Seeing that I’d gotten my requisite 6 hours of sleep, and didn’t have anyone else to talk to.. I figured I’d chat Monphelais up.  He was such a willing participant.   Born and bred in Haiti, several brothers and sisters.. living in the states for 4 years.  Monphelais started somewhere up North, but arrived after the Hurricane, when no one else was willing to return. 

Most of all, Monphelais has 3 young children and a wife whom he sees twice a year, seeing as they live in Haiti with his siblings.  It’s a curious thing to me, that you would leave your family.. who you assumingly love.. to take a job in a far away country picking up people and driving them to the airport. 

Still, it makes me wonder… Does Monphelais and those like him have it right?  Or, is the prospect of making decisions for your life based on proximity and comfortability of your family the answer to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I’ve been thinking about our forefathers a lot lately.  (My hometown has an America: Early Years exhibit at the local museum.)   One of the most impressive things was a silver pitcher.  Not because it was noticeably unique or even ornate, but because the descriptor said that the silversmith was “recruited” from Belgium to come over and make pots and pans for the poor settlers. 

So, imagine that you’ve come to the U.S. with a few things, not knowing what you’re going to find.. but knowing you have no house, no wagon, no horses, no land.  Then.. you get back on a boat because your wife has decided she needs some pots and pans to cook with.  Next, while in Europe, you have to find amongst the few talented silversmiths some poor sod.. or in this case three.. to get on a boat with their family and come make their wares in the “New World”.  Remember there is no actual house for them, or guarantee of a volume of business or materials with which to start.    

Would you go?  Would you leave your family, or take them along?  What level of risk would you take to try something new? 

So, back to Monphelais.   He’s likely 40, or a little younger.  Formerly, Monphelais was an engineer for the phone company in Haiti, and would like to get that type of work in the U.S.  He’ll leave New Orleans soon, and try a new place.  He has a group of friends that like Haitian music, and can find soccer (football) games from time to time to watch.  To many, Monphelais wouldn’t be considered a risk taker.. as he works 15 hours a day as a taxi driver.  To me.. he is the quintessential “settler”.  His comfortability and even safety is less important than that of his legacy.  A trait that Belgian silversmith surely also maintained.

Monphelais has embraced the American dream, and wants to send it to Haiti.. or bring Haiti here.  Whatever the plan, a series of decisions have brought him here, and the subsequent events lead him to me, that one fateful morning.  How big a slice of the American Dream do you want?

Not to mention that you just managed to extract yourself from your 2008 chevy cobalt rental.  It’s indigo in color.  What else?  It just happens to be the only car in America last year that wasn’t made with power door locks and windows.  Let’s face it, there’s nothing cool about checking all four doors to see if the button is down.  Or asking directions when you have to manually roll down the window.

If there’s anything that will drive me to drink wine, and eat dessert – it’s embarrassment.  It’s as if the alcohol and the ability to appear as if I don’t care what I look like permeates an air of know-it-allism.  I could seek damages from either my company, or the car rental agency for all of the extra calories (ie. Pounds) I’ve consumed from exhausting days on the road driving terrible rental cars in circles.  I can hear it now… 

Judge – “Counselor, do  you see just cause”

My Lawyer  – “Your Honor, my client was unjustly represented by the Kia Sorrento, to the point that she had to seek reparations in cheese plates and chocolate mousse, a cost to her wallet as well as her bottom line.” 

Opposing Counsel – “I object – Cause”

My Lawyer – “Your Honor, If my client hadn’t spent all that time at the hotel bar, she could have been exercising, checking eharmony, or getting beauty rest.  All of which might have lead to more male interaction.” 

Judge – “Objection Denied – Counselor, I move to reward your client $200, no $300,000 dollars for all of her trouble, so that she may upgrade to a better car, better skin care, and potentially feel better when entering her multiple affluently influenced temporary residences. “

However, as I sit in New Orleans at Rambla – a campy restaurant aptly positioned on Camp Street devouring Merlot, a chocolate mousse and a cheese plate for my “second dinner”, I am really wondering whose fault it is that I feel completely shellacked.  Right now I blame my boss, my counterpart, my company, my realtor, my contractor, and of course my mother. 

Every time that I fly I make this commitment to  myself, and to the other women and men flying with me, that I’ll definitely, maybe, someday, write a travel book.  Not one that you’d expect, but a guide for the frequent traveler.  It’s likely a Christmas stocking stuffer at best.. but what if there were some real tips in there. 

What would you recommend.. to make work travel less taxing? 

I have a few thoughts, and I feel like there are so many things I’m missing because I’m so exhausted.  At least I don’t look like the guy that came down in sweatpants sitting next to me in the bar of the 4-star Hotel where I’ll eventually get to sleep tonight.

Salut — and PBWY.  More updates on the people I’ve met here on the way.

I’ve come to the realization that it’s not until you’ve settled in, unpacked, rearranged the furniture a few times that you actually begin to figure out how you arrived at your particular circumstance.   Whether it’s a person, a geography, an opportunity, a missed opportunity… whatever it is — each person’s story is unique.   And I believe it’s important to know why we are who and where we are.

I spend a lot of time alone.  I work at my home — alone.  Fly almost weekly — alone.  Go to movies, vacation, church, dinner… all without having someone along.  What I’ve come to enjoy about being alone is that you can actually engage people.  Learn what makes them… them.  I’ve learned not to hesitate to ask thoughtful questions…. then plug those into my memory bank as I begin to figure out where it is that I want to be.. and how to arrive there. 

So, here lie my misadventures and meet-cute’s.  The Taxi Drivers to the Politicians.  The Corporate Businesswoman to the Rogue Graffiti Artist.  The Stay at Home Dad and the Hotel Housekeeper.  Amidst my reportings and musings… hopefully we’ll all find a little  bit of us in the people we meet. 

Until then…