My journey continues.  The visit to Portugal was a side trip, a detour,  between Thailand and Malaysia that turned into a deep dive into the subconscious. On the flight from NY, I read Pascal Mercier's wonderful novel about life, love, and the search for reality.  I was mesmerized by the philosophical insight expressed by the deceased co-protagonist,  Dr. Almeida Prado. "When I read a newspaper, listen to the radio or overhear what people are saying in the cafe, I often feel aversion, even disgust at the same words written and spoken over and over-at the same expressions, phrases, and metaphors repeated." Pascal Mercier This book, The Night Train to Lisbon, would not have entered my life had I not been traveling around the world. Mercier is a literary master, the thoughts expressed in the pages of Dr. Prado's book are sheer genius. As I absorbed the story, I imagined being Dr. Prado, living in Paris in the 1930s. I'm in my prime, drinking wine in smokey cafes, e

Why do we feel sorry for people who can't travel? Because, unable to expand externally, they are not able to expand internally either, they can't multiply and so they are deprived of the possibility of undertaking expansive excursions in themselves and discovering who and what else they could have become." Pascal Mercier I set off on this journey 23 years ago because I was searching for something, I had no earthly idea what it was, all I knew was that my life had become mundane, prescribed, and slavishly committed to peer pressure.  Pascal Mercier's iconic novel, Night Train to Lisbon, changed all that.  His protagonist, Raimund Gregorius, epitomized a life prescribed, one lived within the guardrails of suffocating academic peer pressure. A single event propelled Gregorius from his mundane and predictable existence into one that challenged his common sense. I suppose, on some level,  I'm a Gregorious clone, a man living according to the expectations of others at th

I was introduced to Julia Balfour in 2010, by our mutual friend Carol Adams. We were all doing start-ups, trying to build a business from zero. I was sharing desk space with my accountant in Old Lyme, Julia was doing the same in Old Saybrook, the birthplace of JULIA BALFOUR, LLC and Carol was grinding coffee beans when not tending the goats in Lyme.   I met Julia for the first time that summer, explaining that I needed a graphic arts package, company name, logo, tagline, website, communications program, stationery, and business cards. And, of course, I needed it yesterday at a price I could afford, if not pro-bono.   Julia didn’t flinch, she went to work. She would email me at midnight with a “new idea” and we’d text back and forth tweaking the “look and feel” of my new company, Alpaca United.   She designed a trade-show exhibit and followed through on the myriad details required to secure space in an international show, ITMA, Barcelona, Spain, 2011. Julia was not only a brilliant grap

                                      INSPIRED & INSPIRING The company was founded by Jim Thompson in 1951 while undertaking the task to revive the Thai silk industry. The “King of Silk” was a man of multiple dimensions: a visionary entrepreneur, a great marketer, an art collector, an aesthete, a man of action and conviction. Above all, he was driven by a great love for Thai people and their rich culture. The Thai Silk Company continues to be inspired by its founder’s values. The Jim Thompson brand presents fabrics, personal goods, and fine Thai cuisine to the world’s most demanding customers, particularly those in search of authenticity, originality, and refinement, who share our aesthetics sensibility, and who are fascinated by the mysteries of the brand and of the region. It was 7:15am, I was exhausted after a 16 hours flight and time change. As I approached customs at JFK International, I couldn't imagine what was about to happen. US Citizens and their baggage are usually w