Thank you for this beautiful and important essay. Your message applies everywhere - be where you are with respect and attention, don’t be a butthead.
I live in a very touristy part of the world and some of the things we see are mind-bendingly stupid. Before I knew better I did some of them myself, which is why I loved the line about separating from myself if I’m the stupid one.
I grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, home of Cypress Gardens. Was on Main Street at Disney World on opening day selling Mickey Ears. I know tourism. I know guides. And I also know the top end of it, which is Disney. We all get to learn but not all of us commit to changing. Thanks Donna.
We adored our safari guide in Kenya, a Maasai guy with 20+ years of experience who could spot a lion lying in lion-colored grass from 100 feet away — and who had a great sense of humor as well as an obvious love of the environment and wildlife. My traveling companions were terrific and respectful — but I'm sure that guide has had his share of oblivious dolts.
In my first trip, I was on occasion not as wise as I needed to be. However I was corrected by the guide in such a way as to both preserve my dignity and ensure that I would never make such a mistake again. It was masterful. I love their joy.
"Our boys were itchy, though, and were bored watching the lions laze, lying on their backs with their distended bellies baking in the sun. Cubs were swatting their mothers’ tails."
WTF is wrong with people? The lions, perfectly content, the cubs being like any toddler - how can anyone be bored watching this? On another trip, we came across 3 lionesses, probably sisters; 2 were mothers, and their cubs were all about 3 months old. The lioness without her own cubs was nanny, aunty, baby-sitter. The cubs played, growled in tiny cub voices, and at one point were so rambunctious jumping on the lionesses that aunty swatted them. We watched this for 3 hours. Whatever was next on the agenda was completely scrapped just because we were lucky enough to see this family play time.
Thank you for this beautiful and important essay. Your message applies everywhere - be where you are with respect and attention, don’t be a butthead.
I live in a very touristy part of the world and some of the things we see are mind-bendingly stupid. Before I knew better I did some of them myself, which is why I loved the line about separating from myself if I’m the stupid one.
Thanks for sharing Judith’s work.
I grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, home of Cypress Gardens. Was on Main Street at Disney World on opening day selling Mickey Ears. I know tourism. I know guides. And I also know the top end of it, which is Disney. We all get to learn but not all of us commit to changing. Thanks Donna.
We adored our safari guide in Kenya, a Maasai guy with 20+ years of experience who could spot a lion lying in lion-colored grass from 100 feet away — and who had a great sense of humor as well as an obvious love of the environment and wildlife. My traveling companions were terrific and respectful — but I'm sure that guide has had his share of oblivious dolts.
In my first trip, I was on occasion not as wise as I needed to be. However I was corrected by the guide in such a way as to both preserve my dignity and ensure that I would never make such a mistake again. It was masterful. I love their joy.
"Our boys were itchy, though, and were bored watching the lions laze, lying on their backs with their distended bellies baking in the sun. Cubs were swatting their mothers’ tails."
WTF is wrong with people? The lions, perfectly content, the cubs being like any toddler - how can anyone be bored watching this? On another trip, we came across 3 lionesses, probably sisters; 2 were mothers, and their cubs were all about 3 months old. The lioness without her own cubs was nanny, aunty, baby-sitter. The cubs played, growled in tiny cub voices, and at one point were so rambunctious jumping on the lionesses that aunty swatted them. We watched this for 3 hours. Whatever was next on the agenda was completely scrapped just because we were lucky enough to see this family play time.
Us too. The car was unbearably hot but we didn't want to move until we had to pee so badly it was an imperative. I was just gobsmacked, Judith.