Friends, Travel and xenophobia. Our views on these topics are often tainted by where we started. If you come from an affluent nation, you take for granted that the doors of every country (outside the “axis of evil”, of course) will be open. The world is your oyster. Come to think of it, if you are an affluent member of a poor country, your outlook is not that different. Could it be the current outbreak of xenophobic paranoia is really a case of wealthism? (if it wasn’t a word before, it is now!). It’s not that we don’t want foreigners -America is, after all, a diverse melting pot. We just don’t want them if they’re poor (uneducated, desperate, bad hombres from ******** countries). Maybe we should update the plaque at the Statue of Liberty. “Give me your tourists, your rich, your investing partners yearning to breathe free” –feels more current. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for capitalism and wealth accumulation as each individual’s reward for pulling themselves up by their own boots...
Donuts are part of the magic that makes life so sweet. I founded the Level 3 Friday Donut Club in 2004 and ran it until my departure in 2015. It had a three year run at Windstream and is now virtual, but at its peak, we had a rotation of 50+ folks who brought donuts every Friday. We had three simple rules: (1) five dozen (2) boutique shop donuts (3) by 8:00 am. This blog memorializes these e-mails to share my thoughts (and, once upon a time, announce the donut arrival). Have a happy Friday!