Reflections

At 1:00 pm on November 22, 1963, I was downstairs in the staff room for our school newspaper and yearbook working on one of the sections of the yearbook that we would publish that year.  It was fourth period and lunch was being served in the cafeteria.  As was the usual case, we had a small television in the staff room which we always turned to a new soap opera, Days of Our Lives, to see what was happening with Bill, Missy, and the Horton family.  However, on this particular day, our program was interrupted with the news that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas.  Shortly, as we stayed glued to the TV, we found out that he had died.

There are incidences in our lives that will remain indelible, and we can relive every detail over and over.  November 22, 1963, was one of those times.  So was September 11, 2001.

I've just finished seeing the movie and reading The Help.  Aibileen, one of the characters in this book, wrote down her prayers rather than saying them.  She found this a comfort, and as the story progresses, she writes down things that happened in her life in Mississippi in the 60s.  When I was a teenager, I kept a diary, but I have gotten away from writing down my thoughts since I've been an adult.  Writing this blog has become my outlet for expressing myself.  And, today, like Aibileen, I feel that I need to write about 9/11.

I was sitting at my desk in our home office about 7:45 am CDT that particular morning with Good Morning America broadcasting on the TV.  Becoming engrossed as I seem to do when I'm on the computer, I had completely blocked out the white noise that it was blaring.  A little before 8:00, the phone rang, and it was my daughter.  "Mom" she said, "A plane has hit the World Trade Center in New York".  I grabbed the remote, spun my chair around, and turned up the volume.  We talked for a few minutes, and I heard Diane Sawyer say something to the effect that it seemed to be a small engine aircraft that had hit the building. 

I immediately called one of my best friends who makes two or three trips to New York every year to tell her.  We both love New York City, and I knew she'd want to know. While we were on the phone, the second aircraft hit the second tower.  Then, I called Charlie, my husband, to let him know what was going on.  He was at his doctor's office getting the results of his physical the previous week.  Another one of the things that is etched in my brain is that this was the day we found out Charlie is diabetic.  He was unaware of anything going on at the time, and told his doctor what had happened.

I called our office to tell the staff to turn on the TV there and keep a watch on what was going on.  I quickly took a shower and turned the TV on in our bedroom so I could hear what was going on.  I saw the live broadcast from Florida as President Bush was informed on the situation, and I don't think I'll ever forget the stunned look on his face.  Then, the Pentagon was hit.  Then, the plane was downed in Pennsylvania.  Was it never going to end?  Were we at war, and just didn't know it? 

As I was driving to the office listening to NPR, I heard the announcement that all planes were being downed at the nearest airport.  Our office at the time was located in a landing pattern for the airport in Nashville.  By the time I got there, planes were already lining up in the flight pattern to come in.  About thirty minutes after I got to the office, I walked outside, and as far as I could see, planes were coming overhead about every 30-45 seconds to land.  Then, it was deathly quiet.

I saw the towers as they fell that day on TV.  I can't imagine what it was like to be in New York during this time.

My brother was supposed to be in New York City on business on 9/11.  He would have been in the Marriott World Trade Center that got hit when the towers fell had his travel plans not been changed.  My cousin, her daughter and son-in-law, and her nephew all live in the Washington D.C./Virginia area.  Her daughter usually had appointments at the Pentagon on Tuesday, but had a change in plans and didn't go that day.  Charlie's doctor's son-in-law was heading to the World Trade Center for an appointment just as the first plane hit. Fortunately, he never made it there.

All day that day, I was on an open chat room with other travel agencies across the U.S.  One of my friends who owns a travel agency just outside New York City had two brothers and a cousin who were all firefighters that they could not find.  Finally, almost thirty-six hours after the towers fell, they were able to connect and none were hurt. 

We are in the business of selling fun, but on this day and for weeks and months to follow, the travel business suffered.  Our first priority was helping those who needed it to get back home safely.  All I knew to do at that time was send out an e-blast with every airline, hotel chain, rental car company, cruise line, and tour operator's toll-free phone numbers.  We offered to assist anyone who needed it and told our subscribers to  forward this information on to those who did.  I wasn't looking for business; we wanted to help and this was the only way we knew that we could.

We had been booked to speak at a conference two weeks after 9/11.  I had to completely ditch the presentation we were going to make and write a new one addressing change in our industry since that tragic day.  While we were getting dressed the morning of our presentation, we had CNN on in our room.  There was a crawl on the screen that made more sense to me than anything I had heard or read during all of this - Al-Queda is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity.  WOW!  Just like that, my eyes were opened to the fact that a small extremist faction of the Islamic religion who believes in the same God that I do, had caused this mayhem.  I could identify.  Yes, I'm a Christian.  No, I'm not a radical who uses my Christianity to promote extremist beliefs like the KKK in the name of Christianity.  Yet, the fears that all Muslims were Al-Queda were out there. 

The travel business has changed radically since 9/11.  Security has heightened at airports.  Security to board and disembark cruise ships is now as tight as it is at airports.  Security to enter Titans stadium to just watch a football game has been heightened.  Even five years after 9/11, when we took my then five-year-old granddaughter to DisneyWorld, security had been put into place, and my purse was checked before we could enter the park.

We live in a different world now.  My grandchildren will never know the innocence we knew as children.  Security will always be a part of their lives.  So, as I write and reflect on that fateful day, I feel a cleansing of sorts.  Sometimes, it's just good to reflect on things that have impacted our lives.

Travel Speak

We've all used text speak (txt spk) in messages that we've tweeted or in emails we've sent. It's an abbreviated way of talking in 140 characters or less.  In the travel industry, we've used codes and "travel speak" for years.  What we consider commonplace in our day-to-day operations, our clients look at us confused and dazed when we use some of our terms.  So, let me give you some of our basics.

The airline reservation systems computer language was orginally written in 6-bit ALC (airline code).  As travel agents, we had to know long and complicated entries to even access availability.  One of the limitations of 6-bit code was there were only 64 character that could be used.  Because of this, three letter city codes were given to airports around the world.  Some of these were easy to remember - FLL for Fort Lauderdale, MIA for Miami, SFO for San Francisco, SEA for Seattle.  But, what about BNA, MSY, TYS, LGA, JFK, DCA, ORD, MDW, CDG, LHR, or FCO???  These are the city codes for Nashville, New Orleans, Knoxville, New York La Guardia, New York Kennedy, Washington Reagan, Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, Rome.  We had to go to airline reservation schools for a week at a time, and learn these city codes as well as a myriad of other codes in order to make or access reservations.

Now, anyone can book an airline or hotel room on-line by point and click.  However, before you jump into this, there are some travel speak terms you need to know. 

Air Travel
Non-stop Flights - Just as this implies, you get on a plane in one city and without stopping anywhere, you get off at your destination.

Direct Flights - These originate in your home city, land at some point without your getting off the plane, deplane some passengers, pick up additional ones, and eventually get you to your destination.  Think train travel only less time in getting where you want to go.  You stay on your originating plane and don't get off until you reach where you are going.

Connecting Flights - You are planning a trip from Nashville to Los Angeles.  You originate in your home city, for instance BNA (Nashville), get off the plane in LAS (Las Vegas), go to a different gate and board another plane for LAX (Los Angeles).

Hotels Rooms
Single/Double/Triple/Quad - This denotes the occupancy of the room - 1 person, 2 people, 3 people or 4 people in the same room.  Some hotels charge one rate regardless the number of people you have in the room.  A room that would sell for $210 per night would equate to single occupancy ($210 per person per night), double occupancy ($105 per person per night), triple occupancy ($70 per person per night), and quad occupancy ($42 per person per night).  Cruise lines also use the same formula for single and double occupancy cabins.  On cruises you pay not by the night, but for the duration of the cruise.

Twin Rooms - These are rooms that have two twin beds in them and can only accommodate two people.  It's unusual to find these in the U.S.  They are more common in Europe and other parts of the world.

Double/Double Rooms - These rooms have two double or queen-size beds in them.  They can accommodate up to four people.

Cruises
Bow or Forward - This is the "pointy end" of the ship.  As "forward" implies, it is the front of the ship.

Stern or Aft - Obviously if "forward" is the front of the ship, then "aft" or the stern must mean the back of the ship.

Port and Starboard - These terms denote which side of the ship you are on if you are facing forward.  Easy way to remember - port and left have four letters in them.  If the port side is the left side of the ship, then the starboard side is the right side.

Boat/Ship - Another easy way to distinguish the difference - there are lifeboats on ships.  There are no lifeships on boats.  So if your vessel has lifeboats, she is a ship.  And, a word of caution, don't talk with a crew member on a ship and refer to the vessel as a boat. 

There are hundreds of other terms that we use daily in the travel industry.  So, before you jump off the deep end and try to be your own travel agent, consult one of us who can understand "travel speak".  Just remember - without a travel agent, you're on your own.

 

It's the Big One, Elizabeth!!!

Remember Sanford & Son and Redd Foxx holding his heart and talking to his deceased wife anytime something happened.  Well, today is one of those days.  My hubby, best friend, business partner, fixer of anything, and love of my life turns 70 today!!!  Seventy!!!  WOW!!!  When I was a little girl, seventy was old - really, really old.  Today seventy is the new fifty. So, today's blog is a letter to my hunny.
Dearest Charlie - Who knew on July 4, 1981, when we promised to love and honor (remember, I had the obey part taken out of our vows) each other in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live, that we'd both make it to two milestones this year - our 30th anniversary and your 70th birthday.  We've done a lot over these years.  Lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of accomplishments, lots of disappointment.  But, overall, it's been an incredible ride.

     We've survived job losses, the lose of both of your parents and my mom, owning a business (or rather, it owning us) where we not only live together but work together every day, combining a blended family, taking our little company from one that had not made a profit to one that sustains us quite well today.  I've watched you give away two of your daughters at their weddings, hold grandchildren when they are just a few hours or minutes old, help my dad whenever he needs you, continue to work even when we are on vacation because there are just some things you need to do, fix a computer at our office - over the phone - while we are in Europe - by just having the phone held down to the computer so you could hear what it was doing, and be ordained as a deacon at our church.  WOW!!  And, that's just the beginning.

     When you gave up your career as a chemical engineer to come into my little company and become my business partner, I know you gave up a part of you life that was so important to you.  Yet, you realized the strengths you could bring to the company would make it grow and prosper.  Because of your dedication to the company, it has allowed us to travel all over the world with our best friends.  Will we ever forget that train fiasco in Italy with the Bohans and Tidwells??  Or the trip to Germany and Switzerland where we almost got stuck in snow in the Alps?  What about the Greek Isles, or the British Isles, or the Mediterranean numerous times, or Scandinavia and Russia?  The I, Snorkel Bob incident is indelibly etched in my brain when we were on Maui, as are the many man-on-the-street interviews between you and Jim.  Our trips to DisneyWorld with the grandchildren have all been so much fun, but so different with each of them.  Just watching you and Truman on the little scooter you needed at the time because of your leg injury was great.  Seeing the wonder in Ian's eyes the first time he saw Buzz Lightyear and realizing that he really did believe he was "real" was so exciting.

     Because we didn't meet until we were both adults, there was so much I didn't know about you.  What fun I had meeting your friends and seeing where you went to elementary school and high school, and where you lived in Greenville, SC, when we went to your 50th high school reunion.Yep, it's been a great ride.  It's so wonderful to celebrate this special day with you and to know that we have many more of these to come. 

     Thank you.  Thank you for sharing this life with me.  Thank you for your dedication to our company and to the travel industry.  Thank you for helping me through the worst year of my life when I lost Mom. Although you and I never had children together, our furbabies have been so important to both of us.  Thank you for loving and caring for Samantha, Gretchen, Abby, Liesel and Zoe.  Thank you for being by my side whenever I've needed you.  Thank you for loving me every day regardless of what's going on in our lives.  And, thank you for becoming the man that God wants you to be.  You make me proud to be your wife.      Yep, it's been quite a ride.  Now let's get back on that rollercoaster and see what the next decade holds for you.  Happy 70th Birthday!!! I love you more every day.

Miz Boo

Multi-Generational Cruising with an Aspergian Kiddo

I’ll never forget the day my daughter, Angela, called me in tears because my grandson’s teachers thought he was autistic. Truman was three at the time, and it was devastating. Angela and Jim T – my son-in-law – immediately took him to his pediatrician who sent them to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. The psychologist who tested him didn’t see signs of autism, but did note “OCD” (obsessive compulsive disorder) tendencies. Truman was also given an IQ test and tested at 126…at three years old! There was no doubt that Truman was a smart kiddo.


However, Angela and Jim T noticed some other issues. Truman had never slept all night – ever. He would get focused on something, and regardless of what they wanted him to do, they could not get deter his focus. He was reading at age four. Genius? Maybe.

The time came for Tru to start kindergarten. Angela and Jim T were so anxious because they didn’t know how Truman would react in the classroom. He was beginning to show some ADD (attention deficit disorder) tendencies along with his other quirks. He was not making close friends like his butterfly sister, Maeve, who walked into a room and knew everyone instantly. However, Truman excelled in reading and math, yet his fine-motor skills were lacking and his handwriting was not up to par. He could spell, but writing so his teacher could read his ideas was a challenge.

Finally this spring, during Truman’s second grade year, Vanderbilt asked to do a genetic test on the entire family to determine is Truman had Asperger’s Syndrome. As it turned out, he is definitely an Aspergian, but there is no genetic link to either Angela or Jim T, and Maeve tested just fine. At last, a diagnosis.

Asperger’s is on the autism spectrum, but is at the extremely high-functioning end.

We’ve all done so much reading about this disorder in the past months, and found out that Bill Gates, Albert Einstein and Mozart were Aspergians. At the end of second grade, Truman was reading and comprehending on an eighth grade level. He excels in math and science and loves the chess club at his school. His handwriting is still lacking, but his theory is “Well, I can read it.” It doesn’t matter if anyone else can, including his teacher.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Because we just took Angela, Jim T, Maeve and Truman on an NCL cruise. This was the first cruise the grandchildren had ever taken. We knew Maeve would have a wonderful time and would meet and make new friends immediately. However, our concern was for Tru. Would he adapt to ship life? Would he want to participate in the kid’s program? We quickly found out that freestyle cruising is the best way to cruise with a kiddo who is Aspergian.

Jim T’s mom was with us, so the kids had all of their grandparents onboard. We had lunch the first day in Cagney’s, and just watching Truman order a steak for his first meal onboard was wonderful. He kept asking over and over “Is this FREE???” We explained that he could eat at Raffles, the Blue Lagoon, Windows, The Garden Room and numerous places on the ship at no charge. The Blue Lagoon became his restaurant of choice because they served chicken strips and French fries, his all-time favorite.

By the end of the first day, Truman had visited places on the ship that none of us knew existed. He knew immediately that the elevators forward of the ship had red carpet, those in the middle had blue carpet, and those aft had green carpet – details that none of us had noticed. He told his mom after the first day “In his cruise ship elevator riding experience that you can only push all of the elevator buttons at once if ALL of the passengers are ok with it, and he had not found that particular passenger group yet.” As Charlie – my husband – was getting off the elevator on Day 2, Truman pushed past him and was announcing “Come on, I’ll show you.” and was immediately followed by a posse of his new friends. Where he was going and what he was showing them has yet to be determined.

Freestyle cruising allowed the freedom that Truman needed in a controlled environment. He begged to go to the Kid’s Club every afternoon. Tru would miss dinner with us and eat after he had his Kid’s Club fix. This was a perfect scenario for an Aspergian. On the last day of the cruise, we were treated to a private bridge tour. Of course, Mr. Technical Truman was in heaven. All of the computer screens and the joystick that, according to him, was used to “drive the ship” were fascinating to him because they reminded him of his video games.

Cruising is such an incredible way for multi-generations to enjoy the vacation of their lives.  What's stopping you from taking a family cruise?

On the Bridge with the Captain

30 July 2011

Our last day of our cruise.  Maeve and Truman have had the time of their lives.  Maeve cries when she has to leave her friends and be in at 11:00 pm!!!  She was so unhappy about leaving her friends at home when we got to New Orleans; now she's unhappy about leaving her new friends she's made on the ship.

The kids slept in today and had a late breakfast.  Then it was off to a VIP bridge tour with the Captain and Staff Captain of the ship, the Norwegian Spirit.  As we expected, Truman was in awe of everything.  He got to sit in the Captain's chair and loved the fact that the ship is guided by a very small joystick like he uses with his Wii or Nintendo.


This afternoon is for relaxing by the pool, packing and basically getting ready to return to reality.  This has been a wonderful experience for all of us.  We have had some of the best service on any ship we've ever sailed.  This crew is fabulous and so attentive to our every need.  The kids have both learned about their independence on a ship and how they can do things on their own with new friends.  Truman begs to go to the Kids Club at night.  Maeve is now out with her friends shooting a video of the ship.  We'll put this up on our website when we return and can edit it. 

Multi-generational cruising is the way to go for families.  The kids could have dinner on their own and we could enjoy a wonderful dinner together in the quiet of one of the many restaurants aboard the ship.  It's back to reality tomorrow and to work on Monday.  Thank you, NCL, for helping us make such wonderful memories.

Cozumel - Where it's HOT, HOT, HOT!!

29 July 11


Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico

I’ve used the term “hotter than a Mexican summer”, and boy, did today live up to that. It was 95 out and humidity so high that I couldn’t tell you what it was. We were dripping!!!

We rented a couple of jeeps this morning and made a round of the entire island of Cozumel. First stop was San Gervasio, the Mayan ruins on the island. When Charlie and I came here years ago, these ruins were practically nothing. Today, archeologists have unearthed more of the ruins and it is quite something to see. Maeve, our amateur archeologist, was amazed by all of them.

We drove to the east end of the island and stopped at a little beach where the waves and water were beautiful. Maeve got to hold an iguana, her dream!!! Jim T sat on a Brahma bull. Of course, he would do that!!! The Texan in him showed up in full force.

We drove on to Chankanab, the state park, where we came in the 80s and paid $5 admission for an entire cab full of people. The Mexican government wised up and today, admission is $21 per person!!! We passed on Chankanab, and instead, went to San Francisco beach and Carlos & Charlie’s where the beer is cold and the beach is free!!! Great fun for all of us and a wonderful way to cool off in the aqua-blue waters of the Caribbean.

Did a little shopping and found Truman an onyx chess set and Maeve a Mayan mask made out of onyx, marcasite, and abalone shell. What a wonderful way to spend the day in our last port of call. Tomorrow is another day at sea, then back to reality.

I "Belize" We're in Belize

28 July 11


Belize City, Belize

Do you "Belize" in magic???  Stop it's the "Belize"!!!   That's just a couple of the phrases we came up with today while we were in Belize.
Woke up to overcast skies after hearing storms during the night. Unlike yesterday in Roatan, we were bombarded by people trying to sell us anything from bracelets and necklaces to trying to sell us tours.

However, we found a private taxi with a van for 7 people to take us to the Belize Zoo where the animals are in their natural habitat. Maeve was in heaven when the first thing she did was hold a boa constrictor. We saw all of the birds and animals indigenous to Belize from warthogs to toucans and parrots. There were alligators as well as crocodiles.

The trip to the zoo was about an hour to get there and an hour to get back. By then, the heat was on us again, and with two kids wanting lunch, we headed back to the ship. Now it’s naptime and relaxing the afternoon away for all of us.

More tomorrow from Cozumel.