I hope that everyone survived Black Friday, Cyber Monday & all the other euphemisms for shopping excess. To those, like myself, who traveled for the holiday, Welcome Home. Flying with 2 small dogs has its challenges. It does make me a tiny bit nostalgic for the times when flying somewhere was an Event. People dressed up & were polite. Stewardesses (& I’m not at all nostalgic for the sexual discrimination of the era) wore white gloves, girdles & smiles (the last hard one to achieve while doing the first two.) In any case, it is still a wonder to me that, with a bit of planning, one can get from just about any corner of the world to just about any other corner of the world in less than a day. Although here might be so some sort of animal ride at the end. Contrast this to just 100 years ago when my ancestors took weeks to travel from Romania to Ellis Island on a slow steam ship. Maybe in another 100 years, Scotty will just beam us wherever we want to go…..
Occasionally, something redeeming happens while traveling. I was sitting in Atlanta Hartson Airport, trying to convince Zuzu that the end was just one more plane ride away, when I was approached by a nice,
but unknown lady. When she asked if I were Mitzi Mihaila, I was at first nonplussed, as no one has addressed me by my maiden name for a long time. Turns out, it was a classmate of my high school, & upon further reflection, I did recognize her. I suspect that it was inevitable that sooner or later I would run into someone I knew flying back to Akron-Canton Airport. It was nice to know that I still look enough like I did in HS to be recognized, despite the years & pounds.
High School Graduation
2012
Although I do hate all the fake sentiment that seems to come with the season, I do think it is a time when we should take a moment to appreciate what life has brought us. Keep your priorities straight this season & spend quality time with loved ones. As a seller of jewelry, this is probably not going to help my bottom line, but holiday gift giving has become such a obligatory rite, that many, including myself, now feel it is more of a burden than a joy–even if you have the financial resources. Instead, consider donating to a worthy cause. I gave up gifting at the holidays several years ago & it is a tremendous relief. My friends know how much they mean to me & throughout the year, if I find something perfect & useful, I will give a gift. My friends don’t feel like they need to get me Christmas gifts that they can’t really afford & we make time to just be together.
Enough philosophy——Next week BACK TO JEWELRY!!!!