JACK BERNARD'S TRAVELS

Posted by jdbernard743

· May 11, 2015

It Pays To Stay Connected

Graham Greene said it best in The Third Man:

“In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock.”

Greene was right. Italy is unruly and categorically different from its smoothly oiled, efficiently organized, neatly manicured Swiss neighbor. Yet, in spite of the chaos, inconvenience, confusion, corruption, and union strikes that disrupt some essential function nearly every day, it will charm you. It looks good, feels good, and above all it tastes good. Love it or hate it in the beginning, I guarantee that if you look for the good things and don’t expect perfection you will end up loving it.

Remember: slow travel is the key to a successful travel experience. Relax and take it all in.

Italy is worth the inconvenience and chaos, and while I’m not writing a guidebook or how to article I will share a couple of travel insights that might enhance your overseas experience. In fact, this is not exclusively about Italy; it’s just that I’m in Rome now and these tips are fresh in my mind. Wherever you’re going these things might be useful in planning your overseas trip. International travel has changed dramatically in the last few years, and it’s because of technology. Smart travelers are taking advantage of the change to give themselves an edge and make things easier while they’re on the road. If you’re on a guided tour this may not seem important, but I assure you it can enhance that experience too.

If and when you leave home your most important and valuable tech tool will be your smartphone. It’s not about making phone calls. You will be able to do that too, but the phone is really a toolkit for everything – communication (email and text), to research (history), navigation (GPS), and transportation (bus and Metro maps – even Uber).

A word to older travelers – learn how this technology works. Don’t tell me you’re too old. I’ve heard that too many times. If you are too old then you have no business traveling. International travel is a learning environment and it’s dangerous territory for those who are resistant to learning new things.

Here are my smartphone guidelines:

First off: Don’t subscribe to your phone company’s “international plan.” It’s expensive and the only thing it gives you is the ability to call or text – no data. You definitely want data. Everything from the weather app to the GPS runs on data. You can get more and cheaper from a local provider in-country.

The only piece of hardware you need is an unlocked smartphone. If you have one you’re in great shape. If you’re an AT&T customer, under contract, you’re screwed. AT&T doesn’t allow you to unlock your phone until your contract runs its course. If you’re a Verizon customer the phone is locked domestically but unlocked internationally. Check with them to see how it works. If you don’t want to deal with your US carrier you can buy a cheap, reconditioned, unlocked phone on Amazon. Do it.

Software: you need a SIM card for your unlocked phone. SIM cards are the little identity devices inside the phone that store information about the phone and its user. In order to make calls, text, and access data you need a SIM card that works for the country you’re in. Don’t even consider buying one in the US. You’ll see ads advertising SIMs with functionality in 190 countries. They don’t work; period, end of discussion. Amazon and other sites will try to convince you that OneSIM, and other generic SIM cards will work, but they’re an invitation to aggravation and failure. Suck it up and pay the US provider’s high phone charges for a couple of days until you get a local SIM, or a prepaid phone.

The SIM card acquisition process isn’t always smooth. The best and most reliable place to buy a SIM is at a mobile phone company store. They usually speak English and if there’s a problem you can go back. It’s their problem too. I know, having made four trips to the Vodafone office in the last week, but I guarantee you that once you have an in-country smartphone in your hot little hand you will be glad you suffered whatever inconvenience it took to get it. The acquisition process might test your patience and ability to communicate across languages but it’s worth it.

Why go through all this? Resources. It is surprisingly helpful to have the resources a smartphone at your fingertips. Google Maps alone is worth whatever it costs. Last year in Paris our AT&T phones were enabled with international call and text packages but no wireless capability once we left the apartment’s in-house Wi-Fi. We discovered that Paris businesses are not as generous as their US counterparts in providing Wi-Fi for their customers. Everyone in France has a phone and a provider; I guess that’s their theory. Italy is better, but it’s inconvenient to ask a restaurant or café owner for a Wi-Fi password just to check your email. Even if you do ask you know that once you’re back on the street you have no coverage.

For me, the critical lesson about smartphones was learned last year on our final morning in Paris. The taxi we had pre-ordered failed to show. We had planned to use Uber as the back up, but because we were just outside the door of the apartment, we were without wireless capability. Without it the Uber app is useless. Uber depends on a wireless connection. It’s GPS reads the location of your device based on the app. We were up a creek and vowed not to be without Wi-Fi the next time we went overseas.

Spring forward. Yesterday Google Maps guided me through 5 or 6 miles of crooked, curving, unfamiliar Roman streets in order to get me home for a meeting with the Internet guy who was going to fix my Wi-Fi problem. He didn’t show, but that’s another Roman story. Still, I got home flawlessly because of Google Maps. That’s why you need a fully functional smartphone if you want to have a fully functional travel experience.

On my next travel prep blog I might tell about Italian washing machines and dryers.

Buona Notte

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Categories : Fashion/Lifestyle, Travel, Uncategorized, Weather, Work and Adventure

Posted by jdbernard743

· May 7, 2015

· 1 Comment

Slow Down… Words to Live By

“Slow down, you move too fast

You got to make the morning last,

Just kicking down the cobblestones

Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy…

Got no deeds to do

No promises to keep.

I’m dappled and drowsy and ready for sleep.

Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.

Life, I love you,

All is groovy.”

Paul Simon got it right… and something made me dig into my unconscious for those words (59th Street Bridge Song) while sitting at a sidewalk caffe’ in Rome stressing out about the lack of a good Wifi connection.

Here’s the message I got; “You’re not in Rome for Italy’s state-of-the-art technology. You have that in Seattle. Stop it! Get over yourself. Get out.” I got it! I really am here to hang out, watch the people, catch local flavors, and “let the morning time drop all its petals on me.” Much as I love my devices – Macbooks, iPhones, Kindles and Jam Rewinds – they’re only important as supporting cast members.

So—yes, Jack—slow down, take a deep breath and relax. Travel isn’t a race, or a job, or an obligation; it’s a privilege. I’ve been more privileged than most. I’ve been on the road for more than 50 years, and long ago decided I had seen most of the museums, monuments, ruins, churches, and historical sights I needed to see in order to complete that part of my education. I’m not suggesting they be ignored. They give us a sense of history and our place in it. I had to see them too. It would be crazy to visit Paris for the first time and skip the Louvre or Rome and miss the Coliseum, but once you’ve taken in those attractions I think the real education is on the back roads, streets and sidewalks of the world. I think of my personal travel biography in three phases. Phase One is the historical context. Where do I fit in to it? How does this apply to me? What does it mean today? Now I’m on to Phases Two and Three, and drinking in what the world is like in view of that history.

I still have a passion for adventure despite the rigors of modern day travel. I spent 30 years flying people to interesting and exotic places. I had a great time – but it was a different time. I still get on airplanes and they take me where I want to go, but they’re just conveyances now. The romance of air travel is gone. Now it’s simply a means to an end. Hours of stale recirculated air, cramped legroom, dirty lavatories, and processed food (if any) are not fun.

So, Phase One of my travel bio was full of sights and attractions; then, thirty years ago, I moved on to Phase Two – sailboats and bicycles – a little closer to the ground (or water). First came the sailboats, a luxurious, indulgent, and sometimes scary way to skirt the coasts of Spain, and Sweden, or wander between between Ibiza and Mallorca, or cruise the Florida Keys, the Virgin Islands, Tahiti, or the Bahamas. After that came bicycle trips through the interiors of France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, the UK and Vietnam. There is no better way to see the world or meet its people than to move slowly through it – on foot, on a bike, or on a boat. Smell what it smells like. Feel what it feels like. Taste it. Feel helpless. Experience what it’s like to need and rely on a stranger for directions. Be vulnerable. There is a different quality to the experience. It brings humility but over time it feeds a growing confidence and appreciation for other people and their ways. It helps us feel connected to the world in the bigger sense.

Now it’s on to Phase Three – the extended stay. Five years ago my wife and I initiated ours. We still ride our bikes around in the US, but we no longer take long overseas bike trips. We never took guided tours (except in Vietnam), but that’s personal and I realize they do make things easier, especially when time is of the essence. But on our last European bike trip we found that shipping the was prohibitively expensive. After riding around Holland and Belgium we shipped them home from Amsterdam, and the airline charged us $150 per bike. Round trip that adds $600 to the cost of the trip. Too much. It was time for us to move to Phase Three. Besides, we were ready. We’ve aged up to the extended stay.

The extended stay is a relaxed way to stay close to the ground but focus on the local rather than passing through it. It’s all about hanging out. We practiced it in Vietnam, Cambodia, and South Africa. Last year we rented an apartment in Paris for two months. This year we’re doing the same thing in Rome. Total indulgence. We arrived six days ago and haven’t been further than 10 blocks from our apartment. But… in those six days we’ve made friends at a couple of local Go-To places. There’s Novecentotredice, a trendy caffeteria/gelateria around the corner from our apartment where the sensational lattes, fresh squeezed orange juice and pastries are served by the owner’s daughter every morning. From its outside tables we watch the Romans come and go.

Then, for dinner it’s Il Colibri, a cosy Roman restaurant two doors down from our apartment. We’ve eaten there three times in six days. It’s crazy with so many restaurants to choose from, but it’s hard to think of going anywhere else when the miraculously fresh bufala mozzarella with San Daniele prosciutto and the fried artichoke are like nothing we’ve ever tasted. But… I did have devastatingly good cacio y pepe pasta at another place last weekend. Thanks, Anthony Bourdain.

So, it’s OK to slow down. After all, “slow cooking” is a major trend in the culinary world these days. “Slow down, you move too fast/Got to make the morning last.” Great advice. Try it. I’m positive you’ll like it.

Categories : Fashion/Lifestyle, Food/Restaurants, Personal/Family, Travel, Uncategorized, Weather, Work and Adventure

Posted by jdbernard743

· April 30, 2015

· No Comments

Saigon April 30, 1975

Millions of people around the world remember this date 40 years ago. Do you? It was the day those millions were changed forever and a day that signified a momentous sea change in American history. Today, April 30, 2015 is the 40th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

The war that ended then is known as the American War in Vietnam. It ended a string of American military victories and was the first in a series of subsequent miscalculations and military adventures that were unwinable – Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq – not for lack of effort but because the playing field of war was changed in Vietnam. The official holiday in-coiuntry celebrates the Communist victory, but for those of us who love the South and admire its people it signifies their loss of heritage and homeland.

I’m not an apologist for America’s involvement in the American War, but as someone who has lived there I am deeply touched by the plight of the South Vietnamese who were victimized and persecuted following the fall of Saigon. April 30, 1975 signaled the commencement of what has become known as the Vietnamese Diaspora, the exodus of South Vietnamese people who supported the US government when the North Vietnamese overran their half of the divided country. Rory Kennedy’s documentary, Last Days In Vietnam, shows the chaos, desperation, and danger of those final days.

There are now more than 3 million “overseas Vietnamese,” 1.8 million of them in the US. Last night I watched the Kennedy film on PBS. It was the third time I’ve seen it and it never fails to move me. What moves me is not America’s loss, it’s the South Vietnamese people’s loss, the people who worked for and relied on the US, if not to win the war at least to protect them in the final days.

There are heroes and goats in the story. The US Ambassador, Graham Martin, an old fashioned cold warrior steadfastly refused to consider an exit plan even as the North Vietnamese raced south and encircled Saigon. Many US operatives ignored Martin’s order and began planning for a black ops exit but it was too late.

My friend, John Riordan, who was vice-president of Citibank in Saigon is one of the heroes. Against company and government orders he put himself in danger and saved the lives of 106 Vietnamese Citibank employees and family members by arranging a harrowing escape to the airport and passage to Guam on US government aircraft. There are now more than 250 of John’s “family” and they meet periodically to celebrate their good fortune. He was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes last year and has recently written a book about how he pulled it off.

If you’re a morning newshound, John is going to tell his story on CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose and Nora O’Donnell today (the 30^th). Like so many stories from “the last days” it is a story of courage, honor, and selflessness. That is what this anniversary means to me. It’s not about the war or the mistakes that were made or the tragic deaths of 58,000 Americans, 2 million civilians (on both sides), 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers, and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers.

This date is a memorial to the dead on both sides, but after 40 years it also reminds us that though war is indeed hell those that survive can heal and prosper. I have never met such an energetic, determined, hard working population as the Vietnamese of the diaspora, people who left with nothing and have succeeded against unimaginable odds

But the wounds of the American War are deep and enduring. There is a new book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a writer born in Vietnam but raised in America. The Sympathizer’s narrator is a soldier whose story of duplicity, conflicted feelings, and the exhaustion of war mirror the feelings of many first and second generation Vietnamese. Mr. Nguyen’s Op-Ed in the Sunday Review of last week’s New York Times is a harsh indictment of those who think the war ended on April 30, 1975. It’s well worth reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/opinion/sunday/our-vietnam-war-never-ended.html?_r=0

As someone of the Vietnam War generation I have seen the country from the beginning of the American War to the current growing prosperity. I was a co-pilot on Pan Am’s first flight into Saigon after the Tet Offensive in 1968, and watched as South Vietnamese pilots flying AD Skyraiders bombed and strafed a Viet Cong enclave just north of the runway. From 2009 -2013 I went back as manager of the Saigon office of a large US humanitarian organization called East Meets West Foundation. It was an honor to be there doing good works instead of waging war.

I hope this short piece helps remind us all that we can do better when we energize and appeal to our better selves.

Categories : Uncategorized

Posted by jdbernard743

· April 18, 2015

· 4 Comments

Geography is Destiny…

Geography is destiny – Abraham Verghese in Cutting for Stone

The most interesting, literate, progressive, and beautiful places on earth are not necessarily those that are furthest away. When asked to pick a city with these attributes the list will likely include Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, Copenhagen, Singapore, Hong Kong, Capetown, San Francisco and others but never, until lately, has Seattle cracked my Top Ten. Surviving Seattle has always been my mantra because of the weather, but I’m rethinking that in view of a recent epiphany.

I live on Lake Washington with a view of the mountains. There are two great universities nearby, a vibrant theater, art, and dance scene, and a distinctive “Northwest style” of residential architecture that gets great reviews for its use of local materials, environmental consciousness, and an outdoor-oriented, Pacific Rim style. In 2014 the city was voted the second most literate city in America, and while all of these elements are positive that isn’t what’s been catching my attention lately. The distinctive attribute, the one that gives the city Pride of Place, for me, is what you might call its “inherent goodness.” Yes, along with all the other positives there is something about Seattle that promotes goodness, a commodity the world finds in short supply these days.

As home to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world, Seattle is exporting goodness. The foundation’s mission statement is as big as its endowment – now at $43.5 billion. It unabashedly states:

“We are focused on the areas of greatest need, on the ways in which we can do the most good. We see equal value in all lives. And so we are dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals around the world… we are catalysts of human promise everywhere. From poverty to health, to education, our areas of focus offer the opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life for billions of people.”

That’s “billions of people” with a B. It’s audacious and astonishing, and more astonishing is the fact that it’s only 15 years old. Until 2000 Bill had it all in his mattress and wasn’t sharing. The world is the beneficiary of the change and so is Seattle.

That’s a lot of goodness, but the goodness that’s grabbed my attention lately is the grass roots kind. It’s not big like the Gates Foundation. It’s a few notches lower.

I took this picture through the window at Dick’s Drive-In, a local burger chain. It hires local kids and takes care of them. Dick opened his first burger joint in 1953, and the burgers sold for an astonishing 19 cents apiece. It was an instant American Graffiti-style hit, a teen hangout where we ate in our cars and carhopped in the social ritual of the times. Today, the 100% pure beef Dick’s Deluxe, sells for $2.90 and the hand-dipped real ice cream shakes for all of $2.30. Great handout fries and the kids get free healthcare, a 401K with employer match and up to 3 weeks paid vacation. I’ll take two of everything.

Over the years, Dick’s prospered and we grew older. In the process, his family developed a culture of social and community responsibility. He began donating to educational causes and in 2007 the family was awarded the Philanthropist of the Year Award. In 2012 Esquire Magazine called the business out for serving “America’s Most Life Changing Burger.” Well deserved.

But Dick’s is not a Seattle anomaly. Costco is headquartered here, and in spite of hectoring by Wall Street for offering its employees “excessive benefits” and therefore cutting into corporate profits it continues to persevere in its commitment to employees. And, so does Starbucks who just announced a partnership with Arizona State University whereby it would pay full tuition for any employee wishing to complete his or her four-year degree.

And, it’s trending. Last year, Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant was elected after running on a platform calling for a $15 minimum wage in the city. She now has the support of the mayor and most of the rest of the council as her campaign and notoriety have propelled her forward as a leader of the national $15/hour movement.

The most remarkable case of Seattle “goodness,” however, is the enlightened and generous Dan Price, founder and CEO of a Seattle startup called Gravity Payments. Gravity is a payment processor (whatever that means) that services small and medium sized businesses. The business was founded in 2004 and is now the largest of it’s kind in Washington with clients nationwide.

Last week Dan startled the business world by announcing that over the next three years he will raise the minimum wage of ALL of Gravity’s employees to $70,000 and finance the raises by cutting his own salary from $1,000,000 to the company base rate of $70,000. This is not the first time Dan has hit the headlines. In 2012 when the Feds let the 2% payroll tax reduction lapse he added 2% to each employee’s paycheck to make up for the decrease in take-home pay, and in 2014 Entrepreneur Magazine named him Entrepreneur of the Year. Not bad for a guy who just cracked the 30-year mark.

Seattle is lucky to have Dan Price, Dick Spady, Jim Sinegal, and even Howard Schultz. These business leaders are bucking Wall Street’s bottom line obsession and building great companies with human values.

Of course the good old boys are still around too; Boeing’s Jim McNerney, with a 2014 compensation package of $29,000,000 and company profits at a record level, saw fit last year to bust the Machinists’ union and freeze pensions under the threat of moving production of the 777X from Seattle to non-union South Carolina. Seattle is mourning the loss of the homespun Boeing culture that nurtured leadership from within and fostered local community involvement. With the merger of McDonnell Douglas in 1997 all that ended. The new leadership moved the corporate headquarters to Chicago and gutted the homegrown leadership. Outsiders moved into the executive suite and in 2006 Alan Mulally, then the President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, having been passed over for the top job saw the future and moved to take over at Ford where he turned that company into a major success story while McNerney and the interlopers stuffed their own pockets and screwed the loyal Seattle employees. Amazing but true.

I don’t think it’s provincial to feel pride of place when that place is a center of goodness, produces remarkable companies and attracts generous leadership in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. It’s unlikely that McNerney will ever understand that a generous spirit of mutual interest can work miracles among workers. His animus toward unions is legendary. He’s required to retire in 2016. Given the culture he’s created it would be surprising to see much change with new leadership. But we can hope…

We can also hope that Jeff Bezos at Amazon will drink some of Bill Gates Kool-Aid. For now he’s still stuffing his mattress – but 15 years ago Bill was too. With 5,000,000 sq ft of recently acquired property in the gentrified South Lake Union area, it looks like the local boy is here to stay. Now – Jeff – let’s stop saving paper clips like the startup you once were and start acting like the responsible corporate giant that you are. Give it up and give some back like the big boys at Microsoft and the little guy at Dick’s Drive-In.

Remember – Geography is destiny.

Categories : Books, Fashion/Lifestyle, Food/Restaurants, Personal/Family, Travel, Uncategorized, Weather, Work and Adventure

Posted by jdbernard743

· March 21, 2015

· No Comments

Our Howard Who Art In… Seattle?

The great Danish writer, Isak Dinesen, is frequently cited for saying, “Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul.” I can’t speak directly to what the women of Denmark want or need, but coffee is certainly a key element for me in Surviving Seattle.

This week, at the Starbucks annual shareholders meeting, CEO Howard Schultz shared some brain-cramping bits of information. After announcing that there would be a 2 for 1 stock split based on the company’s record earnings, he dropped some remarkable statistics about the company’s performance. Did you know, for instance, that Starbucks baristas prepare an astounding 7,000 handcrafted beverages every minute of every day or that the worldwide company plans to open a new store every six hours in 2015? I find it almost impossible to wrap my head around these numbers even though I live in the eye of the international coffee storm.

In spite of the company’s remarkable performance and the fact that it’s a hometown company I don’t feel a lot of affection for the brand or Mr. Schultz. The coffee tastes bitter (Charbucks?) to me, the pastries are small, overpriced and sugary, and until recently Mr. Schultz has been arrogant and uninvolved as a corporate leader in Seattle’s civic affairs. In 1991 he fought with and sued his residential neighbors and then in 2006, after owning the NBA Seattle Sonics for five short years, he sold them down the river to a bunch of oil-rich Oklahomans who spirited the team away to Oak City. Some people here will never forgive him no matter how much money he spreads around or how many jobs he creates

On the plus side, he‘s done some good things for and with his company. Under pressure from outside critics he began promoting and implementing Fair Trade practices in the coffee industry and working to improve environmental and working conditions for plantation workers. At the same time, he bucked Wall Street by providing above minimum wage compensation and giving even part-time workers healthcare and 401k benefits. Recently he accommodated workers by designing a scheduling algorhithm that gave them more predictability in organizing their work lives. In the last three years he’s also been outspoken in the national debates over government gridlock and gun rights. Not all bad to be sure.

One of the new and innovative things Mr. Schultz and Starbucks have done locally is to open a 15,000 square foot roaster and café in downtown Seattle. M and I dropped by last week. It’s hard not to be impressed.

This place is part shiny industrial chic and part Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. Earlier remarks notwithstanding, the food and beverage offerings here are first class. I tasted two drip coffees – Pantheon and Amazonas Pure – that were flavorful and smooth while eating a “Loaded Baked Potato” scone with soft butter that I would happily repeat every morning for the rest of my life. The Roastery is a showplace but more than that it speaks to the company’s commitment to quality. The everyday offerings in neighborhood stores may leave something wanting but this large scale experiment, contrary to the direction of other national chains, is toward quality not away from it.

There is something both inspiring and distasteful about successful people sharing their opinions on subjects not in their wheelhouse. I don’t know if it’s hubris that makes them believe their opinions matter to others or whether it’s a sincere desire to be a positive force for good? Maybe it’s both. In spite of the good news Mr. Schultz delivered to shareholders, the biggest headline from the shareholders meeting had to do with a new company effort called Race Together, a much-criticized attempt to provoke conversation about race relations. The “Race Together” caption, written on Starbucks take-out cups, revealed itself to be a bumbling, clumsy way to open a dialogue on race. I, personally, don’t want to engage with my barista on the race issue, and Gwen Ifill of the PBS Newshour tweeted, “Honest to God, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before I’ve had my morning coffee it’s not going to end well.” The Starbucks strategy is not clear or well thought out but as clumsy as it is I think it’s courageous. With all that has occurred across the country in the last year, I applaud Mr. Schultz for attempting to bring the issue forward. Maybe we latte-swilling white folks need to stop pretending it’s someone else’s problem.

I sincerely hope that events of the recent past will result in positive changes across the country. There’s enough race-baiting and name calling to go around these days. We don’t need more. What we need are people, especially business and civic leaders, with the courage to address the subject, participate in the debate, and work on solutions.

Thanks, Howard. Now, how about getting us back our NBA franchise? Winning the NBA title is like developing a strong brand and successful business. It takes time. In 2000 you turned the CEO duties at Starbucks over to others but in 2008 you took over again in the face of a company downturn. Now you’re on top again. Maybe you could redeem yourself with basketball fans by supporting the effort to bring a team back to Seattle. What do you think?

Categories : Uncategorized