When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home

Thanksgiving weekend was productive, reading-wise; not only did I start and finish History of a Pleasure Seeker, but I also managed this light and funny travel memoir.

I was given this book by my sister, who remembered my adolescent fondness for the late humorist Erma Bombeck, whose columns appeared weekly in the newspaper. As you might have guessed from the title, When You Look Like Your Passport Photo... describes Erma's adventures traveling to places near (the Grand Canyon) and far (the Great Barrier Reef), exotic (Papua New Guinea) and less exotic (Canada). Beyond a bad case of traveler's envy, this book provided an interesting perspective on international travel 25 or 30 years ago. For example, Bombeck devotes one chapter to airline food, as in the complimentary meals that haven't been served in coach for the past decade. As she vents her frustration about being lost in one country after another my first thought is 'I can relate,' but my second 'yes, Garmin is my friend.'

The most interesting chapters for me were those devoted to her travels in the former Soviet Union, specifically the panel discussions in which she participated with the intent of fostering greater Soviet-American understanding. I believe she cuts to the heart of why so many of us travel when she writes, "Once you have looked into the eyes of people in a foreign country, you realize you all want the same thing: food on your table, love in your marriage, healthy children, laughter, freedom to be. ... [T]he dreams are all the same."