Senior dating advice: On life and love after 50
We
can’t let the terrorists win
Tom P Blake
Each year, my partner Greta and I take a vacation together. We have
done so since meeting in June, 1998. We feel getting away is good for our
relationship; it rekindles the flame and gives us time to focus only on each
other while away from the day-to-day demands of life in south Orange County.
Now that we are retired, we want to travel as much as we can,
while we can. We feel blessed to be able to do so.
This year, we leave for Europe on April
12. To go abroad takes advance planning. We have booked our accommodations,
airplane flights, purchased Rail Europe passes and made train reservations,
bought trip insurance and acquired euros. We are all set to go.
However, we can’t help but think back
to the same time of year in 2004, when we were leaving for Spain.
Our itinerary back then was to fly to
Madrid and hop a train from Madrid’s Atocha Train Station to go to the Costa
del Sol for a week. While there, we planned to take the premier train to
Barcelona and back. And then, we’d return by train to Atocha. By February, we
had finalized all of the reservations and had paid for our Rail Europe train
tickets and hotel accommodations. We were excited and couldn’t wait to leave.
But, on March 4, 2004, our excitement
turned to trepidation. Ten terrorists’ bombs ripped through three Spanish train
stations, including Atocha, killing 191 and injuring more than 1,800 people. The
tracks we would have been on, were the ones where the bombs hit.
Our first reaction: This could have
happened to us; it’s too dangerous to go to Spain. We asked Rail Europe to
refund our money and canceled our Madrid hotel accommodations.
But we didn’t cancel our airplane
reservations. We agonized over our decision. We asked friends, family and
acquaintances for their opinions: Should we go to Spain as originally planned
or simply stay home?
In a 2004 newspaper column, I asked my readers, “If you were in
our shoes, would you be on a plane to Madrid a week from Friday?” More than 250 readers
responded. “Go for it" was the
overwhelming sentiment. We went, but traveled in Spain by rental car, which was
probably more dangerous than traveling by rail.
On the night we arrived in Madrid, we watched in horror on Spanish
TV as the terrorists blew themselves up in their apartment.
So, here we are in 2016. We fly to Germany and then take the train
across Belgium to Paris, where we will spend 18 days. We have several day trips
by train planned. In May, we travel by train to Italy. With the recent
terrorists’ attacks in Paris and Brussels, we found we are in a similar
situation as we were in 2004. Should we go?
We have looked at each other and said, “What do you think?” We
have asked friends and family and they encourage us to go.
We have concluded that if we don’t go, we let the terrorists win.
Yes, we understand there are risks involved. But, there are risks involved
every time we get on the I-5 Freeway. We will be as careful and as diligent as
we can be.
We will let you know how it’s going from over there.
Link to Tom's Dana Point Times newspaper article:
http://issuu.com/danapointtimes/docs/dpt_20160408/29?e=1729806/34743248
Tom's San Juan Capistrano Times article:
http://issuu.com/thecapistranodispatch/docs/cd_20160408/29?e=5873304/34741402
Tom's San Juan Capistrano Times article:
http://issuu.com/thecapistranodispatch/docs/cd_20160408/29?e=5873304/34741402
Tom's websites:
