• White Water Rafting - Class IV and V (Colorado, Rio Pacuare [Costa Rica], Zambezi [Zimbabwe-Zambia], Mazaruni [Guyana])

• Scuba Diving (Belize, Guam, Hawaii, Palau, the Philippines, British Virgin Islands)

• Alpine Skiing (Austria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and virtually all major ski resorts in the Rockies)

• Mountain Climbing (Mt. Toubkal, High Atlas; Morocco; Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania)

• Sailing (British Virgin Islands, Possum Kingdom, TX)

• Jazz (Toronto, Cape Town, Concord, Chicago, Monterey, Montreal, and San Francisco Jazz Fests; Holland-America Inaugural Playboy Jazz Cruise and a FABULOUS Jazz CD collection)

• Outdoor Landscaping (front and back yard Arlington residence)

• Romping and playing with my two Great Dane puppies Werhner (165 lb) and Marlena(140 lb)

• Hanging out with my granddaughter, Vivian (and spoiling her rotten)

• Attendance at Planned and Unexpected World Events Paris — The Bicentennial of the French Revolution; Berlin — the night the wall came down; Moscow — the break up of the USSR; Hong Kong — the ‘hand over’ to China; Panama City — the ‘turn over’ of the Canal to Panama; Cairo — the overthrow of the Mubarka's Egyptian government; Ottawa — the terrorist attack on Parliament Building (10/22/14)

• Travel (147 countries, 22 year American Airlines Executive Platinum {I'm "Up in the air".}) member, finalist in American Way magazine’s 2002 “Road Warrior” contest. {see almost winning entry below})

• New Year’s Eve Celebrations: Fort-de-France, Martinique; Hong Kong, China (1997-“The Hand Over”); Panama City, Panama (2000-“Turn Over”); Cuernavaca, Mexico (Jim Kersey’s Place); Tunis, Tunisia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Beirut, Lebanon; Accura, Ghana; Asmara, Eritrea; Cairo, Egypt; Nicosia, Cyprus; Agra, India, Gibraltar; Sydney, Australia; Cancun, Mexico; Paris, France; Mazatlan, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman Island, Chicago, IL

The American Way — Lincoln Road Warrior Search Contest

Wayne D. Duehn, Ph.D.

What is your best travel tip (for packing, enjoying a long flight, killing time during a layover, etc.)?

My best travel tip: “Always put on, carry with you, and pack the 'right' attitude.” This means that one has to (1) expect the unexpected, (2) learn to be flexible and patient (A control freak will never enjoy traveling!), and (3) respect those individuals whose task it is to get you to your destination and back home again. And remember, it’s always the unexpected, the unusual, the sudden changes in plans, the unscheduled (layovers, stops, whatever), and the challenge of addressing ever changing traveling situations that are remembered, told, and retold. No one is interested in hearing about the perfect, flawless business or vacation trip. It’s all too boring! But bring on the traveler’s “on the road war stories”, now that’s interesting.

What’s the best thing about being on the road?

Two things (and they are connected) I like about being on the road: (1) creating and protecting my own “down time” and (2) flying. After millions of flying miles, I still love it! Several years ago, I joined the traveling lap top business persons club. After take off and when the flight attendant signaled permission, I along with those fellow travelers seated around me, dutifully and obediently opened my lap top and began working. Several months later, my wife observed that I seemed to be dreading out of town trips, that I returned home cranky, and that my excitement about travel seemed to have diminished. At first, I disagreed with her observation. But she was right! I realized that I had turned my flight time into office time. While today I still have a state of the art lap top, it now remains in the overhead compartment or stowed beneath my seat. Flying is again a pleasure with my rediscovered and now protected “down time”.

What happened on your most memorable, strangest, funniest business trip?

“Giraffe Stampede on the Zambezi”

On a business trip to Zimbabwe several years ago, my friend, Rick, joined me for a few days at the Victoria Falls Hotel, a stately, sprawling, mint-green relic of British Colonialism. Just outside the hotel’s lush tropical gardens, as at all famous destinations, rises the ubiquitous and very gaudy gift shop beckoning wayward souvenir collecting travelers. Walking back from the Falls, Rick and I popped in just to cool off and recover from the blazing heat of the African sun. The gift shop’s interior was a large cavern not unlike a vast gymnasium jammed with endless rows of Zimbabwean crafts, art, jewelry, posters, T-shirts, pottery, and assorted animal hides. Off to one side of this expansive chamber, a herd of several thousand, hand carved, six foot wooden giraffes stood at erect silent attention. As we passed this immense herd of giraffes and turned toward the T-shirt section, my backpack inadvertently knocked over a giraffe at the edge of the herd. As it fell, it in turn knocked against several other giraffes sending them crashing to the floor. In a split second, a stampeding wave engulfed thousands of giraffes sending them to the floor like collapsing dominos.

“My God! It’s a stampede!” yelled Rick.

As I turned, I saw with horror, the thunderous giraffe stampede heading directly toward the Waterford Crystal display counter at the far end of the room. Running at top speed, I managed to dive in front of the counter just in time to stop the thundering herd from crashing into the shop’s expensive glassware. As I picked myself up, I saw Rick laughing hysterically. “I’ve read about and always wanted to see a real African stampede. Now I have!” A day later when we returned to the gift shop, we found the giraffe herd moved to an isolated area, shackled, and safely corralled behind a newly erected stockade. On the fence, a large recently posted warning sign (in five languages) read, “DO NOT APPROACH THE GIRAFFES.”