A Photography Show To Be Proud Of

I am trying to be productive amid the din of the chaos that running a cafe creates. Scheduling is much harder than I ever thought it would be, and the cacaphony of who can't work when and who wants to get more hours when they want them is intimidating. It all makes me wonder why I ever decided to go into the food business...considering how much smoother and easier our internet business is. But it's way too late for that, and no one cares about my pain.

There is no time to think these kinds of thoughts, I' ve got a new employee I am training and my writer Pal Jackie is coming up to work with us on Friday. That's great. I've gotten a ton of phone calls from people who want to have tag sales, and even got myself a permit, so I can have a little sale out next to my Deerfield Attractions Tent that we'll set up to give the maps away and give out samples of our coffee.

Today I put up my photographs from Colombia's Pacific Coast in the cafe. Peg, a cafe regular, and then my tough-to-please daughter Kate both told me they thought the photos were great. Hey, I'm proud of 'em and proud too that I have such a nice place to display them!

Look Me In the Eye--On the Other Hand, Don't

One of the most basic things I've always tried to teach my kids is to make eye contact when you are speaking to someone. It's simple and you'd think it would be something you don't have to teach. Yet it was painful for my son Sam at some points in his young life to look at the person he's talking to. The same with one of my former employees--he'd be spouting off about this and that and looking everywhere but in their eyes. I could see the listener looking, waiting to make eye contact, but he'd torture them with glances down, around and over, and finally, agonizingly, he'd look at them.

I read a review of last weeks' presidential debate. The main point was how McCain never, ever looked into Obama's eyes. He avoided eye contact, and it was painful and awkward to see.

Some people look into your eyes strongly, if rarely, so they can sort of make up for the lack of earlier contact. I had a boss once who really gave the steely eye, every so often, and it made you jump. I was going to hire a woman for the cafe but she was the opposite...she stared just a little bit too long into my eyes and it made ME want to look away. I thought it was me. Then I had her come back again for a second interview, and she did it again. Blazing right into me with that undending gaze, unshakable and frankly, unnerving. We never did hire her, and I think I made the right call.

"Aren't You Glad You Worked Out Today?"

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in about two years. Wow I can't believe it has been that long since I worked out at the gym. It's true, for some reason after my last gym membership expired, I never went back. But I have been bugging myself that I need to get back to it, and so Cindy and I went over to the Holyoke Y and I found myself on the Elipical machine again, working up a sweat and then doing Nautilus weights....and when we walked out into the soggy Holyoke morning, I felt great. That little sign that I used to read when I left my old gym, that said "Aren't you glad you worked out today?" rang so true. YES.

Then we drove a few blocks and ran into a crowd of people at the corner of Suffolk St and Appleton in downtown Holyoke. Van Dog, my favorite Holyoke blogger, has published photos of the theater and yesterday he took this grand shot of the main seating area.

They were there to give tours of the Victory Theater, a still beautiful and abandoned 1600-seat movie and live house that was last used in 1979. Don Saunders has big plans for this city-owned treasure, his MIFA organization wants to revitalize it and bring live theater to Holyoke. It will cost about $30 million to restore this three-balcony theater to its original glory. Saunders told the tour group that in 1928, when the city was rolling in affluence from the silk and paper mill fortunes, it had the highest per capita income in the US!

It was inspiring to listen to his vision, and his belief that this long downtrodden theater could be restored, if we have patience and he can get the state funds to do it. Cindy and I both agreed that we'd donate to a cause like this, because we believe in Holyoke, and this would be a huge step in revitalizing the whole city.

That New Plastic Bag Saves...If Only You'd Use It

Saturday night I ended up in Marshalls. While Cindy shopped for lingerie, I sat in a chair and watched Russian immigrants chatting and noticed how many of the rest of the people in the store were obese. In front of me was a rack of non-woven polypropylene shopping bags, navy blue with Marshall's logo printed on front. Then I remembered that I saw a story in Friday's WSJ titled "An Inconvenient Bag," about the dilemma these new bags present. I dug it out of recycling to take another look.

The problem is that most people buy them with great zeal and then leave them in closets, in cars, and at home, instead of actually using them when they go shopping. It takes 28 times as much energy to make one of these 99 cent bags than a plastic T bag, and eight times as much as it takes to make a paper sack, according to the story.

But changing consumer's habits is tough. Some stores are now printing bar codes onto the bags and rewarding shoppers for actually using them. "Companies can offer prizes or other incentives to customers who can prove their bag isn't just collecting dust at home."

The bags are the new rage in retailing, and cities like San Francisco actually banning the disposable plastic bags in supermarkets and chain drug stores. Soon it may be hard to find bag in places like Ikea who are phasing out the plastic disposable ones entirely.

Now big retailers like Walmart and CVS are putting out the 99 cent bags at the checkout lines, and since they have the company logos printed on them, it seems that they are enforcing a loyalty too. Who wants to walk into Target carrying a Walmart tote bag?

The Long Anticipated Debate Put Us to Sleep

I hate to say this, but last night's debate was a disappointment. After about 90 minutes, I looked over and saw Cindy with her eyes shut on the couch next to me and found myself struggling to stay awake.

I had been looking forward to the debate for months, remembering the juicy snippets of debates past. Who can forget the famous line "you're no Jack Kennedy!" uttered by Lloyd Bentsen, or the Duke's famous stammering when asked what he'd do if his wife were raped and murdered/

But none of these fireworks happened last night. No errors, no gaffes, no really hard jabs, just two very competent and well rehearsed politicians doing what they've been doing for more than a year.

I am glad that my guy Obama didn't experience any Palin moments, (she clearly embarassed herself with Katie Couric last week), no, and McCain was not able to portray his rival as a foreign affairs neophyte. The Maverick didn't lose his temper either, though at one point he came close sort of sputtering and looking angry.

Sad to say, it was hard to stay awake for the whole thing, since it as dry as ginger ale. But we can't wait to watch Palin and Biden next week. Now THAT should have some Saturday Night Live moments.

Good Advertising, Hartford and Valley Advocates

Don't Harsh My Mellow With CAPS!

Today I used caps, and bummed somebody out. I was sending in an ad proof for our Deerfield Attractions advertising program at the Advocate. And I sent the change back for a second time, as they had not fixed the first little typo after the first proof was sent. So I sent it back, after reading their email that I had better reply today or it would run as is, with my spelling correction in capitals.

FIX THE TYPO in the header it should read

Find out more at
Deerfieldattractions.com

It says Find our FIX THIS

thanks

Anyway this really annoyed the person on the other end of the email. She quickly typed back, 'there's really no need to use caps to point out the error, I'm doing the rep a favor, so the attitude is unnecessary. ó. So I emailed that I was sorry that I harshed her mellow but that it was my 2nd request...hence my aggressive capitalization. She replied with understanding and after it was all done the ads look great!

What They're Building Up on Mt. Sugarloaf

Watch a video of the construction of the set for Edge of Darkness, a movie being filmed in South Deerfield in early October.

The Momentum of Tag Sale Day is Energizing the Village

It's time to start thinking about writing again. I'm back from trips to Colombia and the Alps, and next week I'll hang a new exhibit of photographs from the first trip. I was greatly assisted by shooter Paul Shoul, who took my collection of more than 1000 photos and culled them down into 24 good images for the cafe walls.

I've been doing as much PR as I can to promote Tag Sale Day in Deerfield, while trying to find the right people to staff the cafe. The better job I do at this, the easier it will be to get back over to the office and write those two articles I owe the website. I never knew how hard it was to cover all of these shifts...but then again, the cafe is hard work.

It's really been fun seeing how positive people are about this Tag Sale Day. We are going to set up our GoNOMAD Cafe tent out on Elm St., so people who are driving into town will see it there with a sign that says Get Your Tag Sale Maps Here! I am thinking of selling coffee there too, since who doesn't want a cuppa joe while thinking about a Saturday morning full of tag sailing?

We've gotten the notice up on the local cable TV and expect to see Channel 3 Springfield show up to shoot a TV news spot about the event. One woman on Sugarloaf St. said that having this event has changed her whole opinion about Deerfield, and that now she's planning on attending Town Meeting, for the first time in many years. She thanked me and it made me feel good.

Friends Don't Let Friends Date Republicans

There's a bumper sticker that's trite but true, it's posted in my title. I am happy to report that the maxim has proved true once again, and a good friend has come to her senses. The election proves how polarized this country is, and as sad as that may be, there are some lines I think most of us blues would never cross. Speaking from Massachusetts, the Bluest of the Blue states, I claimed another victory when I heard the news.

Hearing the shrieking Sarah Palin with her annoying Alaska accent talk on the stump reminds me again of how unshakeable my blueness is. This sanctimonious mixing of religion and 'values' into every speech, that putting forth McCain as the greatest war hero ever...ugh.

McCain is famous for having had five planes crash out from under him. The worst incident was on the USS Forestall, where an accident caused a bomb to go off and 134 sailors died...but after review, it wasn't proved to be McCain's fault.

I tried again and again to tell my friend that she wasn't going to make a Fox guy see the light. That no matter what she did, she couldn't change him and that for God's sake, how can you possibly put up with that? So, she threw in the towel last week, and we're all relieved. Now we're looking for a nice liberal guy to come ask her out on a date.

Fruit in Torino's Public Market

From Chamonix France 08

Hiring New Blood is Indeed the Best Part of the Job

Back to the action at the cafe, where it never stops. I had to stop by Gillette's today, to look into a new giant refrigerator for the cafe. And a new slicer too. I have some promising new people who are looking for work, so that's a good thing. I remember once asking my old boss Frank Suher of ES Sports what the most rewarding thing was about the job.

I thought he'd say landing a big contract for Reebok or another major sporting goods company. Instead he said the most satisfying thing was having to hire so many people to do the work. I now know that indeed, bringing people aboard and going through the process of having them join your company is a rewarding thing.

It's even better when your hunch is right, and the person turns out to be a really top performing employee. Now we've got some new people at the cafe. Dean, from Benin, and a graduate of Princeton, and Claire, who came with top notch recommendations from another local business.

This is the best part, bringing new blood to make the whole operation work better.

The Editor at Work

This was taken at the Refugio at the top of the mountain in the Gran Paradiso National Park. While trips like this are full of fun moments, it quickly becomes clear that it's time to go home. I look forward to at least a month sticking around before heading out again in early November.

Scrambling Up to the Mountain Hut

Slow Food Aims to Slow the World Down

Sitting next to Paola Musolino at Piazza di Po restaurant, she told me more about Eataly, this sensational temple to food and wine that's put Torino on the culinary map. "They are planning to open in Rockefeller Center in New York," she told me. Then I asked her about Slow Food and what that's all about. "It's about five pillars, " she began, "Local food, in season food, food that's endangered, sustainable food and ecologically right food. "

This all manifests itself in a great big collection of food areas that are unequalled in quality and variety, especially of Italian only products. The selection of hanging proscuitto di Parma was endless, a row of these fine big pig legs, sliced thin as an appetizer.

The Harder the Hike, The Better the Wine Tastes

We set off in the bus to another awesome promonotory from which to view the Alps and this beautiful countryside. Winding our way through a mountain village, we took a turn and then began winding up steeper and steeper hills. The bus could barely make it around the hairpins, and one of our Italian tourism reps, Antonello, said he was afraid of heights, covering his eyes as the pebbles flew off the side down the cliffs beside this thin road. He asked to close the bus curtains.

Our destination was a gigantic dam in the Gran Paradis National Park, with huge cement letters across its broad face that said Citti di Torino. As we climbled up and over the dam, we saw an aquamarine lake that building this dam created. Up above the lake were dramatic snowy peaks, and a big set of mountains ringing the water. We were heading way, way up there, to that hut with the yellow roof. Wow it was far up!

An hour of hard hiking, using rocks as stairs and walking through soft forests and then, hiking above the tree line on broad flat rocks. "No one said it was going to be easy," I laughed, and indeed, it was one of those hikes that makes you feel great because it was tough. Looking down on that steep path and this light blue water when we reached the Refugio Pontessi, it all felt just right. Inside, a feast cooked on the mountain awaited. Everything comes up to this remote hut via a cable car that's strung all the way from the bottom. No way you can pack that much up here!

We enjoyed our lunch and I got a chance to catch a snooze in the sun while looking out at that magnificent lake and the towering Alps right behind. If you can imagine, these photos barely do this serence and incredible place justice.

A Great Day for a Photo Shoot

Shelley photographs Liz while the cow looks on near Perosa Argentina, Italy.

The Alps Were The Place To Be Today

Spending a day up here, walking through fields of green over cowtrails, and meeting a farmer who makes the famous Plaisentif cheese, (only available after Sept 21, but we got it early), and having lunch in a mountain hut. It was a day of Alpine smells, tastes and views.

Then a night in exciting Torino, where people stream by on the pedestrian area of the streets, in a winebar restaurant called three roosters. We sat outside in the thick of the action with a delicious mushroom risotto and the clinking of many wine glasses.

Eataly Raises the Bar in Foodie Cred

Before we left on the trip, I had heard about Eataly, one of our stops here in Torino. I was not prepared to love it as much as I did, since this place has more foodie cred than anywhere I've ever been. It's a cavernous building, about the size of a Whole Foods, that opened in January 2007.

It is a hub for food and wine, all based on the philosophy promoted by the Slow Food movement, supported by the city, the province and the Piedmont region. It has anything you can imagine that has to do with good food and Italy.

We walked around in a sensory delight--the pasta section was wall to wall with pastas from all over Italy (shockingly, I couldn't find my favorite one, Fregula, from Sardinia). But the copious pasta choices are was just the tip. Downstairs we found 150 different Barolo wines, and row upon row of just about every Italian vintage ever made. Pictured here is the bulk wine area where you choose a wine that costs between 2-5 euros per liter and fill your own bottle. The fish area had whole fish with gleaming eyes and shiny skin, and gorgeous fillets that made you drool.

The store is light and airy, with sections devoted the importance of seasonality of produce and rooms to educate people about wine, taste education, and how food and wine are made. There is one big room filled with seven Apple computers so that people can browse the internet for free. There are conference rooms that assocations and individuals from Torino can use to hold meetings, a huge bakery that produces bread from a wood burning oven, and dozens of huge proscuittos and other meats hanging on hooks. There is a part of the store where foods by producers protected by Slow Food can display their product and tell their stories. The cooler above is just Italian cheese, it goes on for several more cases.

There is a bar where people can sit and knosh and up on the bar crusty bread and olive oil is waiting. Our group ventured down past an unmarked door to a Michelin-starred restaurant called Restaurant GuidoperEataly, where dinner was stunning and the dishes showed the chef's sense of humor and taste. This martini glass with five layers of airy, light vegetable tastes was a starter, the tastes of pumpkin, cauliflower, beet, and squash all layered atop eachother.

The Sea of Ice, Chamonix France

Torino's a Architectually Rich City, and Fun Too

We left France early and drove through the 11 km Mt Blanc tunnel, and it was sunny as we drove the winding road to Torino. This is a delightful city, about 900,000 inhabitants, settled 2000 years ago, and full of porticoes, students and wide open piazzas. Carol our guide pointed to a large pedestrian area, and told us that it used to be a parking lot. No more. Many of the nicest streets were ones with no cars like Via Garabaldi, where people stroll 2 1/2 kms of blocked off street/shopping area.

In the distance on some days you can see the Alps that line the skyline on the horizon, but today we could not see them. I found out when I looked at a very old drawing of the city, in a room that covered all three walls, showing a panorama map of the city back in the 1800s. This was at the Mountain Museum, where everything about mountains are celebrated.

Rows and rows of skis showing their progression, life-size tents and camping gear, a film collage of nearly every movie with a mountain theme (like Sound of Music, and the Shining among dozens of others), this was all housed on top of a big hill in a building that used to be a small cathedral.

I am happy to be here for the first time, and that the city is so appealing. The 2006 Olympics were a big shot in the arm, that prompted much of the open space and green that is now a part of the downtown.

Le Dru Challenges Climbers in the Sea of Ice

This is much steeper than it looks!

After watching these ice hikers, we went back down and ran to catch a train. It was the cog mountain railway that took us up a steep grade to the other side of the mountain, to the Mer de Glace.

Chamonix, we learned from Geraldine, our local guide, was a place that in the 1800s attracted many English poets and other luminaries. Lord Byron, Goethe, and others came here and wrote about places like the Hotel du Montenvers, a rustic place with a million-dollar view of this vast sea of ice.

Right in front of the classic old hotel, where the upstairs rooms have been turned into a museum, is the most famous peak to climbers in France. Le Dru goes straight up, 3742 meters, a pinnacle of rock that points like a massive needle to the heavens.

Imagine climbing this baby....it's been done many times, and the ancient black and white photos in the hotel tell the tales.

Walking the Knife Edge on Mt Blanc

Today I was humbled by the towering edifices which nature has plunked down here in Northwestern France. We got up early and drove to the famous ski town of Chamonix. Our destination was that big ole mountain we saw from the air yesterday: Mount Blanc.

In front of the cable car, construction cranes were busy demolishing a building and erecting what will be a much grander entrance and waiting area for the season's tourists, who arrive here with the Christmas holidays. We rode the tram, packed with French and German hikers carrying their sharp walking poles and some with gigantic packs. These were filled with nylon wings they would use to soar off the side of the mountain and dance in the updrafts.

After the first tram ride, we climbed out and then jumped into the second lift, which would bring us almost all the way to the top of this 3482 meter mountain, France's most famous. It was straight up, and cloudy at the summit, and as promised, really cold. They've built tunnels and an elevator in the absolute peak to take people to the very tippity top...you go one way to end up in Italy, and the other to stay in France.

I was fascinated watching men and women bundled up and wearing crampons gingerly creeping one by one, behind each other out onto a narrow strip of snow. Tethered by a rope, it wasn't obvious from my viewing angle that they were dancing on a knife edge. One slip and they would tumble thousands of meters to certain death. We took turns photographing them on that little one-foot strip, as they made their way down and then it turned left and got very steep...and still a path of about a foot. My god, I can't look.

Like many in our group, I pondered what it is that makes people want to dance on knife edges with so many feet of nothing on either side. I thought that too when I saw those guys leaping with gusto off the cliff wearing those nylon wings. Maybe people would say the same about me when I got into that boat in Colombia last month and took a three-hour ocean ride in the rain and pounding waves. I guess I get it.

Only the French Admit to Still Smoking

There was a telling moment as we were touring a chalet at La Ferme de Marie, an upscale hotel chain with outposts here in Megeve, Province, Lyon and other French cities. Our tour guide was showing us the upstairs bedroom of a beautiful large wooden beamed chalet that was available to rent for a week at a time, and was usually taken for most of the winter months. I looked down at an ashtray with a pack of matches perched on top. "How many people smoke in these rentals?" I asked.

Well, that's not a problem any more, said Caroline, the company rep. But the French law prohibits us from banning smoking in rooms, because the law says that it's like someone's home. They have the right to smoke so you can't put up no smoking signs. But most people go outside, so we don't have a problem with rooms smelling like smoke. I looked again at the ashtray..then Bob asked a question of the eight women in the room with us.

"How many people here smoke?" Sheepishly, only three hands went up, of nine. They were all French, no Americans admitted to still keeping up the habit. "I quit every two months," said our guide, joking about how she almost always is tempted to buy those huge 500-cigarette boxes you see in duty free. But she said she probably wouldn't buy one again, since she's about to quit--really.

Dipping and Swooping Amidst Mt Blanc's Glaciers

After a hike in the clean Alpine air, strolling up through the mountains outside of Megeve, we all felt renewed and refreshed. We were relaxed and happy...so what else but to have another giant meal? No, this one wasn't as spectacular, just the usual two courses and wine, and we got a chance to spend some time in our Alpine chalet, named "Chalet Alice." The metal window and door grates miraculously opened using a bedside switch, and between the ipod touch and the laptop, I don't think I've ever been this connected during a trip abroad.

We had another item on our agenda, and it was exciting, and I'll admit, a little scary. We drove out to the Megeve Altiport, which is what they call an airport located in a mountain range. The runway dips down, and the planes easily hop up into the sky. As we drove up, skydivers were milling about waiting for their plane, and a helicopter's rotors whirred, about to take off.

Three of us joined a pilot in a single engine plane with wings that bent upward at the tips, and skated down that little runway with the dip to take a close-up view of the Mt Blanc glacier. WOW! We flew nearly straight at the giant white peaks, and then just in time veered away. The dirty snow of the glacier was only 30 or 40 feet down, we skimmed the mountaintops and all I could think about what 'what is this plane stalls out?' Hardly the thoughts that a seasoned world traveler should be thinking, but shoot, there was no where to land here where every inch of land was on a steep angle up.

We dipped inside and around the giant glaciers and viewed the gray rocks of the mountain faces close up. My stomach churned as we would round a pinnacle and then swoop down again. I asked the pilot how many times a day he made this flight...to reassure myself that it was all routine and I had nothing to fear. He didn't understand my question, so I shrugged and kept on filming our winding passes by the white face. Then in about 30 minutes we headed back to the runway, through clouds, and made a wobbly, albeit safe, landing. Phew!

Is This a Luxury Prison, Or Is There a Switch?

I awoke to a totally darkened room here in my luxury off-season room in Chalet Alice. What gives? Try as I might, I see no way to lift up these metal shades that have clamped down, blocking my Alpine view. Whoa, it's like a very well-appointed prison, no way to open it up to the outside.

I'll have to content myself with my flat-screen CNN and my espresso maker and my assortment of computer toys that connect me to my universe at home. Still, I don't think the people who built this fantastic chalet intended to lock me down in the dark here...what am I not getting? Is there a strange little switch that will suddenly lift the metal barriers up, flooding my room with Alpine light and the fresh air of the mountains?

Now it's time to go rustle up some chow for breakfast. We've got an Alpine hike coming up and I have to fuel up, as well as dress in many layers for the chilly high altitude air.

Romanee Conte, 2000 Vintage...Nearly Priceless

We visited the cellar at this Relais and Chateau property, Domain du Mont d'Arbois in Megev, and I asked if he had any Romanee Conte. "Oh yes," said Francois, "more than a few cases." This wine is the ultimate treasure for wine lovers. It's so rare and is only made in a tiny little square of Burgundy, and goes for 2000 Euros a bottle. Even if you're very rich, it's hard to buy because there is so little made each year.

Here he holds a bottle from the 2000 vintage, the stuff that would make wine snobs salivate. At the table I was asked if I was into wine. "Not really, " I answered, "I drink cheap wine. But I do love the idea of seeing the most expensive and coveted wine in the world right here in this cellar."

Don't Do This to Me, I'm Fat Enough Already

This goes out to anyone who has ever been on a press trip. You know the suffering. The madness. The 'it's already time to eat? We just had lunch' feeling you sometimes get when your hosts want you to sample their cuisine and pile it on.

I'm sure I'll get no sympathy from Kent, who's just finishing up a week of traveling in Burgundy and eating three-course meals throughout the cities of Dijon and Paris. Likewise from Cindy who accompanied me to Sardinia where we both groaned when we counted those five stars outside of the fancy seafood restaurant at the high class hotel where we'd dine, ad infinitum, that night.

So tonight, I'm sure I'll find no takers for sympathy when I tell you we've gorged beyond our limits. Enough with the wine, no more of the fifth bottle of dessert wine. No more fancy chocolate dessert, no more of those chocolates after the dessert, no more course upon course of fancy fois gras, yes, and pigeon, and yes a sea bass tartar. Pictured is the guy with the cheese table, rolling a groaning board of cheese from the Savoie region to tempt us with big slices.

It's only our first night here, by God, and they showed us the cellar where they had cases of Romanee Conte, and Petrus, and the place is owned by Rothschild, as in Lefite. No no, not another week of this. Stay tuned, I can barely sleep and it's only Monday. I fear the scale.

Braised Mangoes, Spinach and Toasted Almonds: Cafe Salad

I tried writing this post on my cute new iPhone. But it was useless, I really can't write anything more than a few words with that absurdly small keyboard, even though the letters do conveniently jump up and enlarge themselves for you. One would have to have the slenderest of fingers to truly be able to do that...so I am back at the big machine here.

A busy Saturday with lunch at the cafe, a salad of braised mangoes, spinach, toasted almonds and tomatoes. And a sandwich of turkey with cranberry. Our specials are continuing to make me proud. A clerk at the post office remarked to me last week that 'those specials on your faxes are really interesting...we all look them over when they come over the fax." Despite their fascination with these specials, most of the staff there has never set foot in the cafe.

I'm getting all packed and am glad that Swissair has no weight issues, like the last trip. I'll bring my Elizabeth Taylor suitcase and pack it full of merino wool socks, hiking gear and of course my lucky navy blazer. I leave tomorrow by bus for NYC then a nighttime flight to Geneva.

McCain's Secret Weapon

This is going to be a tough one....I mean, women in skirts like this get what they want. I was all pumped up about the Democrat's chances after watching Obama wow the football stadium.

Now I am worried that this secret weapon of McCain's will be our undoing. Even though the VP doesn't do anything, men AND women are suckers for former beauty queens.

Our Turnaround Hope is to Sell a Huge Pick-up

Bad news on the front page of today's Gazette. The local Dodge dealer might close. It is hardly a surprise after what I read in last night's WSJ about the company's strategic plan for a future recovery. It is stupendously out of touch with reality, since the story said their main hopes lie in a redesigned fullsize Dodge Ram pick-up. What!? You mean the 8-cylinder gas guzzler that saw sales plunge 29% this year? You mean the hopes for 201o rest in building a new version of a truck that dealers can't get off their lots now?

It gets worse. The other 'turnaround' vehicle that Chrysler says it will help win back the legions of customers who have fled for Toyota, Nissan and Honda is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Yes, Grand, as in eight-cylinders, less than 20 mpg, and another car that nobody wants. Why would a company that's been taken over by a hedge fund, (aren't these guys the ones who earn billions per year?) make such obviously bad decisions about which cars to build?

Earlier this year, Chrysler tried to paper over the lack of consumer interest problem stemming from $4 gas by giving away a card that enabled purchasers of their bad mileage vehicles to pay only $2.99 a gallon for a year. What a terrible idea. Encourage a big investment in a vehicle that costs too much to operate. And give them a card that makes the problem temporarily go away.

It's sad that the former Cahillane Dodge might go down. But that's what they said in Westfield when they stopped making buggy whips, too.

Lunch at Mountain Huts--Who Can Say No?

The cool air of fall is upon us, and even if summer is scheduled to be here through Sept 21, it's chilly and feels so much different now.

Last night I went out and copied my friend Larry by buying an ipod Touch. What this sleek device offers is super easy, on-the-fly email and web. When we were in the Medellin airport reading a long story about the newly-introduced Sarah Palin in the Washington Post, that sealed it for me. I had to have one. It even has a button for YouTube so you can pop that up on the screen and watch movies, or buy them from itunes and play them during a flight or a bus ride.

On Sunday I fly off again, this time destination is Geneva, and the Megev ski resort. I will have my handy little device in my pocket and if I need to be reached my email will be right there with me. My experience last week of being totally out of reach was a bit unnerving, so this device will help keep the cafe folks in touch with me wherever I go.

The trip will take me to the base of Mount Blanc. Later in the week we will go to the mountains outside Torino, Italy for more days of hiking and having lunch at mountain huts. It's probably not the best time to leave for another week, but who can resist mountain huts?

Ouch, Oh God, That's Gotta Hurt

I don't think I've ever seen a television program that forces you to laugh so hard at such terrible and painful things happening to strangers. It's ABC's Wipeout, and watching professional cheerleaders, aeronautical engineers, and former college football players bounce hard off of six-foot round rubber balls or get punched by a gauntlet of thrusting boxing gloves into goey mud is just the funniest thing you've ever seen. It's a remake of a Japanese show brought to the US.

One by one, they begin, thrusting fists into the air and bragging that they'll represent the female sex, only to land, unable to move, in the awful muck. One especially confident overweight female store manager just lay there, shocked and stunned, and didn't try to get out of the mud, she had to be dragged.

After the terribly painful first round, 32 of the strongest and most nimble are able to move to round two. There they stand, on a circle of blue platforms in a circle over a pond, with a diabolical swinging arm that they must jump over as it whizzes by, sweeping most of them into the drink. The arm gets higher and higher with each rotation, soon they'll have to jump three feet to get over it. The snarky commentators mock the poor schmucks as they plunge all the way down, and do replays diagramming their pain.

Then it gets worse...cut-outs are placed on the platforms that they have to jump through, and we see them do faceplants off the padded stanchions after being thrown down by centrifugal force. They do backflips on the way down, and their helmet cams give the viewers at home a bird's eye view of the tumult.

It's painful, and I can't help but watch--and isn't that the point of reality TV? I'm sure most of us are thinking of how glad we are hat it's not us who's wiping out trying to win $50,000 on TV.

Nobody Wants to Be Chief

Visiting Colombia's remote and rarely visited Pacific coast last week, we met a man who has worked to help local people there become responsible and promote entrepreneurship. It's an uphill battle, Guillermo Gomez told us, as we sat having coffee in the open air ramada where he keeps the motorboats that ferry passengers to his resort.

"Nobody wants to be the chief here, it's a throwback to the days of slavery, which were just four generations ago," he said. It's very difficult for people here to be comfortable being in charge, or telling other locals what to do. Sometimes I will pay a fisherman 400,000 pesos ($242) for a big load of fish, and the next day, they'll come back to me and say they have no money. They've spent the whole thing on beers for their friends, or in one guy's case, his wife's card-playing habit. People don't ever save money, or really get the concept of building a business or investing in something. It's very slow, a very slow process."

Guillermo tries to introduce the concept of entrepreneurship, such as with a former employee to whom he sold one of his old boat motors. Giving it to him would have made him look bad, so he sold it to him. Now this man has his own boat taxi service with two boats and motors, ferrying people around between towns. There are no roads, so this is really the only way you can travel, besides hiking the shoreline at high tide.

Guillermo also encouraged some other locals in a nearby village to develop a business taking tourists up a shallow river in their dug-out canoes to a beautiful waterfall and pool that is spectacular and memorable. Before his was taking them only as far as the motorboats could go, now tourists get down in very low dugouts and are poled the rest of the way. It's a blissful cruise with the sounds of the squawking parrots and the rushing water that almost comes into the boats.

While he encouraged the boatmen, eventually the local NGO told him that 'no Paisas were allowed to be involved with new ventures like this.' Paisas are the people from Medellin, also known as whites.

This didn't bother Guillermo, who understands the sensitivity here between the tiny fraction of the population who have ten times the money as everybody else. "I'm just happy that there is this new tour that my guests can enjoy and that local people are benefitting," he said.

Building a Missile Silo up on Mt Sugarloaf

It felt great to be back in the cafe once again. One bit of news that perked me up was when Sara told me that one of the producers of the film "Edge of Darkness," part of which will be shot on top of Mount Sugarloaf, had stopped by the cafe and taken five menus. "Subway isn't our kind of place," she told the staff. The gals were all abuzz and wanted to be the ones to make the delivery personally when Mel Gibson and Robert DeNiro come to the Mountain top to shoot some scenes from October 8-10. You can't buy this kind of excitement!

Then around noon six burly construction guys ambled into the cafe. One wore a Panavision cap--obvious film crew swag. They all ordered lunches, and after they were done I asked them about the scenes up on Sugarloaf. "We are turning the lookout tower into a bad guy's lair, with a ballistic missile silo," they said. It would take a few weeks, and most of them were local, one guy was from Westhampton.

They said they like the view up there, and they all liked their sandwiches too. So we hope to have them back again soon, and to get more details about the bad-guy enemy lair they are building, that they will tear down after the actors and crew leave Deerfield on October 10.

The Short Twilight in El Valle, Colombia

Tales of the Drug Old Days in Colombia

One of my favorite parts of any overseas trip are those times after dinner when you get a chance to relax and talk with the local hosts. At El Cantil, in remote Nuqui, Colombia, Memo Gomez and his wife Nana lingered with us and told us about what life was like when he was growing up and Pablo Escobar was the country's national scourge.

"Nobody thought that he was a criminal in the early days. We just thought he was a successful exporter." He told a story about once when he was in a Medellin nightclub with a bunch of friends.

All of a sudden the lights went dark, pitch black, and they thought there was a black out. But the DJ soothingly told the crowd that all was ok, and that a surprise was coming. In the darkness, a group of men could be seen walking in. Then the lights went back on and the music continued.

An hour or so later, the lights again went dark. Shuffling among the crowd, and later, the DJ made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, all of tonight's drinks are paid for, all tabs have been taken care of, courtesy of Pablo Escobar." A cheer went up from the crowd.

Another tale was about Memo's father, who was an architect, who got a commission to build a very large house for an unknown client. He asked if he could come out and see the site, but was told no. He also wondered why this person would want an ice skating rink and so many garage bays in a residential house. It was only later after the massive house was built that he was informed that he had designed Hacienda Napoles Pablo Escobar's famous finca that would later be torn down after his death in 1993.

How Much Do Things Cost in Colombia?

It´s a welcome relief to be traveling in a place where the dollar buys a lot of pesos and nothing seems very expensive. Tonight we went to one of the coolest places in Medellin, Colombia, the Plaza de Posada and joined hundreds of Paisas watching a very important soccer match. It was Colombia vs. Uruguay and I am sad to report that the home town team lost 1-0. Trucks drove around the square with lit up billboards in the back, and the chicas were out looking their sharpest.

The bar offered three cocktails at once for 17,000 pesos, or about $10. They also offered two beers served at once for $3.50. So after a night of revelry, listening to the announcers say ´´goooooooaaaaallllll´ in that famous South American scream, our bill came to about $8 each including a big plate of nachos with meat and cheese we shared. Then we jumped into a cab that cost about $2.50 to take us about 20 blocks to our hotel.

I had a coffee in a tiny ramshackle cafe in the town of Nuqui, population 3500. It was 500 pesos or about 35 cents. Gas here is about 8000 pesos per liter or about $4.00 per gallon. If you hired a housekeeper to clean your house it would be about $12 per day in Medellin, or about $8 in the country.

But best of all is the fact that in the distant country, those places that aren´t connected to any roads, and are removed totally from the modern world of email, radio and newspapers, most people don´t need much money to live. There is fish like Yellowfin tuna, amberjack and red snapper, caught fresh from the Pacific, they grow rice and vegetables, and the chickens that scratch the earth all around provide eggs and meat. When somebody has food they share it, or barter between themselves. The plantains and bananas grow in the jungle, and they make their own strong booze. So even when there is no work, they get by, and nobody has insurance or car payments to worry about.

So Glad, So Very Glad, To Be Back in Touch!

For the first time since last Friday, my clothes are all dry and my feet are not wet. I am back from my communications cocoon on the Pacific coast of Colombia, not far from the Panama border. Contrary to our itinerary, we flew first to Bahia Solono, where we took the world´s worst road 14 hard kilometers then drove down a wide beach to an eco resort called El Almental. Armed soldiers were never out of view when we released baby sea turtles, cruised in open boats to view whales from about twenty feet away, and hiked up a stream to discover a crystal pool up on top.

The group numbered about 25--journalists and travel agents from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, UK, Spain and the US. I am now in Medellin, where I found out after reading 69 emails in date sequence that our new cafe manager never began the job, and another who my staff hired also never came to work. But no worries...I´ve posted on Craig´s list, and in spite of this turmoil, I look forward over the next week to sharing many of the stories, photos and adventures I´ve had in this remote, inaccessible and beautiful part of the world.

Thanks for the help Jac, you did a great job filling in and my readers and I appreciate your posting while I was away!

Welcome Back, Backpackin' Max!

According to my calculations, Max should be back in the states and voraciously blogging very soon. It's been a blast to step in here and talk about travel, current events, and other miscellaneous things, and I hope to come back to visit again soon.
To sign off, I thought I'd leave you with a few links to some great collections of travel photography on flickr. These are great places to get inspiration and tips (in addition to GoNomad, of course), as well as to contribute your own views of the world.
London-alt
Offbeat Travel
Travel Photogs
Whet, Gobble, and Frolic
Enjoy, happy travels, and safe passages!
--WJ

Paradise City Tavern Serves a More Casual Crowd

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Claudio Guerra, owner of six Western Mass. eateries including the new Paradise City Tavern in Northampton. PCT is a hip but still casual restaurant, watering hole, and entertainment spot that replaced Guerra's more formal restaurant, the Del Raye, earlier this year.

Guerra said high-end dining has been declining since 2001, and finally, he made the decision to close Del Raye and open PCT as an answer to this cultural change.

The decor is great, the food is unique, and the beer list is extensive - we taste-tested a creme brulee-flavored beer yesterday that was to die for.

Guerra's been in the restaurant business for more than two decades, and he knows his stuff. In the case of PCT, I think he's proven that casual doesn't need to be cheap, and hip doesn't need to be expensive.

Just a tip, too -- my friend Charlie plays at PCT every Thursday night with his funk band Iron City. Check them out - they're worth the boogie.

--WJ

Bermuda: An Alternative to Work

It's true that a jaunt to Bermuda is not the most 'alternative' trip one can take. But for two folks who haven't taken a trip that wasn't work-related since the Carter administration, it can seem as wacky as camping with Bedouins. 

Such was the case earlier this summer for my husband, ArcherVision, and I. After months of planning and plotting, we finally stepped on a plane and took a vacation. A real, honest to goodness, spend-too-much-on-lunch-and-even-more-on-dinner vacation.

We did everything you're supposed to do in Bermuda - saw pink beaches, swam with dolphins, had a beer at the Swizzle Inn, rented a moped. It was all delightfully touristy.

Nerds that we are, we have also been working on little, commemorative videos of our trip. I finished mine, and will debut it here first at ReadUpOnIt! AV isn't quite done with his film, but the pressure's on. So, behold the non-alternative-travel goodness, and remember: one man's boredom is another man's well-deserved time off.

(there's music, fyi)

--WJ

Give Peace a Chance

With Max still globe-trotting in Colombia, I wanted to take a moment to point out another cool blog with views from all over the world: One Million Peace Signs, a blog dedicated to collected a cool million signs of peace in all its forms. 

People from all over the world contribute pics of their two-fingered 'Vs' and photos of more traditional peace signs to a flickr group, and designated bloggers post them, sometimes with comments or stories, to OMPS.

It's a World 2.0 take on spreading the word that's closer to its goal every day. The photos aren't so bad, either. 

--WJ

Wine and Flowers in Shelburne Falls

I visited The Shelburne Falls Wine Merchant in Shelburne Falls, Mass. recently for an article I'm working on, looking at interesting entrepreneurial endeavors in the small business sector. Owned by Paul-Thierry de la Blotier, French and Welsh by decent, the Wine Merchant specializes in the 'English service model' -- slower, more personalized service. It sells a wide array of wines from small- to medium-sized vineyards around the world, in addition to local products. All of this happens just feet from the historic Bridge of Flowers in the heart of Shelburne Falls, which also has a great array of shops, restaurants, galleries, and even a Trolley Museum.

As fall approaches, Shelburne Falls will be in its prime, so it's worth the trip; a stop into the Wine Merchant might not hurt as the nip returns to the night air, either.

--WJ