Let the preparations begin!

Typhoid. Japanese encephalitis. Diphtheria. Hepatitis A AND B. Malaria. All of these lovelies are things I need to be vaccinated against.

Robin, the nurse in charge of "overseas vaccinations" suggested that under the circumstances maybe I should also be vaccinated against rabies. I thought about it and reached the conclusion that it was unlikely that an elephant would have rabies and more importantly, that I'd be BITTEN by an elephant. Stomped on, maybe. Squashed against a tree? Possible! Flung away like a used kleenex? Could happen! But surely not bitten.

Later I wondered if Robin knew enough about my checkered past to wonder whether it was possible that I might bite an elephant. I decided that was the elephants' problem.

I thought that the months between now and when I leave for Cambodia would pass slowly and eventlessly, but now I've learned I will be busy getting shots, more shots, and then some boosters.

Here's Robin wielding the needle on my unsuspecting arm, Round One.


And here's our much-loved pharmacist Jan when I handed her my prescription for malaria medication, an event made even more poignant by the fact that we were in the middle of a blizzard. We got 10 inches of snow, and Jan had no malaria medication in stock.

As "in my hand" as an E-ticket can be

The more intense and far-reaching Scott's search for the lowest imaginable fare became, the more nervous I got. Scott has never--so far as I know--made an error in booking a flight. He does have a real talent for it. But THIS flight! International date line? Halfway (almost) around the world? I had visions of landing in, say, Hanoi, only to be informed that my flight left yesterday and I'd not be able to leave for another five days.

And on a less gracious note, I must admit that the litigator in me wanted somebody (besides Scott, whose checking account, after all, I share) to blame if that DID happen. A TRAVEL AGENT came to mind.

Here's my chosen victim, Gerrie, who got me a good price with good connections on an airline she says is a good airline (Korean Air). Scott tells me they've only been shot down once!

So . . . this is it! On Friday, July 8, at 12:35 p.m., a REALLY nervous me (oh, alright, grammarians, "I") will be boarding a flight at O'Hare aiming directly at Seoul, where I will enjoy the sights for 2 hours and 35 minutes before just as nervously boarding a flight for Phnom Penh.

That's RIGHT! It's all about ME in the NY TIMES!!

Today's headline: Elephants Benefit from Elder Matriarch

Click here.

Quick! Before I change my mind!

In many ways, it would have been a relief if they'd just come out and SAID, "You're too old. You can't come." I would have been outraged to the point of litigation, perhaps, but at least I would not have had to make a decision.

But now the ball was squarely in my court, and I felt more than a little queasy with that burden.

And I could feel myself getting queasier, so I wrote the check for the NON-REFUNDABLE deposit, and I MAILED IT!

That action, naturally, set off in Scott a frenzy of air fare searching, and the sound of his computer keyboard being beat into submission (why DOES he type so violently?) echoed throughout the house.

As for me, I began work on things they said I needed, like INSURANCE! Insurance for unpleasant sorts of eventualities--though, now that I think of it, what kind of insurance would NOT be for unpleasant eventualities? Like getting injured so badly I'd have to be AIRLIFTED to the nearest metropolitan area, which is . . . . . . Phnom Penh! Six hours away by car!

I called our doleful insurance agent Al. Maybe he's not really so very doleful, but I always associate him with the doleful role he played in Oliver! in high school 40 or so years ago--yes, that IS small town life!

Al did not carry the kind of insurance I needed, but I did come away with an invitation to speak to Rotary when I returned! That too is small town life.

The other thing Scott and I did was mentally collect the expressions of friends when we told them what I was going to do. Now I wish I'd photographed them. Maybe I can still find somebody who hasn't heard and get their photo for this blog. Hmmmmmm.

Mixed feelings about possible rejection

One of the many voices in my head said "You just might not get accepted, you know. You are, after all, 58 years old. They may not be impressed with my, ahem, manure removal skills." That was, incidentally, the only qualification I could think of to recommend myself for the position.

One of the more cynical voices said, "Oh, come ON! It's your money they want. Of COURSE they'll take it. I mean, of course, they'll take you since they have to get your money."

And yet another, even more cynical, voice said, "And yeah, if you REALLY cared about those elephants, you'd just SEND them the money it's going to take to fly you over there and house you for two weeks."

A chorus of other voices were complaining about the trip being long, elephants being dangerous, life on the Ho Chi Minh Trail being even more dangerous, all this being ridiculously expensive, and me being a silly hysterical wannabe adventurer.

There's yet another voice, this one squeaky and high-pitched, whiney, even. This one said,
"But I WANT to go."

Globalteer promised to let me know whether I was accepted within a week, but it was only two days after I punched "send" that the message came back: I was accepted!

NOW what?

It's been a long winter

So. It was a Sunday morning. February 27, to be precise. For us northerners, a dangerous time of the year. There is not a single residue of that heart-stopping joy we can get from the first snowfall. Snow just means more cold, more dark, more ice, and spring a long way off.

And there I am, staring bleakly at the computer screen while Scott's making the traditional Sunday morning popovers, when up on the advertising bar in my gmail account comes this ad, or something very like it (I can't find it anymore): Volunteer work with elephants in Cambodia.

Hmmmmm. Worth a click. So what do I find but this Globalteer site, a British charity, where one is able to go, among other places, to Cambodia, to help care for abused and neglected elephants. Now, you must realize that I have never had a yearning to go to Southeast Asia. I am of the age where the mere words "Southeast Asia" means WAR to me, a place where husband and brothers were unfortunate to find themselves in the 60's and 70's and fortunate enough to get out alive.

I like elephants. Of course, I like all animals, but elephants have always seemed quite appealing to me. Not the centerpiece of my life, mind you, but appealing.

The website is wonderful. Check it out!

Casually I say to Scott, "I'd love to do something like this." And he says, "Why don't you?"

Well, that's a show stopper. Yes, why DON'T I? He makes an ungenerous reference to my age by saying "If you don't do it now, when WILL you do it?" Obviously, generous or not, he's right.

It appeals to me that you have to APPLY to volunteer for this charity, that you have to PAY to work for them.

And so I applied, and with hands clammy and heart thumping, I punched "send."