Brian

By now you may know that my name is Brian.  Brian is also the name of my caddy at Troon on _____day.  

As I sit here on _____day, I can't remember what day we played there.  Nor do I know what day it is now.  And, no, thank you, I am not going to look at my electronic calendar on my phone even though I'm typing this on my phone.  

I am successfully lost in vacation.  For me that means I am here.  In St. Andrews, Scotland.  Having a great time.  With some great guys.  And I don't know what day it is, nor do I want to know anything else outside of what time our van leaves to take us to Dunbarnie for today's round.  

Feeling that way is such a stark contrast to the world of deadlines.  Management.  Calendars.  Start times.  And more that I live in normally.  So yes, I'm good with not knowing what day it is.  

The trip has been amazing.  

I chose the picture of Brian, my caddy above, because being with him for 4+ hours at Troon (which was simply a magical experience) felt like the first time I really spent time with a true local.  A local I had a hard time understanding.  Yes, English is spoken here.  You'll understand once you get here.  

Brian was the best.  He's been caddying for 40 years.  He watched me swing one time and said, "I have your game figured out."   And he did.  

He was a perfect combination of honest and encouraging.  Never got too high.  Never got too low.  

He believed in me.  And he had just met me.  

He was unbothered.  Quick.  Straight to the point.  Told me to just enjoy.  

And I did.  

The day at Troon was a perfect mixture of this trip and the things I love about travel:  Being in a new place.  Talking with locals.  Enjoying local food and drink.  

We had the opportunity to play match play (ChatGPT it.  (That's fair right?  ChatGPT is slowly replacing the verb phrase "Google it" it seems)) against a Troon member.  My guy was very fun.  And a very good player.  And I won my match which was great. 

And Brian is a lot of the reason I won.  He kept me in the road.  He was the voice of strength and encouragement that I needed when things weren't going my way.  And in a round of golf, similar to real life, things don't always go your/my way.  

He always had the right thing to say.  Sometimes it stung.  But that was what I needed.  Sometimes he helped me see the bright side of things.  And that was what I needed too.  

He spoke of his kids.  Grandkids.  And great grandkids.  He spoke of living close to family.  Of caddying. 

And he rolled his own cigarettes.  

Many times.   

And that was fun to watch too. 

Brian, you're a good man.  I appreciate your honesty, care, kindness and your energy the other day.  

Lost in NY Update Part 1

Hey fans, we left off last night with a plan of flying from LaGuardia to Boston and the Boston to Edinburgh.  We put in a request to have our bags shipped back from Atlanta so we could fly with them.  

The plan has changed.  

Since our bags are still in Atlanta (yep), we are now booked on the JFK to EDI flight at 9:15pm.  

For those keeping score at home, that is the same flight we got canceled on two nights ago.  

Now, listen, don't inject your negativity here.  We need your positive thoughts.  Your thoughts of, "You know what, I bet they will make it AND their bags will make it too!"

Thank you for that.  You're really kind.  

We are now waiting at the LGA area to see if Folonne, yet another VERY helpful Delta agent, can work some magic.  Meirenne worked some considerable magic on the Delta text line to get us rebooked to the flight tonight.  

Onward and upward!  We will keep you posted.  

Mirror Selfies and Affecting Reality

Lots of things in this world are rare:

1.  A Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly siting 

2.  Complete flight cancellations at 1:30am, standing in lines for 3 hours to be rebooked and checking into hotels at 4:30am. 

3.  And me taking mirror selfies. 

Well, two of the three happened last night as we navigated our flight into (and not out of) New York's JFK. 

What an experience.  Our flight was delayed an hour.  We taxied out only be delayed by fog (visibly was a beautiful 1/4 SM with an RVR of 1600-2200……meaning it was hard to see your hand in front of your face), taxied back for fuel and then to hear our pilots say, "we have exceeded our duty time."

As a fellow passenger said, "It's like something out of a movie." And in his best Planes, Trains and Automobiles voice he said, "I just need to get home for Thanksgiving."

Even though I was exhausted, I did chuckle.  

It really was a fascinating experience.   Being utterly exhausted and trying to navigate the cancellation was a challenge.  

And standing in the line to be rebooked for at least three hours I got to practice something David and I talk from time to time.  David you ask?  My coach.  He's amazing. 

The idea is this:  why waste time and energy feeling bad about something?  I mean, yes, the flight was canceled.  Be disappointed.  

But quickly get to being solutions-oriented.  Like really, what is being mad at the situation, angry at the people around me or victimy about the situation going to do to fix the issue?  

Correct.  Nothing.  

And. If I do choose to get angry or whatever, then feel it fully.  But then move on and get to moving.  

That's responsibility.  

We left JFK around 4:30am, checked into Yotel (pictured) and slept until around 10am (my crazy hair also pictured).  

And here's the thing:  waking up in midtown Manhattan on a beautiful morning isn't half bad.   We walked to Los Tacos (seriously, do it next time you're in NY), hopped an Uber to LaGuardia to make our way to Atlanta to catch with our bags 

The ins and outs of this story continue.  After getting rebooked today from LGA to ATL and then ATL to EDI, a thunderstorm here at LGA forced our inbound flight to divert to Providence (correct that is not here).  Sooooooooo we are now going to miss our connection in Edinburgh.  

At the time of this typing, we are now delayed from LGA to ATL until 11pm.  Update now 11:57pm (lol). 

Sooooooooo we will now fly from Atlanta to Boston tomorrow afternoon and Boston to Edinburgh in the evening.  

Today has been exhausting.  My body is feeling it.  My eyes are glazing over.  But I'm here.  And we are working together.  Figuring things out.  Making decisions.  Doing the best we can.  

Has the day gone the way I wanted to go?  No.  And the day has unfolded the way it has.  

And that's the point.  For me, I'm doing the best I can to be present, problem solve, be kind, ask for what I need.  And it's created some really beautiful connections.  Folks at the airport like Kevin, Jamel, Ann and others have been incredibly helpful.  And I can't help but think that our energy of "oh well, what's next to tackle?" has helped us navigate the challenges in community with others.  

It's as I've learned:

Problem only exists if I'm isolated.  If I'm connected, then it's a challenge. 

Anywho (yes I am tired if I'm using the word "anywho"), I'll keep you, the proverbial you, informed.  

Forward.  Keep moving forward.   

About Sevilla

(Created June 19, 2024 and posted June 18, 2025)

(Yep. One year almost to the day later)

Ok. I'm back.  As promised here is a post about the things I did in Sevilla.  

Pablo and I are likeminded people.  We love travel, authentic experiences, good food, having fun and learning about different languages and cultures.  So being with him in Sevilla was perfect for me.  I got to do exactly what I wanted to do and that was to experience the city like a local.  

Upon arriving we sat in his living room, caught up, talked with his wife and played with his baby son all while his teenage boys were in and out of the apartment.  

That evening we went for a sightseeing walk around Triana (his neighborhood), had traditional tapas, and went to the Alamerda area of Sevilla to meet up with Luis, Fernando (Antonio's brother) and his friend Ema.  As you may know, Luis and Antonio were traveling with Pablo in 2019.  I got the chance to speak with Antonio via phone since he wasn't there and my guy Luis, of course, with Google Translate.  I look forward to the day that either I know enough Spanish or he knows enough English that we can talk without the help of this technology.  He is such a kind-hearted and loving man.   

(This is where I realized I never finished the post.  Such a promising start too, wasn't it?   So I'll finish it now)

To be with my old friends Pablo and Luis in their native land almost five years later than when we met was truly a pleasure.  Even one year later, I remember sitting at that outdoor table.  Laughing.  Giggling.  Sharing.  Listening.  

To be able to see Pablo's family and stay in their apartment was amazing.  I lived like a local.  A kind.  Fun. And loving local.  And I ate cheese in their kitchen.  Amazing cheese.  

Time flew this work year.  I barely talked with Pablo.  But I was able to video call with him a week or so ago and show him and his family a little bit of what I do for work.  "Big" they all said as I stood in the USC football practice facility.  

Big it is, y'all.  Big it is.  

At the Starting Line

I am at the starting line again.  The starting line of a trip.  Out of the country.  Into another part of the world.  I'll be honest, oh reader you, it doesn't feel real that I'll be traveling for a while.  And.  It's here.  It's about that time.  

I miss writing while I travel.  It helps me process.  And it's also tricky for me.  Am I writing so you see me?  So you approve of me?  

Or am I writing to share and create connection. 

If I see I can do the latter, then I'll see you here.