Reckoning with our fear of travel

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 21, 2001

A teacher at my son's high school open house was reaching to shake my hand last week when, upon seeing the St. Petersburg Times logo on my polo shirt, she blurted, "You work at the Times? I feel so sorry for you now."

Because of the crush of parents behind me filing into her classroom, I did not have the chance to ask her to what she was referring. Afterward, my wife and I figured it probably was one of two things:

The envelope containing threatening but ultimately harmless white powder that was sent to Times columnist Howard Troxler a few days earlier. Or the emotional weight on the staff from the continuing need to report in depth about the events following the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.

Whatever the reason for her sympathy, I should have made time to speak with her. I would have said that, as somber as our jobs have been lately, dealing with death, with war -- if not with the horrors of that September morning -- comes with the profession. Even the occasional threat from some sick soul is not uncommon.

Further, I should have tried to explain that common sense should shield all of us from fear caused by the attacks, the concern over the extent of our military retaliation, the surge of copy-cat mailings of various powders.

Yet, the very next morning after the teacher's off-the-cuff comment, my wife and I changed our plans, canceling our reservations to fly to New Orleans this weekend to celebrate my birthday.

And so we became a personal example of how the world has changed in the past 40 days.

The New Orleans weekend was to have been special because the joke around my house is that since becoming travel editor more than 14 years ago, I am seldom home for my birthday.

Several years I was attending the national convention of the Society of American Travel Writers, which is often held outside North America. Thus, I have observed my birthday in Jordan's romantic cave city of Petra, in steamy Bangkok, in seaside Llandudno, Wales.

But this year the convention was held a month early, so a few weeks ago I made the plane and hotel reservations.

Since then, world events began to weigh on us. My wife was nervous about flying anywhere. Flying did not bother me; two weeks to the day after the terrorist attacks, I made four flights to observe airports and their security. Yet now I suddenly found myself contemplating our boys, 14 and 18 years old, as orphans.

I canceled the reservations. We will use them some other time, but like much of America, life is no longer quite so carefree: Who knows when this "other time" may come?

My work, of course, immerses me in the one facet of the terrorism that confronts most of us: Is it safe to travel? How far? What if the only practical way to get someplace -- Hawaii, Las Vegas, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia -- is by plane?

Some of the calls and e-mails from readers since the skyjackings have been heartening, reiterating an American spirit we probably had been taking for granted. Of the more than 975 who responded by e-mail or to our online poll about the terrorist attacks and their own travel plans, 50 percent said they would not let those skyjackings intimidate them.

But other callers have left messages showing their confusion and worry:

How big a handbag may I take on the plane? My husband is a diabetic and must carry his medicine and syringes -- how can we get these past the security checkpoints? Is it safe for me to fly to Bali -- it's near (heavily Muslim) Indonesia. I need scissors to open packages; can I put scissors in my checked luggage?

Then there are the changes in the public relations pitches, reflecting the sensitivity, or lack of it, by various travel-related companies:

"With recent events, we all need something uplifting to look forward to. In early December, Tripp Explorer Ltd. is operating a nostalgic train tour to England . . ."

"In these trying times, most of us long to escape to a quiet, serene place where we can be coddled, cared for, and freed from the concerns of life as it is today. On Sept. 26, the Hacienda at Hotel Santa Fe opened its doors to provide exactly that . . ."

"As America gets ready to venture out again, nature's vibrant autumn colors are waiting to brighten our spirits and bring a little joy back into our lives . . ."

A few things I know about editing the Travel section: An article about almost any travel experience is a candidate for publication. The essence of travel is to learn about some part of the world and its peoples away from where we live. Sometimes that destination can be elsewhere in Florida, but just as likely it can be two continents and an ocean away.

To this editing philosophy, I am adding a few things I think I know: The majority of readers is now less likely than six weeks ago to be contemplating long-haul flights for vacations. The exotic destination is less attractive to most of you than the familiar. The cost of travel is likely to be more of a concern than a year ago.

Proceeding on this revised plan, I have changed the usual mix of articles scheduled for publication. In the past few weeks, and for some months to come, the stories will focus much more often on places to which we can drive, ride the bus, take a train or at least reach by shorter flights.

Clearly, some regions are going to be set aside for some months as potential destinations. Just as this spring I postponed for two months a package of articles on Wales when the United Kingdom was suffering from a foot-and-mouth disease epidemic, I will not print stories for awhile on the Indian subcontinent nor on the Mideast.

Not that Americans used to travel that often to these places. Maybe we should have. Now we should not.

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