secret Service will talk to you – you wont have to say a word – they will talk to you.” 

So, with that, we went “down the road” and stopped and picked up the phone. Sure enough, they answered right away. I told the “voice” that me and Carl would like to see and speak to Mr. Nixon. The “voice” said that Mr. Nixon had not been receiving visitors and what we should do is to write him a letter and that if he wanted to see us that he might give us an appointment. I responded that “that doesn’t fit our situation” – that we were just a couple of business men from North Carolina and that we simply wanted to meet Mr. Nixon in person and to pay our respects. We did not have time while in California to write a letter and get a response before having to go home day after tomorrow, but we sure would like to meet him. 

He said – “well in that case you should call this telephone number” – and he gave me a telephone number. Then I asked him where I could find a telephone and he said that the closest one was back down the road where we came from. He probably thought that that was the end of that. 

We went back “down the road” but we didn’t stop at the security gate – we went on to the first gasoline station and there was a pay phone sitting on the side of the lot, and we called the number. I turned out to be Mr. Nixon’s office and his secretary answered. Found out that her name is Marnee, then I went into the spill about me and Carl wanting to see Mr. Nixon. She said that he hasn’t been receiving guests since he has been working on his memoirs. She said that a request to see Mr. Nixon would have to be cleared with Col. Jack Brennan. Could the colonel call us back? I explained that we were in a phone booth on the side of the road outside the Exon station- “But, “ I said, “I see a sign over there that says San Clemente Inn.” She said “We know that number – go over there and wait in the lobby and Col. Brennan will call you there.” 

 So we drove over to the San Clemente Inn and told the lady at the desk that we were expecting a telephone call from Jack Brennan, and could she connect us when he called? – and she showed us a phone that she would let us use. So while we waited for the call to come in we began to ponder what our reaction would be if he gave us an appointment, but not until 3:00 o’clock or 4:00 oclock, since it’s only 11:00 now – Before we figured out what we would do with that, the telephone rang and it was for us. 

I picked up the phone and it was Marnee. She said that she had a problem. She wasn’t able to get up with Col. Brennan since he was out for a while but that she had spoken with Mr. Nixon and Mr. Nixon said that he would see us for a few minutes before his appointment with the Reader’s Digest people – Could we come at 11:30? I said, “That’s just Fine!! So we waited until 11:25 – went back to the Secret Service telephone and this time they know exactly who we are. When I picked up the phone this time they told us how to proceed when they opened the gate. Inside, and down the road a ways, a vehicle was waiting to escort us the rest of the way to his office. We parked outside his office, went in and met Marnee and after waiting just a couple of minutes she came to tell us that “Mr. Nixon will see you now” There we were, at 11:30 AM Wednesday, me, Carl, and Richard Nixon in his office shaking hands and slapping each other on the shoulders and talking to each other like we were friends who had known each other for years. We stayed in his office for almost 15 minutes – just talking about personal things – looking at stuff in his office of which he is especially proud – about his forthcoming book which he says will be out in March. I told him that his old yacht was tied up with eye sight and a stones throw of my condominium at Wrightsville Beach, and that gave rist to some personal recollections about trips down the Potomac. And I must say that the visit to his office – meeting and talking with Richard M Nixon was one great moment. I really did enjoy it. 

After Carl and I left, and headed on down to San Diego, where we had lunch, we began to realize what a really rare even that this turned out to be. It was simply a whim that we had acted on, and a combination of circumstances and timing that had gotten us into his office – Well, enough of that – it was great fun! But didn’t that take a lot of balls?! 

After the meeting on Thursday both Carl and I left Anaheim and went to Los Angeles – Spent the night at the Century Plaza Hotel, which is one of the great hotels of the world. 

 Having dinner that night I looked around at the table next to us sat Col. Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. He wasn’t eating fried chicken – but then we weren’t drinking Pepsi either – 

He told me that if I didn’t quit that smoking that I wouldn’t live to be 84 – He might be right about that."

New Laptop, woohoo!

I've been lugging around my reliable, but tired, MacBook Pro for seven years now. While I love the real estate of the 17 inch screen I've grown weary of the heft that comes along with it (I estimate the weight somewhere between twenty and thirty pounds, for those who are wondering.) I've been thinking about a new unit for a couple of years now, having never had a laptop survive past the 5 year mark, I've been a bit wary for some time. I'll point out that my old MacBook is the first laptop I've ever had with a metal body, and that seems to be the difference-maker in reliability. Yes, it costs a good bit more, but I've hauled it from Munich to Ushuaia, on planes, trains, and automobiles. It's been to board meetings and horse shows, and it's never skipped a beat. I upgraded the hard drive a few years ago and replaced the battery at about the 5 year mark and it's still chugging along - but my shoulders aren't getting any younger and I'll hope to have plenty of opportunity to haul a laptop around in the future, so I took the leap.

Apple is offering special financing with Barclays if you get an Apple credit card, so I decided having many months to pay without interest was a compelling reason to order, along with having the time to get everything swapped over before an upcoming trip. I opted for a 15 inch with most of the whistles and bells. Since the late 90's (when CPUs passed the 300MHz mark) I've never gone for the fastest processor available, I've always chosen to invest those dollars in more RAM or storage. This time was no different. The incremental difference in processing power (less than 10%) for nearly 10% of the total system cost just doesn't add up for me. While I do a fair amount of video editing, it is on an occasional basis, so the impact of any time savings would be barely noticeable over the long term. I'm also not a gamer, so there wasn't anything to be gained there. I am a bit of a digital hoarder, so I did go for 1TB of storage.

Side note - my first "real" computer was a Gateway 486/66 with 16MB RAM and a 1GB hard drive (the largest available on a consumer basis at the time) My new laptop has a 2.7GHz processor, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD drive, for about half the dollar spend before inflation adjustment. What a difference (nearly) 25 years makes! It may not strictly adhere to Moore's Law, but it certainly comes close. Yes, I still have that 486 and it still boots an early version (kernel 1.2?) of Linux.

The new laptop is nice so far - the keyboard has larger keys (thanks to the virtual row of function keys) and a nice feel - they're slightly recessed instead of being raised, so hopefully they will stay a bit cleaner. The predictive text display in some apps is pretty useless for me, as I'm looking at the screen as I type and I'm not inclined to look above my fingers to see what the computer thinks I'm typing. When it comes to more challenging words I may find myself looking there for assistance, but that remains to be seen. It is nice when emojis pop up, especially when using Messages or social media.
Being able to unlock the screen with a fingerprint is quite convenient and after just a few hours of use I'm starting to use that feature out of habit. Other than the virtual 'escape' key I'm having difficulty imagining any potential pitfall of having virtual function keys (and frankly I have yet to identify a failure mode that the 'escape' key would play part in.)

The new trackpad is HUGE and it seems that there may be a bit of a learning curve with the click-hold behavior, but I'm not sure yet. (No, I haven't looked for any documentation, that would remove some of the mystery!) SSD storage means it's slim and weighs about the same as 3 credit cards (estimated) Overall I'm well pleased and getting everything moved over from my old unit has been relatively painless. I was initially concerned that the pads of my hands might wreak havoc as they rested on the upper corners of the trackpad, but now that I've relaxed and allowed my hands to rest naturally I can't detect any issues there, either.

The display is amazing, the weight is incredible (approximately six drams, by my estimation, YMMV) and the entire package is responsive. I look forward to dropping it in my Timbuk2 backpack and hauling it around a bit to see how it feels in transport.

Yes, you pay more for a MacBook, but in my opinion it is worth the investment if you're looking for something to haul around for a period of years.

Success or Failure?

If you know me at all, or follow me on any social media platforms, you're well aware that I didn't vote for President Trump. Not that I owe you an explanation, but my opposition was based more on his lack of character than his policies. The list of boorish behavior is long and has been well documented elsewhere, so I'll not reproduce it in this space. Google is more than capable of producing any number of articles on the topic if you need clarification.

That's not to say that I'm OK with all of his policy proposals. There are many that raise serious concern. This is where the success or failure question generates a conundrum. Let me start by coming at it from a slightly different angle by asking another, related, question.

Do I want the United States of America to fail?

Certainly not. With all of our shortcomings and misgivings we've got a pretty good thing going here. We're still young, as countries go, so there is ample room for growth still before us. To think that we've seen the best we'll ever have is a bit shortsighted. Two hundred thirty years ago a bunch of guys got together and decided they were tired of being ruled by a guy on the other side of the ocean and decided to do something about it. I've got a hat made by a shop in London that was founded one hundred years before those guys told King George III to get stuffed. As a country we've just exited our teens and I don't think we've hit our stride yet. We've had highs and lows, but have yet to figure out how to maintain a slow and steady upward trend for the entire country.

Now that we've cleared up that, let's look at the original question:

Do I want President Trump to fail?

In many ways, yes. In some ways, no.

WAIT! HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH A THING!

Hold your horses. Let's look at some specifics. What could I possibly want him to fail at?

Simply stated, I'd like for him to fail in his social agenda. He made promises and mentions throughout his campaign concerning marriage equality and women's health. I'd love to see him fail miserably in this regard. Equal rights are not special rights and a woman should be able to make decisions on healthcare with her provider and her partner, as she deems appropriate. He spoke of a muslim registry, this comes dangerously close to violating the First Amendment and reeks of the tactics used by the Third Reich in the 1940's. We have freedom of religion in this country, and that doesn't come with qualifications. Either we're all free to choose our religion or none of us are free. It really is that simple.

I'd like for him to fail with respect to eschewing alternative energy research and his assertion that climate change is just a conspiracy being perpetrated by the Chinese (as I sit here on a January day and the air conditioning kicks on...) We will run out of fossil fuels, fracking is causing seismic destabilization and groundwater pollution, and coal emissions have caused significant problems from the London fog of 1952 to modern day China. Germany produces a significant fraction of their energy needs from solar and continues to extend those initiatives. Research continues on ocean-based generation systems using tidal and wave energy, efforts to minimize the impact of harvesting wind energy are ongoing, as are advances in nuclear technologies. But we now have Executive Orders pushing Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines ahead, both projects riddled with potential conflicts of interest from Trump as well as members of his administration. The fleecing of America has already begun and his Presidency is less than five days old.

I'd like for him to fail in his plans to sell off our public resources to private interests. These range from our schools to our National Parks. With significant irregularities surfacing in the local Charter school program it's not unreasonable to assume that similar issues are surfacing in other areas.

I'd like for him to fail in placing an extreme right-wing justice on the Supreme Court. A moderate conservative would be acceptable, but the troglodyte he's mentioned so far is outrageous. Maybe he's being floated as a false-flag and the intent is to pull his name back and nominate a more moderate person to insure a "win." Let's hope that's the case.

In other areas it's not so much that I'd like to see him fail as much as I think he's not making any sense. He speaks of "rebuilding" our military. Military spending already accounts for ~57% of the Federal budget. How much more do we need to spend? I think the more critical issue is for our lawmakers to actually listen to the Pentagon. When they say "We don't want the SuperMissle 5000" then Congressman BigGuy should honor their input and not insist that the SuperMissle 5000 be funded just so he can curry favor with his district. We need to be pragmatic and reduce (I don't think we can ever eliminate) the political influence of Pentagon funding. To be succinct, I don't think we need to rebuild the military as much as we need to reduce wasteful spending on budget items that the military has specifically rejected.

He's all over the place (mostly too extreme) on immigration and border security. The wall? Are you kidding me? That's an excellent way to waste billions of dollars for little or no return.

Where would I like for President Trump to succeed? There are many areas, the problem is I think my definition of success differs significantly from his definition of success.

The Affordable Care Act has been advanced by various names and in various forms since 1972. As originally intended by the Obama Administration it was modeled on the highly successful program they have in Massachusetts (commonly called RomneyCare.) Don't let the irony of the name of that program get lost on you. Due to partisan politics and the general opinion of the GOP cabal on Capitol Hill the ACA was the epitome of evil and had to be stopped at any cost, mainly because the guy who proposed it was brown and the old white guys on The Hill resented the hell out of him. Frankly, I think he could have had a provision to give every member of Congress a golden goose and they would have still fought tooth and nail. I'd love to see President Trump work with Congress to fix ACA. It wouldn't surprise me if they fix it quickly (not repeal, fix) just so they can bask in the glory of having done something that Obama "couldn't." Yes, Ryan, McConnell, & Co are just that petty and small-minded.

I'd like to see him reform campaign finance as well as the lobbying system that exists in Washington. Our Congressmen and Senators should not be for sale to the highest bidder. Likewise, we need to eliminate the practice of politicians spending decades in office. With the current districting guidelines our elections are an abomination. The greatest democratically elected legislature should be elected in a free and fair manner, not with districts gerrymandered down to the address. Contiguous and compact districts should be the law, not the exception. Our elected officials should be public servants, not lifelong Senators and Congressmen. Lobbyists should be heavily restricted and relegated to an advisory role.

So, it's not that I want him to fail on a wholesale basis, but there are limited portions of his platform that I'd like to see succeed. As the situation exists today I have grave concerns over the tenor of communication between the White House and the Press Corps. "Alternative Facts" are simply lies and we have a contingent in the White House that have absolutely no experience.

This isn't likely to bode well. Perhaps it's all part of the reported GOP master plan to use him as long as possible before impeachment, at which point they'll have the guy the Koch brothers really want in the big chair, the human Q-Tip. Such is life in Trumplandia.

I'll be fine.

I'll be fine.

I’m a heterosexual cisgender male WASP with a decent job that provides health insurance. As an added bonus I’ve even got a life membership in the NRA and a pickup truck parked out front. I've been shooting guns and driving boats longer than I can remember and flying airplanes since I was fifteen. I'm perfectly capable of shooting, cleaning, and cooking game and it is rare that anything mechanical or electrical keeps me flummoxed for long. I enjoy my whisky neat and my beer dark.

But it’s not about me.

It’s about everyone who isn’t me.

My LGBTQ friends, families, and acquaintances. Young and old. Single, married, and committed. (There are even some of them who don’t agree with or desire same-sex marriage, just to mix things up a little more.) The ones who are securely hidden in the closet because their generation didn’t tolerate their sexual orientation. The ones who have recently come out, the ones who have always been out, and those who are still trying to figure it out. The ones with families now living under the ominous threat of their marriages being nullified. The younger ones now faced with a VP-elect who is an advocate of “conversion therapy.” (Note - For years I’ve asked every non-heterosexual person I've met if they could tell me when they “chose” to be gay, I have yet to find anyone who can give me an answer.) This group has more than ample reason to be fearful.

It’s about females who have found themselves marginalized in the past and the ones concerned about dealing with the possibility in the future. It's about those with gender ambiguity, and those who are transgendered. I won the lottery in this regard from a socially normative standpoint. I was born male and I’m quite comfortable being male. As I get older there are some annoying body hair issues I’d love to dispose of, but that’s a small price to pay for pretty much having the world designed around me. I really don’t have to worry about being groped, grabbed, or having someone force themselves on me, but others do, and that’s simply wrong. You can love women, appreciate the female form, and even participate in “locker room talk” without catcalls or whistling, much less advancing to the level of intimidation, physical assault, or rape. (Note - admission of any form of sexual assault is not "locker room talk.") No one should feel threatened in the security of their body, especially in the United States of America. Now we have a President-Elect who has openly boasted of getting away with sexual assault because he’s a celebrity. Casual sexual assault has been normalized, and women are fearful.

It’s about my friends of different complexions and ethnicities. I can walk down the street with a significant degree of anonymity, assuming I’m dressed in an unremarkable fashion and don’t do anything to draw attention to myself. No one is likely to confront me or, for the most part, question my right to be anywhere I choose to go. Again, assuming I’m not being deliberately provocative nor overtly trespassing. I take advantage of this quite often. As long as I present an air of authority and “belonging” I can go places others are turned away from, without ever being questioned. I don’t have to defend who I am or how I chose to worship. I’m of (mostly) European descent. Just an "average white guy” with ancestors primarily from the UK, sprinkled with a touch of German, Swedish, and Native American I’ve got brown hair, hazel eyes, and I’m pretty average height. More invisibility. The recent campaign has given a voice to the most extreme elements of society. The KKK marched openly in North Carolina the morning of November 9. People are already threatening others on public transit who “don’t belong” with weapons as well as words. Children in schoolyards are chanting about building walls. Those who don't look like me are fearful, and rightfully so.

It’s not about me, it’s about people having the option to make safe, appropriate, personal choices about reproductive issues. How in the world do you move past a VP-elect who thinks condoms are “too modern” and a President-elect who says there should be “punishment” for terminating a pregnancy? Someone in my extended family was faced with a horrific choice recently when it was determined a pregnancy wasn’t viable and the mother was at significant medical risk. Thankfully they were able to make the best decision for their situation and had access to safe and appropriate treatment. Overly-intrusive state laws still limited their options, so they were forced to abandon their support network for a short time, but everything worked out in the end. This isn’t a political issue, nor a religious issue, it’s a medical issue, and as such the decision should be between the parties involved and their health-care providers. The incoming administration has vowed to make extreme modifications in this regard. Many don't have the option to travel (if required) for treatment in these situations, and people are fearful.

It's about those who are developmentally different. Those with physical, mental, or behavioral impediments who have been mocked and ridiculed by the person who will soon hold the titles "Leader of the Free World" and "Most Powerful Man on Earth." A 19th Century Masonic publication bears this quote;

"He cannot act on their judgment, but must be governed by his own. As he has great responsibility, he has great power, and is bound by the strongest obligations to maintain that power and the dignity of his office." Until such time as we see evidence to suggest that the power and dignity of the Presidential Office will be maintained and that the President-elect is motivated to care for "the least of these" then those among us who care for the differently abled have every right to question and fear their potential treatment under the coming administration.

Thankfully I have health insurance (excellent health insurance, actually) that covers my wife’s pending kidney transplant. I’ll not bore you with the costs involved with this process, except to say that it is outrageous (tens of thousands of dollars just in testing and screening of potential donors) and we haven’t even gotten close to an operating room yet. In the long term dialysis is more expensive (and more taxing on the patient) so we’re hoping to avoid that. I can’t imagine how anyone with marginalized health due to chronic disease could manage the kinds of bills we see without solid insurance. When the top line is well over $15,000 and the bottom line is less than $500 if gives me pause and I give thanks for our good fortune. For many the choice is, simply, life and death. For us it's a slight inconvenience. We’re an inherently unhealthy nation for a variety of reasons, but no one should be punished for a congenital issue any more than they should suffer for the color of their skin. All my children are now adults. One has a solid entry-level position that provides good insurance benefits. Another is in graduate school, but who knows how long I’ll be able to keep them on my insurance if the ACA is ditched (we have no idea what the replacement might look like.) My third child has coverage under the ACA, so what happens there, is coverage just going to disappear? I’m not saying the ACA is ideal, but doing away with coverage for over ten million people is no better. I’ve got friends who went for years and years without coverage until the ACA because of cost. They're trying to figure out how they'll afford necessary medication without insurance coverage. I’ve got other friends who are paying through the nose for coverage because of the fractured implementation of the ACA and that’s not acceptable, either. Years and years of effort have been wasted whining about the ACA instead of trying to improve it. Now people are faced with having what little protection they have stripped away, and they are appropriately fearful.

Good solutions aren’t easy and easy solutions aren’t good. You can’t fix the problems with Washington overnight any more than you can clean out your car with a flamethrower. Well, you probably can, but the results in both situations are going to leave you with a gutted, smoking, worthless hulk.

So don’t confuse fear with whining. People are only reacting to what they’ve been told these many months, and they have every right to be fearful based on the evidence presented.

*Please accept my apologies for any errors with respect to pronouns or adjectives as used to reference the rainbow of people I discussed above, they are purely unintentional.

Student Visa Adventure

When my son applied for graduate school in London earlier this year I assumed the process would be simple and straightforward. A US citizen who has traveled a respectable amount of Europe who holds undergraduate degrees in German and Political Science going to a UK university for a Masters in International Relations - could it be any simpler?

1. Pick University
2. Apply to University
3. Receive Acceptance
4. Do paperwork
5. Pay fees
6. Make travel plans
7. Complete coursework
8. See Europe during breaks
9. Come home

Well, it turned out to be much less simple than I thought it would be. The first snag came at item #3. The first acceptance was a "Conditional Acceptance" which doesn't get you very far. The Golden Ticket comes in the form of an "Unconditional Acceptance" and that is when you are supplied with all the tools you need to complete the process of applying for a student visa. The conditions placed on his acceptance were quite minimal: graduate the current course of study and meet minimum GPA requirements while doing so. No problem! Upon graduation all the conditions were met and a copy of his final grade report was dispatched to the university admissions office, thus satisfying the requirements.

Or so we thought.

If only it were that simple.

After weeks and weeks of emails and phone calls we were eventually (read: the end of July) informed that they needed an official transcript to make the switch to "unconditional acceptance" from "conditional acceptance." So we scrambled to have an official transcript delivered, which only takes a day thanks to the miracles of the digital world. Now they can make the change from "conditional" to "unconditional" - right? In theory, yes. Unfortunately the time to complete this daunting task was quoted as approximately two weeks.

So, we wait.

As we close in on the two week mark we call and are told to anticipate a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) in a couple of days. The CAS is required to complete the student visa application; no CAS, no visa. It takes about two weeks for them to process a student visa application and return a decision. We're just over four weeks from departure, so things are starting to get a little interesting. (Yes, tickets were already purchased, as we knew when orientation began and buying tickets last minute is less than affordable, plus the whole Brexit ordeal resulted in a sharp drop in prices to London, so I rolled the dice.)

But that information wasn't completely accurate. You see, after the Unconditional Acceptance is issued you have to pay a deposit before they will issue the CAS. After finally speaking to someone on the phone who could provide information instead of platitudes the urgency of the situation was communicated. The deposit was paid through their online system and we made a return call with the confirmation number in hopes of moving things forward at least a little faster, since it generally takes two to three days for the business office to inform the admissions office that payment has been received. These were days that we could not afford to lose.

Five days later the magic email arrives with the CAS number included. In a flurry of activity (which includes a comprehensive list of seemingly everywhere you've traveled in the last three centuries) the visa application is completed and submitted electronically. However, the system is in transition between the hard-copy and electronic world, so you must forward the hard copies after your biometric data (photo and fingerprints) has been collected at your local enrollment center. Our "local" center is 130 miles away and the first appointment available wasn't for three business days - a Tuesday, precisely two weeks and one day prior to our scheduled departure.

This is where things get really exciting. You see, there are several ways to accelerate the processing of a visa application. All of them cost money (from $200 and up, the limit of "up" depending upon your ability and desire to travel to New York and what level of service you are inclined towards to deliver you to your appointment at the Consulate) and, depending upon your level of investment and degree of urgency, shave days or even weeks off the processing time. The "basic" service puts your application at the top of the regular pile upon arrival, reducing processing time to several days from the anticipated two weeks. We dig through an assortment of checklists, none of which correspond to each other on a consistent basis, and assemble a daunting packet of documents. Visa application, biometric data sheet (the old one, that has a spot for you to attach a passport-sized photo which is no longer required since they take digital photos at the enrollment center) proof of financial resources (to show you're not going to just show up and become a burden on the system) copies of the CAS letter (even though the CAS is prominently displayed on every official form you've filled out) and a return Fed Ex shipping envelope, complete with a pre-paid return air bill attached.

Tuesday morning we leave just before 9 a.m. for a noon appointment. The drive is just over two hours without traffic, but we pad it a little just in case. This would later prove to be a fortuitous move on our part. The drive was uneventful, save the last couple of miles when the GPS determined that a gravel road made more sense than the Interstate, but it was worth a chuckle after all the hurdles that had been overcome to that point. We arrived at the processing center at 11:25 and, heeding the warnings plastered on the door, left all electronic devices in the car and proceeded to the check-in counter, documentation in-hand.

Our joy for having reached the final physical hurdle was short-lived.

You see, there's a cover sheet for your biometric data collection appointment, along with the actual biometric application.

All they want to see at the support center is the cover sheet. Nothing else.

DOH!

So, how do we overcome this hurdle after having driven over two hours to make the appointment? Why, you visit the local public library, of course! Located just ten minutes away, you have a choice of toll roads or a maze of twisty streets, all alike. I opted for the toll roads (total expense = $1.84, round-trip) and away we went. Finding the library wasn't a problem at all. Figuring out how to navigate through the parking lot was an entirely different story. Since when did parking lots become creative expressions of the landscape architect and not utilitarian spaces designed around efficiency of vehicle movement and storage? After several twists and turns we managed to park the vehicle and made our way in to the building.

We located a service desk and explained our plight to the librarian. After hearing that we needed to print a couple of pages from an email account she asked to see our library card.

We live over 100 miles from the county we're standing in.

We don't have a library card.

We have to have a library card to print something.

So I hand over my driving license and in a few minutes time I'm presented with a shiny new library card.

We're directed to a monitor where we have to log in with the excruciatingly long number on the library card, then agree to several legal agreements. I'm not sure, but there may have been something there about a blood oath and perhaps granting a lien on my house.

After a few more machinations the email with the cover sheet for the biometric appointment has been located and we submit it to the print queue. We log out and scurry to the circulation desk to retrieve our freshly printed documents, or so we thought.

First, we must pay the required ransom to release the print job from the queue and send it scurrying along the network to the chosen printer. I hand over the requisite $1.00 ($.50 per page) and we're instructed to go back to the printer located at the end of the row of workstations we were just standing at to wait for our print job to appear.

After what seemed like five or six days, but probably wasn't longer than two or three minutes, the printer sprang to life and the elusive biometric application cover sheet miraculously appeared. Back in the car, out of the parking lot (much easier since we had already plotted a course on the way in) and back on the toll road for the return trip to the application support center.

After another interrogation concerning electronic devices we were checked in and my son was directed to one area while I was directed to wait for him in another. The person at reception wasn't busy and we exchanged a few words concerning the multiple layers involved in the visa application process. As we talked she produced a checklist and asked if I had a copy.

I did not.

This checklist was an expanded version of the checklist found on the UK Visa and Immigration website. It included items not on the other checklist and omitted a few items included on the other checklist. Ugh.

Not to worry, we made plans to visit a friend after lunch and print the "missing" documents to put in the overnight letter. At this point we adopted the attitude that it was better to be safe than sorry. My only fear at this point was that we might exceed the weight limit on a FedEx letter, but we could deal with that later.

Finally, everything was printed, in the envelope, and placed in a FedEx drop box. Time to wait some more! At least this time we'd be able to see when the passport (and hopefully, visa!) were on their way back by watching the tracking information from FedEx.

Delivery was confirmed Wednesday morning. While we hoped it would be on the way home by Friday, our expectations were more realistic. Even with expedited handling sometime towards the end of the following week was more likely.

We were pleasantly surprised on Tuesday when an email arrived;

"Dear applicant,

We are pleased to inform you that your visa application has been successful.  Your visa will now be placed in your passport and returned to you.

-For standard and Priority Service visa applications lodged in the USA, and for all applications lodged in the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, or St. Lucia:  Your documents will be returned using the prepaid waybill your provided with your application.

...

The package containing your documents will be dispatched from New York either this afternoon or the afternoon of the next business day.   If you did not submit a prepaid waybill when you submitted your application, your application cannot be returned until you have provided VFS Global with an appropriate waybill.

...

Sincerely,

UK Visas and Immigration
New York"

Since we included (per the instructions) a prepaid waybill attached to a return envelope we anticipated the documents by Thursday at the latest.

Thursday evening the FedEx tracking information gave no indication that the package was in their hands.

Houston, we have a problem.

Friday morning I call the only phone number available that gives any indication that they might be able to help solve our mystery. After connecting to a consultant and agreeing to the £1.37 per minute fee I'm informed that FedEx is not an "appropriate" waybill as the Consulate does not deal with FedEx, they ONLY deal with UPS. Note that this information is not provided anywhere - they only stipulate that you include a return waybill and packaging.

I go online and purchase a UPS return waybill (including Saturday delivery, just in case it manages to depart New York on Friday) and email it to the provided address for missing waybills. (Obviously this is a routine occurrence, which would lead you to expect that, perhaps, someone might try to figure out why this happens so often.)

As luck would have it, by Friday night the UPS tracking system shows no movement. Obviously there wasn't an update on Saturday. By Monday morning (two days before departure) I'm looking for someone, anyone, who can help me solve a problem. I don't need someone to read directions or tell me what should happen, I need someone capable of dealing with problems and offering solutions.

I may as well have asked for my own Lear Jet.

A direct call to the Consulate only connects to a surly individual who acts as gatekeeper. Only after begging do they even direct you back to the £1.37 service as your only option. Before that point they don't even listen to your problem, their only purpose is to repeat loudly and firmly that they cannot provide any information on visas. I didn't need information on a visa, I already knew it was approved. I needed to know what it was going to take for the person in charge of shipping to stuff everything in an envelope and apply the provided label.

So, another round of calls to the £1.37 remedial education line and I'm told "It should go out any minute."  When I impress upon the gentleman that "should" was not my concern and I needed to know when it would go out he promised to call the Consulate and find out what was going on.

Shortly thereafter I received another email, asking what I wanted to cancel. SMH.

Finally, at about 4:00 p.m. the UPS website indicated that the package had been picked up and would be delivered by 10:30 the following morning.

Tuesday morning at precisely 10:01 a.m. a UPS driver rang our doorbell and brought the entire ordeal to conclusion.

UKVI advises students to travel with all the documentation used to apply for the visa, in the event an immigration officer wants to see anything at the border. Ironically enough, this was the most hassle-free customs experience we've ever had entering the U.K. I presented our three passports and cheerfully informed the officer "Two regular, one student" - at which point he scanned and stamped our passports while requesting a thumbprint scan from my son. He then bid us a good day and off we went!