The Casey Lartigue Show!

When people ask me if I have read a certain book that I indeed have read, I often hesitate to confirm. Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" or a book about dating is a different experience at age 16 compared to 36 or 56. I first read the late Paul Fussell's provocative collection of essays " Thank God for the Atom Bomb " as a graduate student. When I reread it a few years later, I noticed that I had completely skipped the chapter about traveling. I am a " digital immigrant " who still prefers printed books, newspapers and articles so I can markup the text. I didn't mark a single thing in that travel chapter the first time around. The second time around, years later, I wondered how I could have missed Fussell's profundity. In particular, I appreciated his point distinguishing among travelers, tourists and explorers. (" There's No Place Like Home," Feb 12, 2013 ). What had changed? Me. I grew up in Texas and Massachusetts, but h...

What about "No" would they not understand? The Korea Times identifies a new problem: freeloading Koreans visiting relatives in America. The cause: it is now easier for Koreans to travel to America because of a visa waiver. 1) I am amazed at some of the people that reporters can find and about the things people will say to reporters. Complaining because you can't say no to family? Even if I did want to complain about such a thing I would not do so to a reporter. 2) Perhaps Koreans need a return to the good old days, back to 1987 when martial law prevented most Koreans from traveling abroad without a good reason (education, religion or business). A great thing about freedom is that we can complain about trivial things, and even be taking seriously by reporters. When Koreans were living under dictators they wished for the chance to travel abroad. 3) The most obvious solution, besides saying no the first time relatives and friends ask: Say no the second and third times they ...