European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Commentary strange by Catherine Watson Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune l i am always amazed at the Confidence with which Bld-fashi6hed travel writers tackled their subjects. Enormous subjects. Like the world. � in the politically incorrect past 1927, to be exact it was possible to produce such guidebooks As the Little Orange volume i picked up in a Nisswa minn., Antiques shop recently. All about going abroad its title promised cheerfully with maps and a Handy travel diary. F it delivered on that Promise knocking off things not to miss in the most important cities in a touch Over four pages and sights of first importance in foreign countries in 41/2, it also salted the rest of the text liberally with such tips As Baths Are never free in european hotels and Rickshaw men expect a Small tip in addition to the Legal or agreed my favorite there is no reason Why the Young Active healthy and not too proud Man or woman with $500 should hesitate to plan a in weeks or two months sojourn in Western those were the Days very few travel writers tackle the entire world anymore. The ones i know Are " aware that we re Only scratching the surface in anything we write whether in newspapers or magazines or books. It can t be otherwise. The most we can do is record slivers of experience what happened to one person on one Day on one Road in one town. We have no Choice human experiences being As varied As the 5 billion individuals on this planet. Which is another Way of saying that if you Start out on the same route an hour behind me you la have an entirely different trip. The people you run into will be different. Your coincidences won t be mine. Pm fascinated by those coincidences a the whole idea of people s paths crossing and criss crossing in time and space. Given the size of the world never run into anyone be know out there. But we do and with so much frequency that it s a commonplace of travel at a dance performance in Bali for example the woman next to me turned out to know people i knew in Galena Iii. For a minute there the world was so Small i forgot i Vyas half Way around it. Travel coincidences like that happen so often i wonder if they can be called coincidences at All. Travel inevitability is would be a better Label but i Don t think it la catch on. Whatever you Cal them Here a re a few others v v .-.". The someone from Home coincidence one Winter evening in London waiting for a subway train in a nearly empty tube station a couple came around a Corner and ended up next to. Me Jon Bream the Minneapolis Star Tribune s pop mimic critic and h is wife. I Don t remember that we acted surprised. We chatted As casually As if we d run into each other at Home and went our separate ways v /. -. The weird thing was we d worked together More than a dozen years by then and were living Only about a mile apart but we d never run into each other outside the office in Minneapolis. Still Haven to the coincidence Fromi the Black. Lagoon the world May not be ready for tale of the giant rat of Sumatra Holmes but i think the time has come for the rat Man of the champs Elysee. There s an Odd reassurance even Ong after the fact when something awful that happened to you turns out to have happened to somebody else too. It s a kind Osbond. The rat Man was so weird to pkg that he stood out even before he got close he was about 60, Short wearing a frayed Black suit and a dark Cap with filthy hands and an Odd leering mile. He walked straight at me and when he was within touching distance he made a sudden thrusting motion with his hands releasing a big rat that leaped at my stomach.,i j shrieked. the timed gotten my composure Back and figured out that the rat was stuffed and this was the Guy s idea of fun he was far Down the Avenue working the trl Fht. 86,67663 kaisers Lautem Tel 0631-54051 fax 063191012 you Gan still Book with top Tours and at More locations than before go with the name you know Call us now for the booking office near you Tel. 0631 -540$1 Mon Fri 9 am 10 pm sat 12 6 pm. J use Youfe Tor Tours discount vouchers and Bonus books when booking our Tours Check these pages for top Tours specials every week proudly serving the . Military Community for Over 10 years crowd. You could Tell where he was by the Trail of shrieks. Several years later at a Christmas party in Minneapolis a woman i was talking to began to Tell a Story about a weird Guy who scared her on the Champ ulysees the rat Man you too More shrieks this time of recognition one More victim and Well have a sisterhood. The bungee coincidence at Many of England s ancient churches the congregation raises Money for repairs by allowing visitors to sign their names on beams that will eventually be used to support thereof approved Graffiti for the Low Price of a Pound on a trip to Britain my Mother and i signed one at Salisbury Cathedral. A of it was such a Small incident that i did mention it when i got Home instead i told people about going up to Yorkshire to see the House that inspired withering Heights my Mother s favorite Book about sleeping in a 14th-Century How v surprisingly smal stonehenge is about locating the remains of the air Force base near Nottingham where Rny father was stationed before a Day. So i was surprised when i colleague As Well known for practical jokes As for his travels sent me a postcard from Salisbury later that year never one to miss a Chance he Hadl written did you know that for 1 Pound you can also have someone s name removed from a beam at Salisbury Cathedral distributed by Scruppi Howard new service benefits overseas Low Down payment and monthly payment plans. Payments in Duars. Policy translated in i i a English. Offices throughout Europe to serve you. Stateside peace of mind insure your vehicle before you leave. Free rate quotations. 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For other countries in Europe Call our Frankfurt Germany office 0049-69-590111representing Aig Europe & new Hampshire insurance companies overseas. October 20, 1994 stripes Magazine 23
