I’m not there any more. If all’s gone well, I’m on my way home as you read this. So it’s time to reveal the Secret Location. Or rather, it’s time to start by giving some better hints than I’ve offered so far. A prize will be offered to the first person who names both the country and the city where I stayed. Hint 1 is a photo you’ve already seen. It was the first photo I posted on my travels, in fact. I didn’t realize it at the time, but to anybody who knows this part of the world, that…
26 CommentsLiving Freedom Posts
Well, my three-hour tour turned out less eventful than Gilligan’s. Some pix for ya. Eat your heart out, girls That’s David (Da-VEED), my tour guide. I had him all to myself, since I was the only passenger on the boat. Sort of a waste for the tour company, but good for me. He was a really good kid, and ambitious enough to end up owning the tour company (if not a whole string of them) someday. He was the middle child of a farm family who learned English by taking lessons from a neighbor (over the objections of his father…
11 Comments… the challenge of translating Dr. Suess into Spanish? —– I just got taken by a street vendor. Totally my own fault. I bargained him down. Then (because I didn’t properly calculate the local currency in my head, gave him the amount he originally asked for). Only a couple of bucks, but it’s the principle of the thing. He’s probably chortling right now about the gringa estupida. —– Tomorrow I go on a boat tour. Feeding monkeys is involved. The tour guide recommended Oreos, but that sounds like simian abuse to me. It is, BTW, a “three-hour tour.” Does that…
11 CommentsNot up for a big post today. Just thought I’d introduce you to my neighbors here at the B&B: They’re from New Orleans. They flew down here one day after being part of the Skull & Bones Gang that wakes people up early for Mardi Gras. Um … that’s when the photo was taken. They’re dressing considerably more casually here. 🙂 This was what we all did together yesterday.
2 Comments“Your bathroom has an electric shower head,” my host explained.
“Huh?” I observed wittily.
“They’re very big down here. Don’t touch it.”
I took one look and knew I’d be taking that advice very, very seriously. Yes, that’s an electrical outlet — a non-GFI electrical outlet — there above the shower head, poised to commit shocking mayhem to the unwary. (I don’t know what that sticky-outy thing is on the right. Don’t ask me; all I know is I’m not touching it, either.)
Furrydoc emailed after reading yesterday’s post and asked if the B&B where I’m staying has a “suicide shower.” I’d never heard the term, but I knew instantly that, yes, that’s exactly what it has. It’s a small, wildly unsafe, on-demand water heater.
Besides being a threat to life, it heats water only to the temperature of tepid tea.
—–
This post is titled in honor of LarryA’s observation that one thing worse than a rambunctious toddler is a “grownup” tourist who goes to furrin parts, then grouses the whole time that, “This isn’t the way we do things back home.”
I’m not grousing. What, me grouse? But one of the things you certainly notice in furrin parts is that they do things in furrin ways.
Yes, Americans are famously and notoriously surprised at this. One reason I travel even though (have I mentioned?) that I hate traveling is to reality-check myself on how the other — and really much larger — half lives.
Anyhow, since the U.S. is slowly headed for third-world-dom, the knowledge might come in handy at home someday.
22 CommentsCheers and thanks to Texans, Wyoming Mamas, and all who extended invites to stop by while “on the road.” But I now confess that “road” was a slight misnomer. I am in furrin parts. The only “road” portions of the trip were the three-hour drive to the airport in the dark in a storm (have I mentioned before that I hate to travel?) and the hair-raising drive from the airport to a B&B with a driver to whom my language was as furrin as his was to me. (“Donde you?” “Vengo Washington state, USA.” “Ah, Barack Obama, El Presidente!” “No,…
17 CommentsI’m going to be on the road for the next week. I’ll have my computer with me and rumor is that I should have a good wifi connection at least part of the time. We’ll see how that rumor pans out. Just in case, I’ve asked Webmaster Oliver to check in on Living Freedom periodically to approve pending comments and put out any fires. You should still be hearing from me soon, assuming those rumors about wifi are true. But if I get quiet, don’t worry. P.S. That’s also why I blogged about Brink of Freedom yesterday. If I can’t…
13 CommentsThe Cato Institute has submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court written by P.J. O’Rourke. Real brief. Really hysterical. The topic: Whether a state can criminalize (get this!) lying about candidates during political campaigns. The brief opens: INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT “I am not a crook.” “Read my lips: no new taxes!” “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” “Mission accomplished.” “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it.” While George Washington may have been incapable of telling a lie, his successors have not had the same integrity. The campaign promise (and its…
3 CommentsLovely subject line, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t describe where the political world stands (no surprise). But it does describe a cool new website and a beautifully laid-out and informative digital magazine.
Brink of Freedom is a great place. It combines a freedomista attitude, high energy, and useful self-sufficiency how-tos.
Michael W. Dean of Freedom Feens turned me on to the site and introduced me to its founder, Josiah Wallingford. (Don’t you love that name?)
Go check it out for yourself. It’s the kind of place you could spend hours. But while you’re here, here’s a little background Q&A with Josiah, as well as links to pdfs of BoF’s January and February editions:
8 CommentsMan now living in the house of the lawyer who ripped him off. Sweet revenge. Boeing makes smart phones??? Who knew? Apparently this one self-destructs if tampered with. I’m not a sports person and I never heard of Dean Smith. But this is a touching tribute for a good man. Do seven people really control the security of the Internet? (H/T JB) Antimatter beams. Ho hum. So commonplace. (H/T JB) The most expensive eviction in NYC history. It involved the Mayflower Hotel, a cranky old hermit, and a room with a view. Quite a tale.
5 Comments