Tom's 2004 Journal - Part 2

Here is part 2 of Tom's 2004 Journal. Part 1 is here.

Sunday – September 12, 2004

I can’t believe that my weekend is almost over.  I still have quite of bit of work to do but can’t get excited about doing it right now.  To avoid the work, I have decided to write this week’s journal entry.  Last week I mentioned a few topics that I was planning on discussing this week.  I may not get to them due to my events of this past week.

This week flew by quickly.  Monday was a Holiday in North America so I was able to focus on just Shanghai issues.  My responsibilities in North American have been transitioned to someone else but it is hard just to pack up and leave without lingering issues that require my assistance. 

On Wednesday, my manager and two other supervisor peers arrived at the Shanghai Plant.  My manager is on a long journey doing business at several of our global operations.  It was nice to see him.  It is good to see your fellow Americans; especially the ones that you know.  We had three full days of meetings.  Each day capped with a dinner.

The focus of this journal entry will be the activities of Friday evening.  On Friday evening we had a group dinner.  A group of 12 of us went to a riverboat dinner.  I kept thinking there had to be a casino onboard somewhere.  Why else go to a boat?  There were the four Americans (Darrell, Eric, Mike and I) and eight Chinese Delphi employees.  We started to the dinner boat via taxi.  Shanghai is a city with 17 million residents.  There is a river that divides the city in half.  There are a total of three bridges that cross the river.  One in the center of the city and two are on the outskirts of the city.  Needless to say, the traffic comes to a standstill during rush hour.  We were stuck in traffic and knew there was no way that we could get to the boat before it departed.  We scratched the taxi plan and rerouted our path away from the bridge a headed to the river.  We jumped out of the taxi and took a “people” ferry across the river.  Crossing the river via the ferry cost a total of $0.06 USD.  Pretty cheap and you have to wonder why they even charge.  We got to the other side of the river with 10 minutes to make it to the boat.  Crossing the river was no simple chore.  The river has heavy traffic.  Many barges and freightliners going in both directions.  Crossing the river was very similar to playing the 1980’s video game – Frogger.  For those older folks that was a game that you had to cross the road without getting hit by traffic that was moving in both directions.  How there aren’t accidents – I do not know.  By the time we got to the other side of the river it started to rain.  By the time we got to the boat it was pouring down rain.  On the boat for dinner with minutes to spare and everyone was completely soaked.  But the company, conversation, and dinner made the wetness a minor inconvenience.  It was your typical Chinese dinner.  Many different types of meat, fish, and vegetables.  The food is placed on a lazy-Suzy.  One spins the lazy-Suzy around to get the food you wish to consume. – of course, all done by chopsticks. 

After dinner we went to a bar with live music.  The band had 3 female singers, all from the Philippines.  They mainly sang American songs – Bon Jovi, Toto.  The music genre at this bar seemed to be stuck in the 80’s.  The place was packed and it was a good time.  I must have been a popular man because I kept getting women coming up to me asking me to be their friend.  It was nice to have all the admiration from the female crowd.  Funny thing happened.  When the police made their presence, all my friend scattered.

After a couple of hours at this bar we changed pace and went to a Jazz bar.  Very nice bar and a nice change of pace.  We had a few drinks and then went to a temple of the Chinese or otherwise known as a Karaoke bar.  I committed three mortal Sins that one night.  The first, I went to a Karaoke bar.  Secondly, I actually sang a song.  Finally, I actually sang another song – the Ohio State standard of “Hang-on Sloopy”.  I would have rather sang the Jim Nabors standard of “Back home again in Indiana” but they did not offer it.  No Mellencamp either.  The first song I sang was “Brown-eyed girl” by Van Morrison.  I sang it as a tribute to my wife and her brown eyes.  But I forgot that all Chinese have brown/dark eyes and I think they thought I was singing to them.

By the time we entered the Karaoke bar I believe there was only 10 of us left.  We waited for about an hour to get a room.  This karaoke bar had private rooms.  The rooms had couches, a video screen and, of course, the karaoke stand and microphones.  One is able to order drinks – and boy did I – you had to be intoxicated to participate.  That whole ordeal was just another “Lost in Translation” moment.

I have mentioned too many that the movie “lost in Translation” is very similar to what I am experiencing here in China.  The movie takes place in Japan but everything else is very similar.  I mentioned last week that I had to give a speech to several suppliers who did not speak English.  I had my speech scripted so I could give the translator an idea of what I would be discussing.  I would read two sentences and the translator would repeat in Chinese.  The funny thing it would take me about 5 seconds to read two sentences but the translator would talk forever.  I kept looking at him and wondering if he was repeating what I was saying.  The length of his translation just didn’t seem to match my talk.  I did receive an ovation when I was complete so I must have said something right – or maybe I gave them all a price increase by a misinterpretation error.

Another note on Saturday evening.  I can’t believe I almost forgot this.  When we were leaving the dinner boat.  I hopped in our Asia-Pacific’s manager’s car.  The others took a taxi.  It is hard to understand the driving skills in China.  Remember, the country on the whole, have only been driving for about 20 years.  Many have only taken to driving in the last few years.  Riding in our manager’s car was horrifying.  I kept thinking we were going to be in an accident.  As our driver was trying to do an “illegal” u-turn I glanced over a saw an accident on the road.  It looked like two taxis and another car all tried to fit into one lane.  As a result, an accident occurred.  Before I go on – everyone was safe and completely unharmed but imagine my surprise when I looked at the accident as saw our American co-worker Mike Shields pulling our other American, Eric Bennett, from the back of the taxi involved in the accident.  We drove by very quickly but I am sure that one taxi’s front end was stacked on the back of the other taxi.  When we arrived at the next bar I was again shocked that Eric and Mike were already there.  They were both unharmed but Mike developed a stuttering problem as a result of the accident that he couldn’t shake the rest of the evening.  The next day he was completely normal.

It rained again on Saturday.  I decided not to go shopping with Darrell and Eric.  Spent the day sleeping as well as doing my laundry.  One of the things that I have missed most is American Music.  Going to the bars made me miss it more.  So on Saturday, I also spent time downloading music and placing on my PDA.  It is good to hear my favorite music.

Once again, I stayed up all night on Saturday listening to the Purdue game.  Another convincing win by the Boilers.  Went to bed around 4:00a.m. Slept most of Sunday morning.  Sunday morning went to the store to buy razors, a toothbrush, and a larger memory stick for my camera.  Took a long bike ride around the neighborhood and had dinner at the East-West café.  Ham & cheese and a strawberry milkshake.  Now that is an All-American meal.

One final note this week, Shanghai is a great city.  Downtown Shanghai is more modern than ANY city one would see in North America.  It is beautiful.  I would have no problem living here if I was here with my family.

I look back at Friday evening and the fun we had.  Our Chinese co-workers were great hosts.  I can’t help to think what we could do in Dayton that would be similar.  If a group of them came to Dayton, I wonder what I would do to entertain them?  Mid-West American culture is so “cookie-cutter”.  Bars, restaurants, and sports are about it.  Well, I better end this week’s journal.  If I keep this chain of thought I may convert to Communism (just joking Homeland Security department – I know they are reading my e-mails)

I hope everyone is doing fine back home.  People have been asking if I am enjoying this experience or not.  The truth is…..I love my experience here but miss family and friends. 

Shelly and Natalie

Miss you much!

Without Wax

Tom

By the way, has anyone figured out “Without wax”?    Also, I will explain the “Home of the Bisons” comment from a few weeks ago.  The plural of Bison is Bison.  Our school was lame enough to put Bisons on our basketball jerseys.  Nothing like having a team photo of 15 boys with a blatant mis-spelling on front of their uniforms.  It would be similar to saying “The Benton Central Deers”.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Monday – September 20, 2004 (at least I started on this date)

Today I am in a Commodity face-to-face meeting in Shanghai.  We have buyers from India, China, Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia.  I am sitting in the back of the room trying to avoid having to participate.  So far I have been unsuccessful since I had to introduce 5 sub-team members to the larger group.  I really struggle with pronouncing other people’s name.  The Australian in our group was easy but the others, consisting of employees from India and China, were not so easy.  You would think after 4 weeks here that I would have learned how to pronounce names – but I haven’t.  In fact, one of my employees at the plant doesn’t have an American name.  It was so frustrating that I couldn’t pronounce his name I finally nicknamed him “Shoe”.  Just a note, part of my introduction of my team members, was to state their hobbies.  It is amazing that so few people have hobbies due to work obligations.  That is a global problem with Delphi employees.

This week’s journal entry will be a depressing one.  It was a very rough week for me mentally.  I have been pretty open in my journals so I will continue being open in this entry.

For some reason I was very homesick and frustrated.  Last Wednesday night, I almost went to the airport to fly home.  If you know me, you probably realize that I am fairly laid back.  Although that is accurate I do have things that bother me.  The big things usually just bounce off of me but I do fret about the little things.  There were things going on with my old job in North America that I felt I left in poor shape for my replacement.  I felt like I needed to assist but it was hard to do so from China.  Also, my old deck was part of an audit and I felt bad that I wasn’t there to supply the documentation that was needed.  Instead I had to ask a great friend to go to the vault and dig out the paperwork needed.  My filing system was never the best and I felt ashamed to ask someone to dig through my unorganized files, but everything was found for the auditor.

Additionally, I really miss my daughter.  I understand that she is speaking in full sentences and I do not get a chance to hear it.  She doesn’t speak to me on the phone (I hope because she is a 2-year old and not because she hates me already) so I really can’t even communicate with her.  She listens to me but it breaks my heart that she does not talk to me. 

OK – Now it is Friday the 24^th.  Large gap in my journal but it was due to sickness.  I got sick on Monday evening and I have been suffering ever since.  I do not know if it was a virus or depression.  On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I had a fever and chills.  On Thursday and Friday it moved to my stomach.  Today, Friday, I am feeling better but operating in slow motion.  Being here alone is tough but being here alone AND sick is rough.  There are a couple of stores around the hotel but neither sells over-the-counter medicine.  Not sure if that is common or unique.  Finally, on Thursday I had Jessica, my admin, take me to a clinic to get checked.  I needed her so that I could overcome the language barrier.  There is a very funny story about my stay at the clinic but I will have to tell it later.  It cannot be conveyed in writing – it is far funnier being told verbally. They take fevers very seriously over here in Asia.  Their concern is the threat of the Asian Bird Flu that we read about in the news last year.  If you have traveled in Asia recently you would have noticed the airport screening looking for potential carriers of the bird flu.  They funnel everyone through heat sensors looking for people with high body temperatures.  If you discovered with high body temperatures then you are quarantined.  This screening would have been an issue with me.  My visa allowing me in China was originally set-up as a multiple entry visa.  With a multiple entry visa, one has to leave the country every 30 days.  Although once you get into the country, one can restructure the visa.  I had two options.  I could have left the country or I could have restructured my visa.  I chose to restructure my visa in order to save my company some money.  Good thing I was looking out for the company because the days I should have left the country would have been the days that I had the fever I described earlier.  I would have easily been quarantined – that would have been an interesting journal entry.

OK – now it is Sunday and I finally feel good.  I slept the entire day on Saturday and everything feels good.  Through all this, I only missed a partial day’s work.  I am one that does not believe in going to work ill and getting everyone else sick but I didn’t want them to think that all Americans are weak.  I just told them to stay away and put more ginseng in their tea.

The sickness that I had thwarted a couple of plans that I had.  The first was I really wanted to go to the Chinese Formula 1 race in Shanghai.  It was the inaugural race in China.  That would have been cool but ticket opportunities never arose and I didn’t aggressively pursue due to not feeling well.  I knew of no one going to the race.  To the Chinese people, that race was for the rich only.  I ended up watching it on TV and had to admit that of the bleacher shots shown on TV there were only a few Chinese nationals in the stands.  Mainly Westerners.  The other blown opportunity was going to see the Back Street Boys.  They were in Shanghai today performing.  I know you are all wondering….Yes, they are still together…..Yes, they have a new album….Yes, they are big over here.  I went to the store today to buy a few things and the only music being played in the stores were the Back Street Boys.  I have to admit – it sounded good to hear more American music.  That statement probably paints the picture of how bad I am suffering over here – I look forward to hearing the Back Street Boys.  I actually found myself mouthing the words to their songs as I shopped.  Speaking of shopping, I was actually stumped today shopping.  I have done pretty good shopping for myself for the daily essentials but today I lost the battle.  The first thing I needed was more toothpaste.  Toothpaste is somewhat easy.  They offered Crest and Colgate.  Since the box was in Chinese I had to guess as to the flavor that I bought.  Actually there probably wasn’t a choice but I prefer the minty cool freshness that Crest provides.  Another issue I had was determining if the toothpaste had fluoride in it or not.  It is something that we take for granted in the states but here in China it may not be an option.  That is probably my biggest impression of China – the lack of dental care.  It is rare to see a good set of teeth in China.  Why?  I do not know.  Is it bad?   Probably not to them – it’s their culture.

The other dilemma I had today shopping was buying antiperspirant or deodorant.  I do not think it exists here.  I scanned ever row of every shelf several times looking and didn’t find anything similar.  Body odor here is not an issue so I am sure they have it but I do not know where they sell it.  I had young girls looking, pointing, and laughing at me when I was picking up bottles that looked similar but turned out to be hair care products.  Truth be told, I was too embarrassed to ask the help where I could locate some.  Since the help did not speak Chinese I kept thinking that I would look like a monkey trying to show them what I wanted.  Oh well, I am not out yet so I will ask my admin on Monday.  Once I describe to her what I want, she will laugh and then write it down in Chinese for me.  I have said it before but my admin is great.  She helps me out on everything.  She took me to the clinic when I was sick.  She was next to me at night when I was having the chills toweling the sweat from my brow– JUST JOKING!  I just thought that might keep you interested in my ramblings.

Finally, onto my previously promised subjects.  First, this is no way a complaint about the Chinese or their culture.  I am in their country and I am observing their culture.  They do things that I find is odd and I do things that they find is odd.  Which is better – that is not up to me to judge.  I will continue to do things in the way I was raised and I am not going to tell them to something because I find it odd.

Hockers and boogers

First, it is not uncommon to talk to someone and have to watch them pick their nose as communication is occurring.  These are not casual swipes with one’s hand but it is a deep picking done with the finger.  The other more noticeable thing is spitting.  Everyone spits anywhere.  This is not your simple saliva spits either.  These are “deep nasal clearing first and then get rid of it” spits.  At first I was seeing it so often I thought it was being directed to me, the American.  But if you observe from afar it is happening everywhere and in front of anyone.  It sounds disgusting and it is.  What is worse is when you are sick with a queasy stomach and your taxi driver does it every minute for a 30-minute taxi drive.  How I didn’t throw-up I’ll never know.

Napkins

Paper towels and napkins are a rarity here.  Kleenex tissues are used for everything.  Tissue are so common that when I get a carry-out pizza (in China, it is called take-away) you get a small package of tissues similar to the ones that women buy to put in their purses.  Again, I find it odd but there are effective. 

Restroom Cleaning

There is always someone mopping floors in the office.  In the cafeteria, they have 3 or 4 people mopping the floor.  I thought that was a little excessive until I realized that is needed so one doesn’t have to walk around in the spit that accumulates – again – back to the spitting theme.  In the next few weeks I will write that spitting and other cultural events are handled differently by the different generations.  In other words, it is not so bad in the plant since the workforce is very young.  Back to the restroom cleaning topic.  In one of the first few weeks I was here, I was using a urinal in the restroom and, as they say, minding my own business when something hit my foot.  I look down and it is a mop head.  I follow the mop handle up to the operator.  The operator was a nice lady and smiled and said something to me in Chinese.  Well, that just about made me make a mess.  I quickly realized that when it is time to mop the floor it is more efficient to begin right away instead of waiting for the restroom to clear out first.  Now I actually observe the activities of the cleaning staff in order to schedule my restroom breaks.

Hong Kong and sheer clothes will have to wait to later.  I have been writing this journal entry for a week and its time to quit.

Shelly and Natalie

Miss you much!

Without Wax

Tom

 

Sunday - October 24, 2004

Well, it has been a month since my last entry.  There were several reasons why I have not updated my journal. First, I was not motivated to write.  Secondly, I was extremely busy at work.  I usually write the journal on weekends and the last weekend we had to work at the plant due to the Chinese Holiday period.  Finally, I knew I was coming home and I was only thinking about that and couldn’t concentrate on the journal.  As I will mention later, I returned home for 7 days last week.  I was very surprised by the people who actually commented on my journal that I was writing.  I seriously was wondering if anybody was actually reading these entries.  I have appreciated reply comments from people during these writings.  Additionally, what I discovered was that these writings have been forwarded to others.  I went to a Purdue football game and actually had people come up to me stating that they loved my journal.  Obviously, I knew these people but I had not included them on my distribution due to not knowing their e-mail addresses but somehow they obtained copies of the journals and enjoyed them.  I appreciate everyone's kind words.  I actually started this journal for a couple of reasons.  First, I wanted to capture some experiences that I could share with my daughter as she got older and could appreciate the experience more than she could as a two year old.  Secondly, it was a remedy to keep in touch with co-workers and friends.  Finally, it provided some satisfaction in terms of helping the time pass by.  I never confessed to being a writer nor never will. 

Let me try to pick up where I last left everyone.  In the last couple of weeks, I have felt some oddities occurring in my mind.  First, as previously mentioned, 4 or 5 weeks is the timeframe that “homesickness” takes root in your mind.  One just has to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.  It is hard but no way compares to the US soldiers serving in Iraq.  These soldiers have been on-duty far longer than my assignment.  Some of them have children waiting at home that they have never seen.  I usually think of the soldiers when I start to fell sorry for myself.  Their sacrifices are greater and are in far more danger than I.  The second oddity is that I have not driven a car in 8 weeks.  Sometimes I fantasize about pushing the taxi driver out of the driver’s seat and taking control.  I tried to remember the longest I ever went without driving.  The best I could come up with was 2 weeks.  That was due to another business trip that I had in February of this year.  Outside of that then the other times were probably 1-3 day dry spells due to sickness or other issues.  It is just odd not to drive.  I think that driving a car is an expression of freedom in the US.  If you have a car and drive it then you do not have bus stop schedules to hit.  You do not have to take the path that a taxi driver decides to take.  It is just you, the road, and 3,200 pounds of metal under your complete control.  A couple of years ago I had a corvette and I hated it.  Now, what I wouldn’t give to have the top down and screaming down the road at a high rate of speed.

 

On Friday, October 15^th, I flew back home for a 1-week vacation.  I had not mentioned this return trip to many people, as I didn’t want it widely publicized.  Our company is cutting most spending in the fourth quarter and many trips have been cancelled.  I didn’t really want to rub it in people’s faces that I was returning.  Since I went into the office on Tuesday, many people suddenly realized I was home.  Two things helped with the return trip.  First, I had it booked in advance of the cutbacks.  Secondly, I flew in coach to help reduce the costs.  Flying coach from China is a huge sacrifice - especially a man of my size.  For your information, when leaving Shanghai, one flies from Shanghai to Tokyo.  That is a 2.5-hour flight.  From Tokyo to Detroit is a 12-hour flight.  From Detroit to Dayton is a one-hour flight.  That is a lot of sitting in cramped quarters but if that is what the company wants then that is what the company will get.  Financially, it is a huge savings for the company.  A coach fare is around $2,000 and business class is around $6,000.

Flight time is one factor.  Total travel time is another.  On a normal return trip, one would spend 21 hours either in airports or airplanes.  That is one long day of traveling.  Unfortunately, my return trip was a little longer than that.  I actually flew from Detroit to Indianapolis as I had a commitment back in Lafayette on Saturday.  The plan was to land in Indy at 4:30 and have Shelly pick me up at the airport and then travel to Lafayette.  Well, my flight from Detroit was an hour late.  We finally landed in Indy.  I grab my bags and head to the curb for pick-up.  Well after waiting for 20 minutes I realized that Shelly is more dependable than being “that” late.  The only currency I had was the China RMB.  That doesn’t work in the US pay phones.  I actually bummed two quarters off a Wisconsin Badger football fan (more on that later).  I called Shelly’s cell phone only to find out that her Chevy Avalanche broke down on the Interstate while enroute to pick me up at the airport.  She had called my parents to have them pick me up at the airport and her parents to pick her up at the Pilot Truck stop in Mt Comfort Indiana.  To end this saga quickly, the transmission broke on the truck and, of course, it was out of warranty.  New transmission, new starter, and new ball joint cost us a whopping $4,200.  So much for getting everyone on this distribution list a Christmas gift this year.  I finally rendezvoused with Shelly and Natalie about 11:00 p.m. that night.  Natalie was not excited to see me since she had just been awakened from her sleep.  But I was able to distribute the $100’s of junk gifts that I brought with me from China.  Ended up being able to tell stories to my wife, my parents, my in-laws, and my sister in-law (I did not ask where they found her - I thought she lived in Florida).

Saturday started off as a better day.  Natalie was very happy to see me.  I had a good nights sleep and it was time for Purdue football.  Again to cut to the chase, the day ended poorly.  Purdue lost to Wisconsin in a very close game.  Since everyone has reminded me I might as well bring it up again.  Purdue goes 5-0 and is ranked 5^th in the nation when I am in China.  I return for two home games and watch them lose twice.  Well since I am heading back to China, maybe they will win the next 4 games.  A 9 win and 2 loss season isn’t that bad.

Sunday, we traveled home to Dayton.  Monday, Natalie and I spent the day together.  Tuesday, I went to work.  Wednesday, Natalie and I spent the day together.  Thursday, I went to Tennessee to close down the lake home and bring back the boat.  Friday, we went to Indy to pick up the truck and continue on to Lafayette.  Saturday was the second loss of the Purdue football team.  Sunday, I am flying back to China from Indy.  Shelly had to work during the week due to her new job and was unable to spend much time with me but I spent some very good quality time with Natalie.  Coming home was great for my mindset but terrible for my physical state.  Jet lag, 12 hours time zone change, and running errands have left me physically exhausted.  I am already looking forward to my first weekend in China to sleep.

I have mixed emotions about returning to China.  I am excited about going back to my assignment and the people but it was far harder to leave this time than it was in August.  I left very early on Sunday morning in order to catch my flight in Indy.  About 6:00 a.m. I snuck into Natalie’s room to take one last look.  I looked at her for about one-second when she opened her eyes and said “Daddy - Shanghai”.  I guess she had been listening to me all week when I told her I was going to leave again.  Tore my heart.

OK, enough about my stuff and let’s get back to my China experience.   Obviously, I do not have much experience to talk about since I was back in North America.  I will take the time to clarify a few things in case you are ever in China.  I learned from my bout with the flu in China that getting medicine is unique.  In order to obtain prescribed drugs one has to go to the hospital (identified by a red-cross).  In order to get over-the-counter medicine (aspirin) one has to go to the pharmacy (identified by a green cross).  Convenience stores only offer alternative forms of medicine (ginseng).  If one needs a haircut then one has to be prepared for the experience.  First, for a man to get a haircut, it is about a 30-minute ordeal.  The first 25 minutes is a scalp massage and the last 5 minutes is the actual haircut.  But be warned - choose your barbershop carefully.  The traditional red-white-blue barbershop pole is the marker used in order to locate the barbershop.  If the barber pole has only a blue and white stripe then that means you can get a haircut on the first floor and “other” services on the second floor.  Oh, to be able to grow hair!

The Chinese people are very much into horoscopes and zodiac signs.  I faced that fact a few times in the last month.  The first awareness was provided by a very simple conversation.  A few employees were asking me what I ate in North America.  I explained to them that I was a creature of habit.  I always ate the same breakfast at the same place everyday.  For lunch I go to the same restaurant and order the same sandwich.  I also stated that I would probably consume the same dinner every night if it weren’t for my wife’s love of cooking.  The two Chinese ladies that I was talking to quickly stated that my blood type was A positive.  I ask them how they concluded that and they said the characteristics of my eating habits were traits of people with A positive blood.  Well, I just had to check and I obtained my blood donor card from my wallet and sure enough, I am A positive.

The second incident came when my hotel accidentally sent me a Birthday card and Birthday cake.  Too bad they were 2 months early for my actual birthday.  Anyway, I thought this would be a great way to boost the moral of the employees at work so I took the cake and flowers to the office the following day.  All enjoyed the cake and flowers.  About mid-day, an employee was looking at the big bouquet of flowers and asked me who gave them to me.  I said the hotel and asked why.  She said that the hotel would take care of me and love me like a mother would love their children.  I asked how she came to the conclusion.  She said that was what the flower arrangement stated.  There were flowers representing Love, Mother, and Care.  The flowers were symbols and the way they were arranged told the story.  Wow, I thought they we just flowers that I had to figure out how to keep alive until the next day.

My battery is running low so I will conclude with a Non-China related story.  On one of the legs of my return trip I was seated in an emergency exit row.  There were three of us in the section of the row.  The man who was seated next to the exit door was about 35 years old.  He was very nervous and kept talking about his emergency exit strategy.  He kept saying that if the plane wrecked over land he would do this and if the plan wrecked over water he would do that.  This “doom and gloom” talk was actually making me nervous.  Finally, I spoke up and stated that he should relax and everything would be all right.  I asked him if he flew much.  He said that he flew often for business.  Then he started to tell me a very interesting story.  He told me that his father survived a plane wreck.  I immediately thought of a plane wreck similar to that my father-in-law had in a two seat Cessna or something similar.  A wreck where you break your propeller and loose your front teeth.  He said that 145 people died in the wreck and that his father actually walked away from the wreck (OK, I was wrong about the two-seat Cessna scenario).  When the plane crashed the plane broke in two and he, and his seat, flew out of the fuselage. He landed on the ground, unbuckled, and walked away.  He went on to say that his father and John Madden (football commentator) played College football together are very good friends.  He said that John Madden was to have been on that plane with his father since they were traveling together.  John missed the flight and that might have saved his life.  That is why, to this day, John Madden takes a bus to all games and never flies.  Interesting people that you meet when you travel.

Until next week.

Have a good day

Without Wax

Tom