MUMBLINGS February 23, 2006

You good readers are probably tired of hearing about India. It is such an interesting country I could continue writing about it, but won’t, at least for the time being.

I guess one reason India is easier to like is because unlike many foreign nations with Muslims and Hindus, they are Uncle Sam’s friends. At least they don’t want to kill us.

Several have asked me if I ever intended to go back to India, the answer is no. Not that I wouldn’t like to, but its too far and too expensive. If it were within two or three hours flight, certainly it would be a pleasure to see many parts of India, such as Calcutta, Bombay, and many other huge cities. Even though I am not 90 yet, won’t be until next Wednesday, age and health are also factors. Although my health is good generally, it is more difficult for me to get around because of lack of vision and stability in my walking.

Although I hope not, it could well be that I won’t exceed the 101 countries it has been my opportunity to visit. But there are still many places in this, the greatest country on earth that I would like to see or to re-visit.

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Traveling seems to be an interesting topic to most people, at least I gather so by the number of comments I get.

There are many facets to this tourism so far as the individual is concerned. One quandary is what baggage to take when on the move.

Interestingly, the airport authority in Mobile was discussing the subject and poked fun at my traveling partner, Matt Metcalfe about how light he travels. He takes one small bag and can be gone a week or two weeks, whatever. His is a good example… travel light.

I travel light but take one more pair of pants than he does. A person should remember that every time he stops, he has to carry his luggage, unpack and repack it. It also saves a lot of time if you carry only one small bag so you won’t have to check it. Checking it in and out of airlines is a nuisance problem and they often lose your luggage. No doubt, this was the subject of their discussion in Mobile.

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Continued

There is one thing I can advise anyone who plans to take a trip is to travel light. Many people, particularly women, use the philosophy that I might need this and take it. My philosophy is I probably won’t need this and don’t take it. You might be interested in the contents of the one small roller bag I took with me on my 10-day trip to India.

Whether you are or not, I took the following: 1 complete suit with 1 extra pair of pants, with a coat that could be worn with either pair of pants, one tie, three shirts, including the one I wore, two dress and one sport. Also one pair of pajamas, four pairs of shorts, six t-shirts, three or four handkerchiefs, three or four pairs of socks, one pair of shoes, and a cap that I never wore. Of course one of the most important articles that you must take is a shaving kit which includes, a tooth brush, medicine, etc. If the flight is going to be long, as this one was, I take book on tapes and the player, which comes in handy on these flights. Of course they have all kinds of music and movies on the airplane, but I prefer my own.

I wear my shorts two days, t-shirts one day and my socks three or four days if need be. When my t-shirts get dirty, which is usually after one day, I wash them at night and they are usually dry by the next morning. Also, in most good hotels you can get overnight service on laundry or cleaning. As Matt said, “If you need to, you can buy new stuff, which is easier than packing a bunch of clothing all over the world.”

If this sounds easy, try to convince your wife.

See you again soon, I hope.