Escape from America

Check it out

Check out www.passionprofit.com/escape/indewx.html

April 14 update--MLK, Kagman, Sailing, Tribune

Let’s see. Time to bring you up to date since my last post.
April 4, 2006
I submitted a proposal to the two major English-language newspapers on the island. Here’s an excerpt:

“…I’d like to propose the weekly publication of a column entitled
“THE SAIPANPRENEUR PROJECT.”
Featuring passionpreneur profiles, business tips, book excerpts and unique inspiration, the goal of The Saipanpreneur Project Column is to do our part to help revitalize the economy by stimulating entrepreneurial thought and activity within the population of the CNMI.
This 600-1000 word column will be in one of the following three formats
-Saipanpreneur of the Week: Profiles of CNMI entrepreneurs
-Walt’s Life Rhyme” Inspiration for the week
-Saipanpreneur Tip of the Week: Excerpt/Tips from my books
-SUGGEST Publication as a Friday feature in “Local” or “Business”

I received an email from the Editor of the Saipan Tribune two days later, met with him the day after that, and we made it official! I’m now a contributing columnist for the paper. So on Wednesday, April 12, 2006, the first installment of my Saipanpreneur Project column appeared in the Saipan Tribune. You can read the article, entitled “The Saipanpreneur Project: The Only Viable Strategy for Economic Growth” on the Saipan Tribune website at
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=3&newsID=56543

It begins:

How does a nation stimulate economic growth?
Jobs? Yes, jobs would help people survive. But we want more for the people of the CNMI than to merely survive. We need to thrive! And unfortunately, jobs alone aren’t enough. The truth of life in a capitalistic system is this: You can never really raise your standard of living working a job. Since most of us are performing jobs that others could also perform, most of us are ultimately really only trading our time for a paycheck. In such a trade, the only way to make more money is to work more hours, or get paid more for the hours you work. You are at the mercy of an employer who decides if and how often you work, and who decides your value by setting the amount of your annual wages. Ultimately, the upper limit of your value is dictated by……..
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=3&newsID=56543

That evening, Tuesday April 4, I went sailing courtesy of an invite from Captain Carl, one of the attendees of the original PIC workshop and now a client.

April 8, 2006
In the morning, I was at Kagman High School judging the poetry, performance and presentation skills of high school students for the regional

pic of all the judges. In case you couldn’t tell, that’s me on the far right, second from the end.

April 8, 2006
In the afternoon, I did a workshop for those clients interested in launching their businesses online. Check out the
Saipanpreneur Project website at
www.saipanpreneur.com and in-progress versions of some of my clients’ sites are at
www.saipanpreneur.com/olomwaay

www.saipanpreneur.com/amajoy

www.saipanpreneur.com/playsmartgames

Big news! On Tuesday, April 12, the governor signed into law a bill proclaiming Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday as a legal holiday in the CNMI.

Me and Benigno, um, I mean Governor Fitial.

Gratuitous beach scene just to remind you where I am!

By the time of the next installment, I’ll have helped at least 3 clients launch their online ventures. Stay tuned!

Special workshop for Coastal Resource Management Staff

The CRM staff. Somewhere in this picture is perhaps the only other vegan on the island!

Today I conducted a special workshop for the staff of the Department of Coastal Resources Management here on Saipan. John Joyner, who attended the March 11 workshop, and orchestrated my talk with the Cabinet, saw a golden opportunity to share the Passion Profit philosophy and formula with his staff, and so organized a workshop in a meeting room at his department’s offices on Beach Road. It was so great that it inspired a Life Rhyme included in today’s edition of my weekly Walt’s Friday Inspiration.
(To see the archives of all 447 Life Rhymes, visit www.liferhymes.com)

Wouldn't it Be Nice?

Wouldn't it be nice, she said, to get my act in gear
I want to be a singer but the crowd's my biggest fear

Perhaps she didn't know right then the strength one can invoke
 with nothing more than just those wishful wistful words she spoke

For life will rush to bring to you the content of your dreams
 And dreams will find the light of day however dark it seems

I placed the mike before her and then gave her time to grow
 what thoughts and fears did war within, perhaps we'll never know

And just as life through soil is drawn to feed the planted seed
 Your dreams and hopes attract the strength and courage that you need

And so it was by workshop's end with just a little coax
 she graced us with her dulcet tones...in front of all those folks!

Perhaps the gift she gave and got today will now suffice
 to help her live her dream out loud...yes, wouldn't that be nice?

COMMENTARY:
 Today I conducted a special workshop for the staff of the Department of Coastal Resources Management here on Saipan. It was a great experience with a few magic moments. Among the insights and milestones achieved, we were able to get a chef-in-waiting to accept her first paid gig from the very department she works for. We got a night spear fishing expert his first $20 in cash from a willing client who paid him right there and then and set up their first teaching appointment for this coming Monday. And we coaxed a stage-shy singer to actually sing a song in front of the group---facing her biggest fear.
I've recently been reading success Ask And It Is Given by Jerry and Esther Hicks and decided on the spur of the moment to use one of the exercises in their book, (one I've been using successfully in my own life) to invoke the attractive power of the universe. The "Wouldn't It Be Nice" exercises is one step beyond visualization and just short of affirmation which causes you to resonate at the frequency, Unlike an affirmation, which encourages one to speak as if the dream is already real, "Wouldn't it be nice" allows you to dream of pleasant possibilities without the mental resistance one often encounters with affirming something that isn't yet real. Once spoken, your "Wouldn't it be nice" vibration attracts the people, circumstances, and in this case the very courage needed to bring the dream to life. I prompted her to complete the following: "Wouldn't it be nice if____________" to which she added..."if I could sing in front of this group." Once spoken, I moved on to other participants and did nothing more than place a microphone in front of her on the desk and allow her dream to manifest in a room of possibilities. Sure enough, about 2 hours later, with just a little prompting, she sang a few bars from Jessica Simpson song to amazement and thunderous applause of all gathered!

Follow up that Sunday

About 20% of those in attendance for the Sat workshop show up for the Sunday follow up

During the workshop, local musician, producer and all around great guy Sam Joyner proposed an informal Sunday gathering to offer participants the followup, follow through and support most people need after being introduced to a new way of thinking. I was invited to help kick off the Unofficial Saipanpreneur Network (yes, I've already reserved the saipanpreneur.com domain name and have some great plans!) the next day, Sunday, 3pm at local watering hole Wild Bill's on Beach Road. We met, brainstormed, shared insights and got working on a few projects that will shortly see the light of day!

After the meeting I conduct a little Google Adwords pay-per-click marketing class

Meeting the Governor of Saipan!

Just had a meeting with Governor Benito Fitial and his entire cabinet! (In terms of political power, the governor is the top position on the island; right above him is George Bush). The week prior, I was told I would get to sit in on a cabinet meeting sometime during the day the coming Monday. But it seems there might have been a bit of a miscommunication, because when I called my contact person in the cabinet, John Joyner (Director of Coastal Resource Management) at 8:30am, I was told the meeting was about to start and that I needed to be there right away!

So here I was dressed in shorts, an unpressed shirt, sandals and a bad haircut due to meet with everyone of political significance on the island of Saipan. So I headed home, switched into more appropriate clothes, then headed back out (luckily I had rented a car the day before). When I got to the Governor’s offices on Capitol Hill, John then told me that I wasn't just going to sit in, but that since what I came to the island to offer could benefit the most pressing concern of the administration at the moment (the forced reduction of work hours for several thousand Govt workers) that I was going to kick off the meeting, and that they (that would be the entire Cabinet) were waiting for me.

So with about 20 seconds to prepare (my network marketing training came in handy here!) I soon found myself doing my introduction, relating and telling my story, then tying it in to how we could interpriet and suggest to the those affected by the loss of 8 hours per work period as a "golden opportunity" to focus on turning one's passion into profit.

I tell you I was in the zone, man!! It was in my estimation one of the better 4 minute impromptu speeches I've given! They loved it, I got cool feedback from the acting Minister of Finance who joked that he wanted to send me a list tonight of all the people who would be affected as well as the retirees so I could help them out! Don’t have any pictures of that one folks! It all happened so fast!

Passion & Profit in Paradise!

The workshop was fantastic! 70 people showed up! Along with Senator Pangelinan, Rep Cinta Kaipat, a local beauty queen and other business owners around the island.

Seeing the island!

The landscape of Saipan is a lot like my native land of Jamaica. There are mountains in the near distance, coconut, mango trees, hibiscus flowers.

You don’t have to go too far to experience the rural. The island is small enough that a single turn off the main road can instantly transport you into a more rustic, rural landscape. Where I’m staying right now is more like a home in the country. Untamed bush, swaying coconut trees, chickens, cows and birds within eye and earshot. If I were in Jamaica, this would be more similar to where I lived with my maternal grandparents in Old Harbor. And yet, less than a mile away is Beach Road, where I can find Louis Vitton, at the Galleria Mall, and tea rooms offering $3,000 bottles of wine.

Every place in Saipan is wired! Every hotel lobby, restaurant, practically every coffee shop, I even got access at one laundromat I visited! Every place you can sit, you can surf! And it’s all free! (see sign below) Of course, you might feel a little guilty sitting in a coffee shop using the wireless access without at least purchasing a cup of tea or coffee, so at the very least, your access may cost a few dollars. The ubiquity of wireless internet access is a welcome surprise. It makes doing the nomadpreneur thing so much easier.

The sign I'm pointing to says "Wireless Internet Available Here...FREE...Bring Your Laptop!"

And you're never more than 5 minutes from the water!

My "tour guide" Joe Hill has taken me around the island…

student performers rehearsing at a local hotel

..introduced me to government officials

Rep Cinta Kaipat (left) and Senator Frica Pangelinan

… introduced me to business owners.

Irene, a local beauty salon owner

..and even more business owners

Joe Ayuyu (pronounced Azuzu) the owner of the first McDonald’s on the island.

Organized a “meet Walt” event to introduce me to the area.

Giving a preview of things to come

Shown me the history...

WWII Japanese Tanks at the Last Command Post

..and beauty of the island

A view at the north end of the island

And I’ve still got time to enjoy the rainbows....

Rainbow from my room window

walk along Beach Road and do some work in the shade of the pavillions along the path....

Me and my Mac

or simply enjoy my freedom…

ahhhhhhhh, yes....

Off to a great start!

After clearing customs, I was greeted by my host Joe Hill, a successful lawyer on the island whom Ken had introduced me to by phone back in December 2005. I've since come to learn that Joe is perhaps the most knowledgeable and most qualified person to show me around my new home. Originally from Oklahoma, and an alum of Pepperdine University, Joe has lived all over the US, Alaska and Japan, and has been on the island now for over 30 years. At some point, through both his practice and personality, Joe has come to know practically everyone on the island. (As both testament to his local fame, and perhaps too, the size and culture of the island, he's been known to receive mail from all over the world addressed simply "Joe Hill, Saipan.")
Also there to greet me were Sam Joyner, a well-respected, well-traveled musician, and John Joyner, his brother, recently appointed Saipan's Director of Coastal Resources Office.

Joe Hill, Sam Joyner and John Joyner

Joe and I were up talking until about 3 in the morning. After a 3-hour sleep, we were up and about to see the island. First stop, Joe Hill's law offices!

After the first of what would be many such mini tours of the island, replete with history and culture lessons, I found myself pulling up to one of the government offices on the island. Joe and the members of the African American Cultural Preservation Committee had been hard at work publicizing my arrival.

And so it came to be that within 48 hours of landing on the island of Saipan, I was meeting with Senator Maria Pangelinan and Representative Cinta Kaipat, and finalizing plans for a Passion Profit workshop while here in Saipan.

Joe Hill, Rep Cinta Kaipat, Sen Maria Pangelinan and me

Senator Pangelinan has the distinction of being the first female senator on Saipan. Representative Kaipat has a distinguished history of public servivce. Both have been active advocates of the rights and freedoms of Saipan's transplanted as well as indigenous citizenry.
A workshop is tentatively scheduled for March 11! Stay tuned!

Welcome to Saipan!

And so it is, beginning with my escape from New York on Wed Feb 15,
a five-hour flight to Las Vegas
an aborted escape attempt on Feb 18,
resulting in a total 5-day layover in Las Vegas,
a second, this time successful escape attempt on Feb 21, which then included
all on the same day
a one-hour, twenty minute flight to San Jose,
a ten hour flight to Tokyo, Japan
a one-hour flight to Nagoya, Japan
a four-hour flight to Saipan, it's finally time at 12:50am local time
on Feb 23rd 2006 to end this chapter of my nomadpreneur adventure with the words....

Welcome to Saipan!

Escape from Japan!

Because of the flight change I had made, it seems my request for veggie meal didn't make it to the new reservation. Not a problem. I learned long ago never to rely on others' concepts of what consitutes vegetarian dining for my sustenance. So, I had brought a slew of vegan fuit bars, chips and fruit with me.

I didn't eat much, just a bar, an apple, and lots of water. The flight attendants were quite helpful and stocked me up with a half-dozen bottles of water during the course of the flight.

"More water, Mr. Goodridge?"

I land in Tokyo Narita airport at 4:50 local time on Feb 22.
Had about a 20-minute stay in Japan as I sped through customs to catch my 3 1/2 hour flight to Saipan.

Escape from America!

On the flight to San Jose, I meet Yasaka. I share Bob Marley with her. She teaches me how to say a few things in Japanese, including "I don't eat meat" "I only eat vegetables." It probably won't come in too handy on the short layover in Tokyo, but just in case someone grabs me and forces a sandwich on me during customs, I'll be ready!

My final picture in America

I settle in for the 10 hour flight, and contemplate the future...

Escape from Las Vegas, Take 2!

"Right this way, Mr. Goodridge. We've been expecting you."

My second attempted escape from Las Vegas was, in a word, seamless. Traffic was cooperative. The doors were all open. There were no lines for check-in. Security check went quickly. The smiles were plentiful, and there was no crowd at the boarding gate. In the famous lyrics of Peter, Paul and Mary: "I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...1!" Next stop, San Jose!

More time in Las Vegas

Now with some extra time in Las Vegas, I decide to see this as an opportunity. The Universe is most likely assisting me in taking care of some loose ends that I won't be able to manage while in Saipan.
I also take the time to relax a little more, go to the gym, do some running, and spend a bit of time in the sauna.

What do you mean I can't get on the plane???

Escape from Las Vegas, Part 1!

     By 6:00am this morning I finally hear back from some of the people I had contacted through contacts and through hospitalityclub.org and couchsurfing.com about showing me around while in Japan. My friend David’s contact, Yasuko (not her real name), said it was too short notice, and that she had commitments on Monday and Tuesday that would prevent her from hosting me, but that she would be willing to show me around on Sunday afternoon when I arrived. My CouchSurfing.com contact replied that she too, was out of town and wouldn’t be able to help me. So, I called up Hotels.com and paid for a one-night reservation at Narita’s Mercure Hotel. That would give me a place to stay while I got my bearings, determined the lay of the land and possibly make some other connections and accommodations.
     Things are going great.
     Excited, I shower, pack and do a final check my incoming email, and by 7:00am, my buddy Ken wakes up, and we prepare to leave for him to drop me off.

     Ken and I get to the airport at 8:00am. We stand on line to check in for the 10:00am American Airlines flight to Tokyo; we get up to the counter, I ggive the ticket agent (her name is Evelyn) my passport and ticket confirmation. She smiles.

Me and Evelyn. Things are about to take a turn

     She looks through my passport, and asks, “Do you have a visa?”
Visa!??? Visa??? No one told me I needed a visa???
     (Actually, I wasn’t really that perturbed. The sense I have of my life being a story to be told is so strong, that I was already starting to compose this episode as she was telling me this. Ken would later remark that he’s seen people kick, scream, curse, throw their luggage and become downright otherworldly when faced with the reality of missing their flight and losing their tickets. For me, it’s just another day in Walt World.)
     “Yes, sir you need a visa. As a Jamaican citizen, you need a visa to enter Japan. I can check you in as far as San Jose, but you won’t be able to go to Japan.”
     Well, to make a long story short, Ken and I go back and forth with her, pleasantly pleading my case, appealing to her sympathy, asking her to verify the regulations, even asking to speak to a supervisor before finally accepting the finality of her pronouncement.
      “So how long does that take to get a visa?” I ask.
     “Usually 24 hours,” she replies.
      “Where’s the nearest Consulate?” I ask.
      “There’s one in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco.”
     Since Los Angeles is only 3 hours away, we resolve that we’ll head to there on Monday (it’s now Saturday), and get that squared away in time for a Tuesday morning flight. “But wait,” I start to think aloud, “if I don’t make this flight today, will I be able to change it to leave out on Monday or Tuesday?”

Evelyn directs me to the customer service phone

     She checks her screen. “This is a non-refundable fare,” she says. There’ll probably be a fee. You’ll have to call Customer Service to find maintain, the universe is perfect and that I’m always guided down the perfect path, then this surely wasn’t that path!

Did you say, $1200???

out what that is. You can use the courtesy phone on the wall behind you.”

And then it dawns on us that Monday is Presidents Day. So the Consulate won’t be open. That means I would have to get to the Consulate on Tuesday and actually leave on Wednesday.
So we head over to the phones and contact American Airlines customer service and find out that if I can change my reservation to leave on Wednesday. I discover that I’ll have to pay about $900 additional dollars since I’d have to make a new reservation. Hmmm. Now THAT’s clearly not an option, I thought to myself.
“Maybe you can go through Hawaii, and then Guam,” Ken suggests. “You won’t have the visa issue since they’re both American territories. Then once you’re on Guam, you can always take a boat if you have to to get to Saipan.”

Pensive prophet plans paradise particulars

     Ok. Maybe we can change my outbound flight out of Japan to leave the same day. Ken phones Northwest Airlines and starts the hold process.
     Meanwhile, I start making calls to American, and then Continental to inquire about flights through Hawaii and discover that they all start at about $1,200. I pull out my laptop and start to search online (luckily the airport was wired) for fares. Every airline showed prices of close to $2,000 for a new flight at this time. If, as I alwaysSo here’s the situation: It’s now Saturday. I can’t get checked in on my flight to Japan without a Visa. I can’t get a Visa until Tuesday. But if I change the flight to leave any other day but today, I’ll end up paying at least an additional $900. And, if I change the entire route and travel instead via US Territories, I’ll essentially have to start the whole booking process from scratch, lose all the existing tickets I’ve purchased, and that would probably cost at least $1200 to start (are you following all this?).

     It's now 9:48am. My original flight is leaving in 12 minutes, which means it’s probably too late to check in and board I realize that having lost this outbound flight, that it won’t be financially possible to get to Japan. If I can’t get to Japan, then the Japan to Saipan leg of the trip won’t happen. Things are falling apart. I can feel the dream slipping away.
     So now I finally start to sweat. Visions of myself getting off the plane back at LaGuardia airport start dancing through my head!

uh-oh...

But, in the famous words of my friend Erroll Paden, “I ain’t goin out like that!!”
(See also Walt's Life Rhyme #154 inspired by Erroll, entitled, appropriately enough, I Ain't Goin' Out Like That!)

Desperate. Not wanting to lose the momentum of this first leg of my journey, I wonder if I should attempt to get on the flight anyway and head to San Jose. Perhaps once I’m at a different airport, I reason, I’ll meet with different luck, more knowledgeable agents, or someone who’ll just let me through cause it’s the &%($*%$( right thing to do!!
So I approach the check-in counter once again and wait for Evelyn to finish helping another passenger. I’m about to jump and pray there’s water down below.
This time, however, another agent--David Serada—calls me over.
“Have you guys checked in already? he asks.
I pause. I wonder if I should keep dealing with Evelyn. I decide not to wait for her and start explaining my predicament to David, and then ask, “Can I get on the flight to San Jose?” I ask.
“Well, it’s too late for that,” he says. “They’re about to close the boarding gate in 5 minutes.”
      “I can run really fast,” I offer.
      “I don’t think that’ll matter,” he says with a smile. “It takes 20 minutes just to get to the other side of the terminal where the gates are.” he says, and starts tapping away at this keyboard.
      “Here’s my original reservation,” I show him, and continue to explain my situation as he types.
      “Can you contact Northwest and change your reservation to leave the same day you arrive?” he asks. “That way you won’t run into the Visa requirement since you won’t be leaving the terminal.”
“We’ve been trying,” Ken says. “We’ve been on hold for about 40 minutes now”.
“Wouldn’t it be easier just to go down to the Northwest counter at the end of the terminal?” Dave asks.

Ken and I look at each other and laugh.
Then Dave punches some more keys, and from there at the American Airlines check-in counter, accesses the Northwest airlines flight schedule and says, “Once you get down there, find out if they can get you on their flight NW77 leaving out of Tokyo on Feb 20, then I can change your reservation and put you on a flight to leave tomorrow instead, and that way you can get to Tokyo on the 20th, leave later that the same day and not have to worry about the visa issue. You’ll essentially only need what’s called a Transit Visa. You’ll never leave the terminal, and you’ll be on your way to Saipan! In fact, here it is,” he says handing me my itinerary. “I’ve already rebooked you on tomorrow’s flight.”
“You can do that?” I asked. “You can change my reservation to leave tomorrow? And I won’t have to pay a change fee, or rebook.”
“That’s the easy part,” he says. (Now why didn’t Evelyn suggest that? I thought silently to myself.) “You just gotta make sure your continuing flight on Northwest can be changed as well so you can make the connection. Go down to the end of the terminal and see if you can make the change.”

So Ken and I gather my two pieces of luggage, the laptop, my bag of food, camera, and head towards the Northwest ticket counter.

After a quick explanation to her, our agent Judy says it’s all sold out.
“How about stand-by?” I ask. “Can you put me on a stand-by flight?”

At Northwest making it happen

     “No, I don’t think that’ll work,” she says. “You actually have to show a confirmed continuing flight. They won’t accept a stand-by reservation for a Transit Visa.
     So Judy wasn’t able to make the change. But now that I know that my new best friend, good ol’ Dave can work his magic and change my departure date with a few keystrokes, that opens up some new options, I realize that
So leaving the Northwest reservation as it is, Ken and I head back to see Dave at American Airlines counter where I ask him to do me another favor
“I can’t change the Northwest leg of the journey,” I tell him. “But if you can put me on a Tuesday flight out of here that puts me in Tokyo for me to connect to the Northwest flight to Saipan…If you can make this happen, Dave,” I tell him, “I’ll name my first-born son after you.”

Before agreeing to the challenge, he reads the regulations to confirm that as a permanent resident I won’t need a visa to enter Saipan, and then he types away for what seems an eternity (making special notations in my reservation so that Tuesday’s agent knows the deal) and then voila! I see a crisp new itinerary and flight confirmation shoot out from his printer, and he hands it to me with a smile!
“Dave,” I tell him, “I’m writing a book about my adventures traveling around the world, so this will definitely be in it,” I say as Ken snaps a picture.
And so it was. I’m now booked on a flight leaving Las Vegas Tuesday morning, arriving in Tokyo Wed afternoon just in time to connect to my Northwest flight to Saipan!
Dave’s the man!!

I thank him profusely, shake his hand, and we head out.
Whew! I’m back in business.
It’s my philosophy in life that everything happens for a reason. So why has my escape been delayed? Is it because I’ll meet someone special on the flight I’m now booked on? Is it to give me more time here in America to take care of some unfinished business? Or perhaps this all happened…..just so I can have this story to tell you.

EPILOGUE:
The anatomy of escape. The anatomy of creation.
As I relax after my day of drama at the airport, I’m right now reading Ask and it is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Dreams by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I’ve just read the part that reminds me that I create my own reality. I know this to be true. The challenge, of course, is figuring out the reason for the specific creations that seem out of synch with what says consciously that one desires to create. I created the escape. I created today’s apparent glitch. If so, what was the reason for today’s glitch? I must assume that it is of my own creation. Am I sabotaging my escape? Or, am I also creating on other levels of which I am not aware? It’s always been my own teachings to my coaching clients that our realities of our own creation.
I have no one else to blame but myself for failing to fully ascertain the need for a visa for my trip. I know, however, that I will still get to Saipan. I don’t believe that there is any other force thwarting my plans. So, I created this apparent delay (unconsciously?) to give myself one more day. Interestingly enough, when I got back to Ken’s place, I turned on the radio, found a country station and shortly heard “One More Day” by Diamond Rio, one of my favorite groups (love their harmonies).

Anyway, I can see clearly that today’s events were created by last week’s decisions in a moment of indecision. In other words, at some point back when I was making the reservations, when I had ample opportunity to act on the hunch, the information and the awareness that my visa, passport and travel documentation should be in good order, I chose not to. If I think about it, there were times of doubt during the period from when Ken told me about Saipan, and when I actually purchased my Northwest tickets to complete the final leg of the journey. I even recall having the opportunity to get the answers I needed and not simply assume that permanent residency was equivalent to US citizenship in that regard. So today was created yesterday. So while I may be committed today; while I may be excited today; while I may be fully ready to create my new life in Saipan, I am living today the effects of yesterday’s doubts.

Next episode: Escape from Las Vegas-- Take 2

Some time in Las Vegas

Me and Ken in Las Vegas

Passion Prophet composing Friday Inspirations

Walt in Vegas

A brief moment in Chicago

“OK, people! The harder we push, the faster we move!” That’s what the man in 28C shouted as the plane pulled up to the gate at Las Vegas intl Airport. Not the most spiritually correct statement for those of us who pride ourselves on the ability to go with the flow, but I couldn’t help smiling.

And no, I didn't visit Oprah on the way out. She'll
have to catch me on the rebound!

Escape from New York

My escape from America has begun!
It’s now 1:00pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2006. I’m sitting on an ATA Airlines Flight bound to Chicago’s midway airport --the first stopover on my way to Las Vegas.

Tell you a quick story. With a flight scheduled to leave LaGuardia at 12:15pm, I decided I had more than enough time to tie up a few loose ends before I headed out. So, first I went to the 34th Street Post Office to send out some books to customers and to my final destination in Saipan. Then I headed down to the West village to pick up a copy of Tales from the Time Loop by David Icke. Figured I needed some good conspiratorial reading to punctuate my escape.

Now, I fully expected the Barnes & Noble bookstore on 8th Street and 6th Ave to be open at 9:00am. I got there at 9:20 only to discover that they opened at 10:00am. Drat! So I walked around the village in the hopes of finding another B&N that would be open earlier. I found the Astor place store, but it too would open at 10:00am. No luck. So then I walked over to Broadway and up to 13th Street to Strand Bookstore, but they didn’t carry any of Icke’s books. So then I walked up to 14th Street Virgin megastore, but struck out there as well. Finally I ended up back at the 8th Street B&N. It was now 9:50am. So I waited outside for the ten minutes until the security guard opened up at the stroke of 10.00am. I rushed upstairs, grabbed the book from the shelf of the New Age section, and bounded back downstairs to pay for it. It was now 10:05am. With book in hand, I headed back uptown to finish packing, and to catch the M60 bus to LaGuardia.

I got back home by 10:30am. After throwing a few last-minute items into the bags, and ended leaving my apartment at 10:40am. I trudged through the snow towards 125th Street with my two suitcases and a backpack which contained my laptop. But I wasn’t done just yet. I still had to get some Aloe Ferox bitters from Watkins health food store on 125th Street. So, leaving my bags out on the sidewalk under the watchful eye of two strangers I befriended, I rushed in, made my purchase, and came out in time to catch the bus. It was now 11:06am

The ride took a little longer than I had remembered. When we pulled into the Central terminal, I disembarked, walked up to the counter, which was emptier than one would expect. (hmmm. wonder why?) I sauntered casually up to the ticket counter attendant. She asked what flight I was on. I told her the 12:15 to Chicago, and she said, “sorry, you missed it. (an obvious powerplay, or perhaps she actually didn’t realize who I was). So, I used my Jedi Mind trick to have her call the baggage handlers to ok the arrival of my bags (which of course they did). She then scolded me for getting there late. (It was 11:55am!). She said, “Next time, you can’t come this late, ok? I’m serious?” she added for emphasis.

I wanted to tell her, “Honey, if things go as planned, there WON’T be a next time!” But I figured this wasn’t the appropriate time or place to get into that discussion. She then printed my boarding pass, and tagged my bags. Actually, I tagged my bags after she ordered me to help her. She then instructed me to run like I was in a race to Gate B-4 if I wanted to catch my flight, since I still had the security checkpoint to go through. (I wanted to invoke the O.J. Hertz airport visual, but again, thought better about it) where I cut the line thanks to a helpful gate attendant, got my bags x-rayed (twice; hmmmm you think they suspect something?) I kept having thoughts of them confiscating my property to sell on ebay, but pushed the throught from my mind.

I made it to the gate as passengers were boarding, showed my boarding pass, and made my way to seat 28D, the very last seat right before the rest room, and coincidentally, right behind a family with gang of babies who seem at once to be teething, purging, trampolining,

So here I sit, typing this to you, listening to Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley through my headphones, while being buffeted by the aroma of restroom excrement from behind, and baby diaper doo from up ahead. Ahh, but whose complaining? No one ever said escape would be easy!

Next stop: Chicago! Hmmm. Isn’t that Oprah’s hometown?