Thursday

Let's make Thursday a day for Travel.

In the Big Leagues, Thursday is often considered a travel day for teams. It is a frequent "off" day, with no game scheduled, and the team either on the road, or going on the road, will use that day as a leisurely day to get to the next city where they will be playing on the weekend. Later in the season when "make up" games are required, those games often take place on these unscheduled travel days. In that situation, the game will often be a "day" game, and the team that's on the road will leave right after the game to get to the next city. The Friday game will then usually be a night game to give the traveling team a chance to sleep in after a late-night arrival.

In basketball, "a little traveling music", is a phrase announcers use to described a traveling violation committed by the player in possession of the ball.

In business, Travel and Entertainment, is a historically abused expense deduction.

Also in business, travel is a characteristic of a job that may be considered a bit of a disadvantage in comparison to a job that has no travel involved. I know that in today's world, what with the issues of security, airplane delays, and the like, travel is not a perk. If you like to get home to the fam and your own bed each night, overnight travel is a negative for the job seeker.

As a sidebar, I would distinguish "travel" from it's subset, "commuting". Unless you work out of your home, everyone has a commute to work. It may be a five minute jaunt in a small town, or it might be that ugly hour and a half death march in the major city. Been there. Done that.

On the positive side of the ledger, travel is listed by many people, particularly retirees, as a favorite pastime.

Travel in our immediate family is most often associated with Lake Tahoe. (For those who might want to parse meanings, Lake Tahoe and Travel could be reversed in that sentence.) Next would be Chicago. Then KC. After that, we each might have our own destination of choice.

Today's young adults have been exposed to more travel than I would ever have dreamed of as a boy. Fifty years ago, there was not the facility of travel that exists today. Our family had no money. The Wapello County Fair in Eldon was a big deal! It was only when we each went to college that the world started to open.

I have had the most fun (when not with the fam) when I have been on the road with my pals Pete and Big Jake. Whether it be at a game in Ames, a small-town bar on RAGBRAI, or on the Plaza in KC, we have had some great times. DM. Phoenix. Lots of stories that get repeated forever, and the exploits become even more outrageous with each rendering. There were those Vegas days with Wally. And in recent years, the Cabo golf trips with my pal Roy have been memorable as well.

There is a saying on the Cabo trip that, "it's not about the golf". Rather, the trip is about the friendships and enjoyment that is shared by the participants. I agree. Tahoe would just be another lake (a beautiful one to be sure, but just a lake) for me without Uncle Phil and the fam. And the same goes for all the other places that I have been. Without the friends, what is there to remember?

So my first effort at Travel ends up talking about relationships. What does that mean?

Have a great evening/day.

BCOT