Travel Anyone?

Yes? Have a yen to travel somewhere? You might want to take a look at the world weather map . . .

Let's see. Yesterday, Paris was paralyzed with snow. The Panama Canal was closed due to excessive rain. And a small cruise ship was disabled by a rogue wave and fierce winds in the Drake Passage at the southern tip of South America. The disabled ship is now limping toward Ushuaia, where the temperature is 39 degrees - in the middle of summer. Today, Europe's snow has moved east into Germany, closing airports and cancelling flights. Last week Venice was flooding - again. Pack hip waders.

Been to those places . . .

Closer to home, last week the Buffalo, New York snow trapped people on freeways for hours. Followed by more heavy snow yesterday in upper New York. The weather forecast for this weekend is for a monster snowstorm from the Midwest to the east coast, stretching from the eastern Appalachians into Quebec. Pack warm clothes, emergency gear, and snow shovel.

No thank you. A couple of Holiday parties close to home sounds like a much better idea.

And who can forget Iceland's volcano and its disruption of European travel last spring. The one with the name they tried to teach me to pronounce when I was there. Or the earthquakes in Chile just days after I returned from there.

Then there are the plane flights. Not a week goes by without some "incident." The small dog who got loose, and ran up and down the aisle biting several people. Planes diverted because of unruly passengers. Fights between passengers. Unidentified parcels that cancel flights. The debate about whether it is a right "to recline one's seat." Or plain rude. Women who go through security in bikinis (come on men, where are your spandex swim trunks?). I won't even mention what passes for food.

Right now, a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace with Rick Steves' book, Travel as a Political Act, sounds good to me. With a stack of travel DVDs handy.