Recalling those Seven League boots
I admit, my own travel experiences are limited. Bit of hometown boy, be I. But I grew up with the idea that the TV would broaden all horizons. Still does, when I take the time to wade through the hundreds of channels now available. This evening, I want to recall how it all began, for me. How old am I?
Well, I used to watch Seven League Boots. This ran on my local network, years before I had ever seen an issue of NatGeo. I don’t recall any particular episodes (the price of letting a young person tell a tale).
And now, as I watch YouTube episodes of crazy travel on freight trains, or try to anticipate what I might see in another country (even if I never board a plane), the exposure to early travelogues whetted my curiosity. With no end in sight.
I didn’t realize that Olympic pool events were so complicated: today I learned about the spraying of water onto the pool surface… helps to determine the actual surface. And those tiny towels? Highly efficient tissue, apparently. Something akin to the chamois from the local car wash. And the endless variety of events? Gives everyone a chance to be a winner (I made that one up).
And a final “I just learned” factoid. The name Synchronized Swimming is no longer used. It has given way to Artistic Swimming. My own belief that neither applies doesn’t matter. And if I end up watching any of the events? Put that down to incidental and accidental exposure. My own swimming is slow, and based on the breast stroke.
The big family tree is now up to 108K.
