Marathon visits

It probably is my fault in attempting to fit too many appointments in too little time, but I'm simply trying to take advantage of a rare visit to my hometown. This I know is too much and a way of playing with fire and – in the end – ticking off everyone, my family, my friends and me.

Should I stay longer when I visit and see even more people, have more time and be more relaxed doing it? Perhaps, but these quantities are difficult to precisely assess and the last thing I want is more time to kill...

Alpine weather

Our stay in the Alps isn't so lucky in terms of weather. Rain and overcast skies. Nothing else.

Thank God it hasn't been cold so far, but this reminds me about the main reason why we live where we live: A reliable wonderful climate instead of the consistent Alpine roller-coaster weather...

Back into sound running

This morning marked my return to good serious running in my hometown where I went on to climb the steep road that leads to Avoriaz the lower tram station.

At first, I thought I'd just cover the easiest 3 plus miles round trip and avoid ascending the last leg of the course, but somehow, I kept on running and just did it. It was fun, almost effortless and super-gratifying!

Shifting back into French gear...

It's amazing how we adapt and even more how quickly we re-adapt. After a few hours in my native valley of the French Alps, it feels as if I have never left. The road recognizes me and drive my car around the curve.

I quickly re-acquaint myself with all the details that make France what it is, France! No need to learn, adjust or even make believe. That's the beauty of memory's amazing storage capabilities and staunch refusal to ever erase the tiniest detail of many years spent there...

French productivity?

There are times when I forget why I rather live in America than in France: Effectiveness! Yesterday, as I was trying to get a SIM card for my cell phone while I'm in France. I visited the Orange store to get that done on two cell phones and it looked like lining up at a soup kitchen or some maligned DMV.

The personnel acted slow, confused and demotivated. What was more impressive was the resignation of the folks waiting, seemingly accepting a treatment that would have been normal currency during the worst days of the USSR!

American Terrorists

Holding someone hostage to get something is not nice. It runs contrary to a civilized discussion or any business negotiation. Small kids sometimes do it. Respectable grown-ups generally don't. Any good salesman or high-level negotiator would never think of doing it either. Coward organizations like le PLO use to take hostages routinely and so did Al Qaeda...

So why in the world are a few dozen Tea Party congressmen and women doing just that at the moment? Why don't they know what the term give-and-take mean? Would any business person worth his salt ever hire someone like that in their sales and marketing team? Not a chance. Perhaps these people might get a better good job with al shabaab. This organization could use some seasoned terrorists like our Tea Party Members!

How to lose a “friend...”

There are friends and friends; I'm not even talking about the Facebook kind that are a totally different specie. I'm thinking of real friends, the few that we value and want to keep no matter what.

Some time ago, I thought I had such a friend. Once, he asked me to procure him an American-made item. I did, and made it a gift to him. It was complicated as I had to order it, receive it at my home, ship it again to his place in Austria and fill all the custom and insurance forms.

Several years later, he asked me for the same item. I checked on the internet and found out that the company was shipping to Europe. I told him that it would be easier to order it on line and get it directly that way. I even offered to handle the transaction for him inferring that, this time, he would have to pay for it.

I subsequently lost all contact and – I guess – what I thought was his friendship.