More on Senior Travel

I've noted a lot of concern about the new air safety rules. On my recent trip to Tulsa (or actually on the way home) I was exposed to a full-body scan for the first time. Actually, it was easier for me than the usual pat-down brought on by my two knee replacements always setting off the alarm.

Privacy? Perhaps younger people feel differently, but I just don't care. My ugly, misshapen body is sure to be ignored once explosives are ruled out, and I'm sure no one will bother to look further. Yes, all these security measures are a bother, but they seem necessary. Safe flights are a high priority for me. Such things wouldn't be necessary if we lived in a perfect world, but that's not the way things are. Let's welcome full-body scans as long as they are needed.

Looking back at Christmas in Tulsa

A Blizzard? In Tulsa?

There's Work to be Done!

The Gifts Await!

The Stockings Were Hung . . .

The first surprise of my Christmas trip was a blizzard: the first ever to hit Tulsa, I believe. Unlike 2008. I managed to avoid airport delays. I arrived before the blizzard and left after it. As usual, the food was excellent; I gained five pounds! That was with careful eating. I can't imagine how much I would have gained if I had "pigged out."

Tulsa lacks Chicago's huge snow-clearing crew, so the side streets were never plowed. Needless to say, we stayed in a lot. It was cold, too. I read a lot and did a lot of puzzles (I never travel without those puzzle books), and I received some fine gifts, including a Flip Video Camera. Now I need to find some suitable subjects for video.

The best part of the holiday was being with family. My grandniece, Lauren, a junior at the University of Arizona, is thinking about her medical school entrance exams already. I wish her luck. Although there were some doctors on her maternal grandmother's side of the family, there have been none among the Marshalls. We seem to be descended from a long line of farmers and craftsmen. Lauren is very inteligent and a diligent scholar, so she should make it as a doctor.

Now I'm back home, and the new year has begun. Life at The Clare will soon be back to normal. My first anniversary of moving in comes in just a bit over a week. As I get older, the time seems to fly past faster and faster. I'm hoping for another great Christmas in Tulsa in 2010.

(Photos by John Marshall)

Travel Tips for Senior Citizens

The following guest post was contributed by Christine Howell who frequently writes about Online Health Care Degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, an online college directory and comparison website.

Now that you have more time on your hands as you've reached the "golden years," you find that you may want to travel more so you can see the things you missed all those years while working on a career and raising the kids. Of course life has changed for you and you're not that "spring chicken" anymore, but that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy yourself. Here are a few tips to make your traveling a lot more enjoyable and secure.

Do some pre-planning before your trip:

1. Contact your travel agent about where you are thinking of going. A lot of travel agencies cater to seniors these days.

2. Make sure to find out about medical facilities in the area where you are planning to go.

3. Do research on the climate where you will be visiting.

4. If you are traveling with a wheelchair or guide dog, make sure these can be accommodated.

5. Think about purchasing travel insurance and make sure that it will cover any pre-existing illness that you might have.

When packing, keep these things in mind:

1. Make sure that your carryon bag contains everything you will need during your flight, if you are flying.

2. Always make sure that your carryon bag contains a medical kit, which should include everything from your medications to band aids.

3. Try to use suitcases that have wheels on them for an easier commute.

Traveling with a disability:

1. It might be wise to call the airports and airlines to make sure that your disability can be taken care of.

2. Make all reservations in advance to save time and hassles.

3. Book direct flights whenever possible.

4. Contact the local tourist information center at your destination to get information about their public transportation system.

5. If you are going outside of the country, make sure to find out from the embassy about any regulations there might be about wheelchairs, guide dogs and medicines.

Pre-trip medical checkups:

1. Always make sure to get a physical before leaving on a trip and ask your doctor about anything special you may need to do or know.

2. Discuss your trip plan with your doctor so they are aware of what to expect. That way they will be able to give you sound medical advice based on what information you have given them.
If you are a diabetic, it's important that you find out from your doctor how to stagger your medication in different time zones.

3. Make sure to get flu and pneumonia shots before leaving for any extended trip.

4. If you are going somewhere that is known for having a high ratio of infectious disease, make sure to be vaccinated accordingly.

When traveling with medications:

1. Make sure you discuss your medications with your doctor so you know what you should be taking.

2 Get a letter from your doctor explaining what the drugs are you are taking and why you are taking them.

3. Always leave the drugs in their original containers so as not to cause confusion and suspicion, especially to other countries.

4. If you have to inject your medication, make sure to bring plenty of syringes of your own with you and not rely on places to buy them at your destination.

Clothing while traveling:

1. Make sure that the clothing you are traveling in is loose fit and comfortable. Wearing comfortably fitting clothing allows for better blood circulation, which is important when you may be sitting for long periods of time.

2. Always avoid tight socks or stocking.

Important information you should carry with you:

1. All of your doctors' contact information.

2. Travel agent's number if you booked your trip with an agency.

3. Airline's contact number.

4. Number for the U.S. Embassy if you are traveling out of the country.

5. Emergency contact numbers.

A Bah Humbug Day--But All Turns Out Well

As anyone in or near Chicago knows, Tuesday, December 23, was a day of snow, snow, snow. News reports revealed that 400--or up to 700, depending on the report--airline flights from Chicago were delayed, and my flight to Tulsa was one of them.

It was snowing lightly at daybreak, and the weather news was not good. However, I had faith that the limo service I had engaged would get me to Midway Airport. The driver came as scheduled, and he was very helpful. Picture me trying to maneuver my walker, pull a suitcase, and carry a small travel bag and a purse. Having four hands would have been useful. The driver, a tall young Italian, had to carry the bags to the van and escort me through the ice and snow and help me get in. I avoided falling.

On the way to midway, we saw a lot of emergency equipment, including fire engines, and saw a rollover accident. Meanwhile, the snow kept falling. I arrived at Midway in plenty of time, and got the help I needed: a wheelchair and a boarding pass. Security was time-consuming, due to my recent knee replacements and my lack of agility, but I got through that too with the help of the wheelchair pusher.

As things turned out, our plane could not get in because of poor visibility and was diverted to Columbus, Ohio, and the airport was soon shut down, as I sat in the wheelchair and watched the windows turn white with snow. Eventually, the airport reopened, and I could see long trains of snowplows going everywhere, as well as de-icing trucks working on the few planes in sight.

As it turned out, we eventually got on the plane, only to see the snow begin falling again. I was afraid the the airport would close down again, and that we would be stranded overnight. But thanks to a truck labeled "Iceman 14," the plane was deiced and eventually took off for the first stop, St. Louis. It was raining there, not snowing, so there were no further delays on the way to Tulsa. However, the plane was at least five hours late.

I was so happy to see my niece, my grandniece, and my brother at long last! They kept track of the Chicago airport saga on line, and avoided a long wait at the Tulsa airport. My niece's husband has still not arrived from Texas, where he was on a job assignment. Apparently, the national air system hasn't quite recovered.

Christmas season travel can be brutal, but I'm happy to say that all turned out well for me. I hope that all of you who dare to travel this season have equally happy outcomes. I still love Chicago, in spite of the weather. And spending the holiday with family is priceless.

Make No Small Plans!

The holidays are creeping up on us. The Macy's tree is up and lighted, the Michigan Avenue Lights Festival is only a week away, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

Holidays can be a problem for those of us who live alone, far from relatives, but I made a big decision yesterday: I made plane reservations to accept my niece's invitation to visit her and her family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Christmas.

I've enjoyed visiting Cindy and her family in Houston, Texas, and now that they've moved to Tulsa, I'm anxious to see their "new" (remodeled) house, and of course to see them again this year.

Planning the trip requires a leap of faith: faith that I'll be able to walk well enough to travel by late December. It also brings thoughts of my unsold condo and my scheduled move to The Clare on January 9. At the very least, this will be a challenging holiday season.

Someone said, "Make no small plans." Time will tell if mine are overly ambitious, but just having those reservations makes me feel hopeful.

We Need "Bread and Circuses"

I'll admit to being old and jaded, to having a "Been there, done that" approach to life. I seldom get excited about anything these days, especially celebrity antics and other "events" in popular culture. I must also admit, however, that once in a while something catches my attention and stirs my imagination. It's usually discovering a new book that seems to speak to me, or seeing some famous sight like the Parthenon or St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow or China's Great Wall for the first time (and it's been quite a while since those personal "Wow!" moments).

This morning I watched a rerun of yesterday's opening ceremonies from the Beijing Olympics. I was amazed, astounded, and fascinated. Yes, I know that China has a deplorable human rights record, and I can't defend the country's politics. But I'm still naive enough to believe in the idea of all nations getting together in peace for sporting events. My 2001 visit to China, when this year's Olympics was merely the subject of promotional billboards, proved to me that China has much to offer the world.

Still, the surprising thing was how affecting the opening spectacle was. And I find it positive that basketball star Yao Ming, who earned fame and fortune in the US, serves as a sort of bridge between our two countries. I won't be watching many Olympics events; I'm not enough of a sports fan for that, but I can understand the appeal of the games. It makes me think of "Bread and Circuses." We all need our national pride and identity, even though no country, including ours, is perfect (I've never found another that I'd prefer, however).

According to The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 3rd edition. 2002, this is where the term "Bread and Circuses" came from and what it means:

"A phrase used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began: 'Two things only the people anxiously desire—bread and circuses.' The government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles (See Colosseum).

“'Bread and circuses'” has become a convenient general term for government policies that seek short-term solutions to public unrest."

I suspect that no matter how jaded we become, we still need to have our hearts stirred by events like the Olympic games and elaborate inaugurations and festivities of all kinds. The costumes, the pyrotechnics, the spectacles: in a sense, that explains the continued popularity of the British monarchy and the various events that can still stir our hearts.

In a world inundated by serious problems, it's refreshing to know that a few things can stir our hardened hearts. For us elders, watching on TV may be the only option, but that's all right. We still need our Bread and Circuses, and I'm happy to discover that I can still appreciate them.

Highlights of South Africa I

My recent trip to South Africa, a Grand Circle Travel tour called "Highlights of South Africa," began in Johannesburg, to Kruger Park, then south and eastward to Swaziland, then south through Zululand, then mainly along the east and south coasts to Port Elizabeth and along the Garden Route to Cape Town. The following posts present a few of the highlights:

The history of African exploration is long, but the Union of South Africa was created in 1910, eight years after the end of the Second Boer War. In 1948, the National Party was elected and began implementing its harsh segregation laws that would become known as apartheid. While the white minority enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa, the Black majority remained seriously disadvantaged.

Amid sanctions and disinvestment and growing unrest and opression, the country struggled until the rise of the African National Congress and the eventual release of Nelson Mandela from prison eventually brought the first multi-racial elections in 1994. Today, apartheid is gone, and most South Africans seem to have hope for the future. Of course, as in all countries, there are rich and poor, shanty towns (called informal housing developments) and luxury highrise buildings. The mountains and the sea coasts provide beautiful scenery. It's a country worth visiting.

Highlights of South Africa II: Scenery

Top: Cable Cars to Table Mountain, Cape Town

Next: View of Lion's Head from my Cape Town hotel room.

Next: Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope)

Bottom: "Informal Housing Development" near Cape Town

Highlights of South Africa III: Art and Food

Top: Modern stone sculpture, Capetown Botanic Garden

Center: Ostrich Steak for lunch

Bottom: Giant Salad at the Pizzeria

Highlights of South Africa IV: An Ostrich Up Close and Personal

All South Africa photos by the author.

Animals of South Africa

Zebras, impressive indeed!







These lions seemed happy to pose for pictures--at a distance. No close-ups allowed!












While I admit that I'm neither an animal expert nor a true animal enthusiast (except for cats, the domestic variety), I was thrilled to see the many animals of South Africa in their natural habitat, as preserved in Kruger National Park.

So why was this better than seeing the animals in a zoo? It just seemed more natural and appropriate that the animals were in charge. They had the right of way everywhere, and we human beings could look, photograph, but not get too close. After all, it's their world.

My photos are not the best, but they show things as they were. The photo above shows fruit bats relaxing on the ceiling of a picnic shelter. We were told that they only stir at night, and that was a comforting thought.


Next, an elephant emerges from the bush. I saw many elephants, and more pictures will follow.


The baboon is an ugly-looking animal, but playful, I guess. We even saw a pair copulating beside the road. Not a pretty sight, but it's their home, after all.


The giraffes are more impressive than this photo indicates, expecially when they eat leaves from the tops of tall trees. They are graceful animals that seem to glide along through the bush.


A typical roadside scene in Kruger Park is a large herd of impala, with zebras and other animals nearby.


These photos were taken with a simple instant digital camera from either an open vehicle or a tour bus. The Internet contains many better pictures, but I hope mine give you a flavor of the realities of animal viewing in South Africa. I'll have much more to say about the trip later--and I'll post a few of my better pictures once I get them all sorted out.

Curious about South Africa? Watch this Video (It's not Mine)

http://www.battleatkruger.com

Out of South Africa (and Swaziland)

I returned yesterday from my arduous trip to South Africa. It was a wonderful trip. I had a chance to see all of Africa's "Big Five" animals (elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos) in their natural habitat, where they have all the rights and the right of way. I did this on an open vehicle safari and a tour bus safari in Kruger National Park.

I'll post some pictures later (although I can't promise great ones; I use a small, automatic digital camera), and write about the trip. I urge all of you to travel if at all possible, but I have to admit that this will probably be my last such extensive trip. At 75, my body does not adjust well to all the walking, stair climbing, and climbing up into vehicles that such a trip entails, not to mention two consecutive eight-hour flights each way, preceded and followed by shorter flights. South Africa is a long distance away, and the long flights were from New York to Dakar and Dakar to Johannesburg, reversed on the way back. Eating too much of occasionally unfamiliar food didn't help, either. I need a recovery period.

Greetings from Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Here I am! I don't have much internet access here, but come back for more about my trip after May 7.

Off to South Africa!

No more posts here for a while. I'm off to South Africa for about three weeks. Look for a report on my trip--and some pictures--after I get back.

Holiday Lights from Houston, Texas

I love to look at Christmas lights once a year, and Houston, Texas, is a good place to do it. Yes, there are plenty of lights in and around Chicago, too, but I seldom venture out to see them. In Houston, I can always count on a family drive around the neighborhood.

Fortunately, my brother always brings his complicated camera and knows how to use a tripod and all sorts of fancy photo equipment. My point-and-shoot digital camera doesn't do as well (although it serves me well on my trips because it's so small and easy to carry).

Anyway, here's a look at the Truby home (top) and two neighbors' homes in all their splendor. Note the motorcycling Santa; that house belongs to the neighborhood's female biker.

Photos by John Marshall, December 2007

Seniorwiter's Top Ten List for 2007: Good News / Bad News on Aging, Travel, Writing, and Family

Photo:

No, that's not me. It's my late mother, Violet Uhl Marshall Funston, celebrating her 93rd birthday in 2004 (with her grandson, my nephew, John D. Marshall). See #1 below.

Will I be lucky enough to live that long and still look so good?

10. I turned 75. I’m glad to be alive, but I could do without the wrinkles, aches, and pains.

9. Walking on ice became impossible (two falls last winter), so I considered giving up my one-morning-a-week volunteer job. The long walk and rush hour bus ride are just too much in the winter, and it’s hard to find an available taxi here before nine a.m. However, I discovered that I can leave my heated garage, drive to the Grant Park North garage, and walk underground to the Cultural Center without venturing outside. The cost, $22, is a bit steep to get to a volunteer job, but I can probably afford it, at least until spring.

8. My future luxury high rise lifetime care residence, The Clare at Water Tower, extends at least 40 stories (out of 53) into the sky now, and it looks beautiful. Thoughts of my final move and living among "old people" (like me) still bother me a bit.

7. I traveled to Ireland for the first time. It’s a beautiful country, but to get to and from there required a long plane trip in economy class and going through London’s non-senior-friendly Heathrow Airport. My arthritic knees gave out in a big way.

6. I decided to give up overseas travel, but within months I was planning a business class trip to South Africa for 2008. Am I crazy, or what?

5. I took a creative writing class with some wonderful young people. I enjoyed the class. Two of my short stories will soon be available as Amazon Shorts, and two others have appeared in The Elders Tribune on line. My stories are about elderly people, and they’ll never be widely popular. That’s all right. My regular Writing column on eGenerations is gradually attracting more readers, as are my two blogs.

4. I published my second book, Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide for Seniors Who Want to Write. Due to poor communication between Infinity Publishing and Amazon.com, it appeared to be unavailable for months, although it really has been out since early October. I’ve been told that all is well now.

3. Seniorwriting received good reviews and interviews, but of course the mainstream media and bookstores aren’t interested. My first book, Reinventing Myself, and my first blog, "Never too Late!" both won awards from the Illinois Woman’s Press Association and the National Federation of Press Women in 2007.

2. I had one short story and one essay accepted by different anthologies planned for 2007. One anthology was cancelled for lack of interest, and the other, due out on December 1, is in limbo. Oh well.

1. My mother, Violet Uhl Marshall Funston, died at age 95 in Minnesota. We weren’t especially close, but she remained an active, adventurous, friendly woman into her nineties. She will be missed, but in a way, it was good that her final pain and suffering ended. Her death brought contacts with relatives and friends I hadn’t seen or heard from in years, and I was able to edit a family-and-friends tribute to her, Remembering Violet.

So that's my strange and personal Top Ten list for 2007. To sum up the year, I can only say that nothing’s perfect, but life goes on, and there’s more good than bad. How about writing your own top ten list?

Copyright 2007 by Marlys Marshall Styne

Travel Problems for Senior Citizens

In case you missed it, check out this article and video mentioned in Ronni Bennett's Time Goes By:

http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/northwest/eveningmagazine/stories/NW_083107EM_elderly_KC.872b240a.html

South Africa and the Importance of "Thinking Big"

When I returned from my last extensive trip (Ireland this past spring), I thought that my travel days were over. After nine trips with Grand Circle Travel and more with other travel companies, plus many earlier trips by motorcycle with my late husband, I was content to let my passport expire and retreat (at least figuratively) to my recliner. Why? My arthritic knees were a big problem on that trip, and I was considering the indignities of relying on wheelchairs at airports and planning knee replacement surgery.

Since then, my attitude has changed considerably. I have remembered the importance of having goals and future plans, in my case usually involving travel. That's been my pattern for years: always thinking about or preparing for my next trip. Should I allow age and arthritis to slow me down right now, or can I keep going?

I'd completed my quest to visit all seven continents by 2005, and I've visited most of the countries and cities and natural and man-made wonders I've always wanted to see. I eventually realized that there was one country left on my list: South Africa. Yes, I've visited the African continent, including Morocco and Egypt. Still, there's something fascinating about the political and social struggles, the animals and the scenery, of South Africa that has intrigued me.

Fortunately, my knees improved enough so that I could begin walking, and on Sunday, during a long lakefront walk, I began to think about travel again. Could I do it? That's when I really began "thinking big." Such a trip to the other side of the world would take nearly twenty-four hours (including a plane transfer). It would be very expensive. And I realized that I would have to travel business class, since many of my knee problems seem to stem from hours of inactivity in a cramped economy class seat. Have you priced business class travel lately? Wow!

Yesterday, I made a reservation for a tenth Grand Circle trip: "Highlights of South Africa," beginning next April. Am I wealthy? No. Insane? Possibly, but as I keep telling my fellow senior citizens, don't give up too easily. I know the trip will be difficult, and a lot of problems can intervene between now and April. Still, making happy plans for the future is very important. Stay tuned, and wish me well! If I make it, I'll have a lot to write about next year.

Copyright 2007 by Marlys Marshall Styne
Photo from the Grand Circle Travel web site, http://www.gct.com/

One Hundred Pictures from Ireland

My pictures are now available on line (on AOL). You may be able to see them if you have a high-speed Internet connection, and if this link works. If it does not, send me your e-mail address and I'll forward them, or a link to them, to you. Please let me know whether or not this link works for you. It may not if you are not an AOL member.

http://pictures.aol.com/ap/myAlbums.do?albumId=59326.1281.1160236943416.1