Plains, trains, and automobiles

I know there's nothing original about this, but I have a serious travel fetish. So, sitting at the provincial Fort Lauderdale airport bar waiting for my flight to Toronto to board and listening to Steely Dan, I figured I would rhapsodize about this for a while. (Actually, it's going to be shorter than that, 'cause I need to do a good deal of work on the plane and I have to find an outlet to charge my laptop.)

Anyway, an Albanian friend of mine is convinced that I have gypsy--yes, gypsy--in my blood. A conclusion derived purely from my "gypsy eyes"--whatever that means. But hey, I'm guessing an Albanian could pick out a gypsy from a mile away.

My family has, in three short generations, taken on two major migrations--one across a continent. While, they'll tell you that they were for political reasons, I'd like to think it has something to do with a genetic wanderlust.

Shit. This is getting way more self-absorbed than I intended, so let's sum up. Travel, good; Fort Lauderdale airport, bad.


So let's move on to actual substantive stuff. Ricardo Alarcon says Castro--not Raul--is seeking reelection in 2008. I'm not even going to discuss the ridiculousness of calling what happens in Cuba an election, I just want to tell Ricky--a sedulous AGI reader, I'm sure--that I'll give him whatever odds he wants on that bet. I'll even give him a one-to-one exchange rate on dollars to pesos. C'mon, Ricky, what do you have to lose.

Updated to add: Fort Lauderdale airport has very slow WiFi and four power outlets in the whole airport. Grrr.