Living Free – An Attitude? Part V

Today, as I write this posting (it’s actually Wednesday May 20, 2009 and I’ll post this tomorrow), I’m sitting in seat 26D on American Airlines flight 149, non-stop from IAD (Washington, Dulles Airport) to LAX (Los Angeles Int’l). I’m heading out to spend a day or so wandering the streets of Hollywood to take, what may be, my last look at a rapidly changing and dying industry – the recording industry that I fell in love with 46 years ago. I’m also hoping to look up a couple old friends from my earlier days in the recording industry. And, if all works out, I’ll meet an author I published a book for about 10 years ago and still haven’t met in person.

Friday, I’ll drive through Saugus and San Clarita with a quick stop there, too – and then on to Fresno where I’ll be attending the annual family reunion of my former wife’s family. I’ll visit with my son, who is coming down from Seattle, see my new nephew who is coming down from Seattle with my former brother-in-law and his new wife of two years. Even though Cynthia and I are no longer married, I’m still part of the family. And I’ll spend a couple extra days to visit with my former mother-in-law, who is still one of my best friends. She’s going on 83 and while she’s in good health, she’s no longer traveling long distances, so I doubt I’ll see her on the east coast again. I’ll get a chance to see my former wife, who has moved back to Fresno where she grew up. We’re still friends even though we’ve been separated and divorced for 20 years this year – after being together for nearly 20 years. It’s been quite a few years since the last time I was in Fresno, probably 12 or more. It will be nice to see the place again.

I have to admit that traveling by air is no longer the fun it once was. I had a hard time getting through security this morning because I was carrying some anti-bacterial wipes in the back pocket of my jeans. I didn’t even thing about the fact that they are in foil wrappers. What a pain, get half undressed because of handy wipes and then I was reprimanded by a TSA agent because I didn’t put my netbook computer in the tray properly – sheesh. I can’t wait to climb into my motor home and see America from the ground and not have to deal with this security issue. Well, the free movie is about to start on this flight and it’s one I haven’t seen – “Last Chance Charlie” so, I think I’ll watch it. More in a little while.

Okay, the movie is over and it was as cute as a friend of mine said it was. Dustin Hoffmann and Emma Thompson – both as cute as they both can be. It was a feel good movie and I caught myself smiling (which is a good thing) more then once. Hmmm, I also had a few tears form (that’s a good thing, too.)

This plane is packed – it’s a 737-800 going coast-to-coast, non-stop. I have an aisle seat, which is what I usually try and get on these small planes when they are packed so tightly. I figure I have the aisle next to me to give me room to breathe. WRONG on this trip. It doesn’t matter. I have a very pleasant, older, Mexican woman to my right in the center seat and she doesn’t speak any English. I’m also four rows from the back of the plane, so there is a constant line of people in the aisle waiting to use the lavatories – and then the galley is in the back, the flight attendants are constantly going up and down the aisles, squeezing past the people in line in the aisle.

But, I’m free – and living free still requires some inconveniences. It’s only five hours or so aboard this plane, then my chariot awaits me at the Thrifty Rental Car lot (that I booked through carrental.com at an excellent rate for 8 days. And, I’ll be going to my room in the LAX Hilton that was also booked on line through hotwire.com – and I’m paying about what I’d usually pay for a Days Inn – less then $60 a night plus tax.

In the last posting I said I would talk about some of the different facets of living free and some examples of living free lifestyles. Certainly, being free to travel is a major facet of this lifestyle. There are probably around 200 people on this flight and every one of them has a different reason for being here and going to Los Angeles. Some are going home, some are going there on business. Some are going to visit family or friends. Some, like me, maybe going because of several of these reasons – though I’m really not going for business reasons this time. Most of my adult life when I was making a trip anywhere in the country I would mix business in with pleasure. Actually, it was usually a business trip that I wrapped a little pleasure into.

While I’m on this trip I’ll do some writing for the blog, work on the Veteran Speakers Retreat that I coordinate each summer and do some preparation for negotiations to sell my publishing business to a small UK publisher when I get back to the east coast. I’ll keep tabs on the folks I follow on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I will spend a bunch of time with my son discussing his on line business launches scheduled for the early fall. I’m hoping to spend some time with my former wife – and thank her, again, for the good years we had together. I don’t really think much about the times that eventually caused us to go our separate ways. And, I’ll thank her for being a great mother to our son.

And then . . .there is the major reason I’m heading to Fresno. I want to spend as much quality time with my 83-year-old former mother-in-law and friend, BJ, as I can. We have a lot of reminiscing to do about some of the great years we had when she worked with me in my conference recording business (among other businesses) and the places we traveled. There were the travails of hauling around cases of recording and duplicating equipment and supplies around the country – always challenges to face. There were the stops along the way during our travels to enjoy some scenery, like the young women frolicking in the surf in their string bikinis near Daytona Beach (I particularly enjoyed that sight) and being in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and walking on the River Walk in San Antonio between sessions at a large convention we were working at. Since she doesn’t really go many places any longer, I’m hoping we can make a trip over to the Pacific coast, have lunch there and just enjoy the time together.

These are some of the things I love about living free. I guess, in many ways, I’ve enjoyed a lot of the facets of living free most of my life. I just didn’t realize it or understand what freedom meant to me until the last couple of years or so. Well, that’s enough for this post. Back on topic in the next posting.

Enthusiastically,
Ed