DocAndersen
RasmaSandra has been talking about Pirates here on Virily for the past couple of days. That reminded me of the old term “Shanghai’ed.” The term means that you were kidnapped, and by the time you were awake again, you were at sea as a sailor. You had to serve until you got to a port so that you could escape. The concept originated in the Chinese port of Shanghai (as the legend goes) although the kidnapping occurred throughout the world. Shanghai is an interesting city because of that. The other thing that happened in Shanghai is that Mao, the former leader of China who took over the nation in the 1948/49 time frame, started the Chinese communist party in the city of Shanghai.
We were in Shanghai in December about two weeks before the holiday season. It was warmer in Shanghai than it was in Indianapolis Indiana. That was a nice break. It was fun to wander the city and see the many sites. Today though, is a wander not of the pictures but instead of the concept of travel. It can be very hard getting up before everyone in the house, driving to the airport and leaving. It is also very hard for those who stay behind. I’ve been on both sides of that conversation. After we as a family returned from Thailand, my father traveled. Back in the day when he would be gone for 2-3 months at a time. You didn’t call home back then or do much more than communicating via Airmail.
So I know what it meant to have a parent leave, to be one of the people that stayed home when the plane took off. Later, in my career, I did the same thing. My wife, as I’ve mentioned, traveled first, her job included a couple of research trips and one trip to LA. She was gone often, so she knew the traveler’s side. Later, when I was often gone, she also got to learn the stay at the home side. It is interesting when you think about it. I remember being somewhere in the world, thinking about the day I was going home. Not that didn’t have fun in many places; I did. But that trip home was an important trip for me. I never cared if I was delayed on the way there. I didn’t like it when I was delayed on the way home!
Wow, that is so beautiful and interesting. Thank you for sharing.
i am always amazed by the decorations around the world!
So beautiful! 90% of the Christmas spirit is thanks to the lights, in my opinion.
that is an interesting point of view, they certainly help!