The phone rang in the very early morning hours of Dec 17th, a Sunday. In the USA it was still Saturday, Dec 16th. I rose from the warm bed and padded out into the cold hall to the phone. I heard the pips that foretold a transatlantic call, waited for my oldest brother's…
It has been a long time. Yet, it seems just like just the other day the Slo-Man was young, slim and gormless instead of what he is today, middle-aged, fat and gormless. This is one of those momentous posts that are now given to the Slo-Man to write. For this marks an…
The title doesn't quite have the same sort of cachet of 9 and 1/2 weeks, I'm afraid. Certainly there were no strawberries or Joe Cocker singing Randy Newman's "You can leave your hat on". <Digression #1: I used to work with a guy who really, really wanted high heels on... on her. Not him;…
In a departure from my usual stories, I shall write a How To. Now, in my day job I have written many a How To so I have a reasonable amount of expertise on this. Add to that the fact that this How To is based on a real-life, empirically proven method. So…
< There are some who have waited patiently for me to finish so they can start reading. For them, I say, tsk tsk, but here it is, the final installment of the series that started with Part 1 and then went from Part 2 to Part 3. It continued with Part 4 and…
<Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6> So there you have it folks!I was safe and sound, on the ground, repeating over and over "Thank god for terra firma, the more firmer, the less terror". What? You have no idea what I'm talking about, you say? Well,…
It was indeed a DH6 Twin Otter coming in to land, the first of the two. The chaos meter in the check-in area went up past 11. An enterprising and resourceful type ran out behind the terminal building. There was the sound of breaking glass, a brief moment of silence, then he appeared through the office door clutching papers in his hands. Thirty seconds later boarding passes were being issued at break neck speed for both the flights simultaneously.
Sunday morning came bright early and at 8:59 am I was at Everest Travels. <Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 here to get that background> Less than 5 minutes later I was sitting in the private office of the manager. "S... Tobacco picked it up. Your ticket is with them.",…
<The story so far: Our hero, tempted by the prospects of bagging bushels of bullion, has bribed and begged his way into Nepal, without any photo id at all and no passport. He stands now inside the arrivals terminal at Tribhuvan International Airport with wuthering wit and seething senses. Part 1 : Part…
<Read Part I and Part 2> As I walked across the tarmac to the terminal building, I clutched my briefcase a little tighter. Visions of Nepali jails flashed before my eyes in a strange collection of images from various Hollywood movies. All too soon, I was facing a customs officer. Pleading no knowledge…