Jill Will Go...

“When good Americans die, they go to Paris.” - Oscar Wilde There must be a technical term for my condition. I can't keep calling myself an Arriving and Leaving Narcoleptic. Can I anagram it? Addressing my seat companion: "I'm sorry, but I have a raging case of ALN." Seat companion: "Really? What's that?" Me: "Arriving and Leaving Narcolepsy." SC: "And what, exactly, is that?" Me: "It means that as this plane starts to taxi for take off, I'll suddenly pass out and probably start snoring. The same thing will happen as we land. I'm apologizing in advance in case my head lolls onto your shoulder, or I drool a bit. Other than that though, I'll be shockingly wide awake!" SC (looking around for another seat): "Ummmm....." Now, there are worse problems to have. I could be a nervous flyer, I could smoke, I could be flying with a cat. But this whole comatose upon take off and landing thing is gett

Today we would normally be seeing the museums with the rest of the group...but traveling with J has perks. He had been in contact with a businesswoman in Tehran, Farah, who runs a chain of bookstores. She was very gracious and invited J and I on a day of touring her stores and talking shop. It was an amazing chance to see something different and meet the people who do what we do. Farah and I first met in the lobby of the hotel. She was in her hijab, on her mobile phone, as I sat in the lobby. She introduced herself to me, J joined us and we were off. We jumped into the back of the tiny car and the driver took off. Driving in Tehran is not for the faint of heart, and requires steady nerves from all the occupants of the vehicle. We toured the lovely bookstores - full of colorful displays, well-behaved children and a staff that practically stood at attention when Farah walked into the place, all smiles and impeccably dressed. While we were at the first sh