Pan Am & Me

Some people bring comfort food when they travel to remind them of home, but I bring comfort entertainment. TV or movies that I can turn on and tune out and unwind after long bus rides or stressful days. Currently, I’ve been watching my way through the one-season wonder, Pan Am, the 2011 ABC drama that only took flight for 14 episodes. The 1960’s is a decade I’m continually entertained by [American Dreams, Mad Men, Hitchcock, Kennedy, MLK] and have thoroughly been enjoying Pan Am. Not sure why it wasn’t a success…it’s got the 60’s, airplanes, exotic travel, soap opera romance, Cold War espionage, post-Casper Christina Ricci, Twilight’s Ashley Greene, but alas, it failed to make a splash. I just love the whirlwind travel to romantic places [London & Paris] & unknown cities [Rangoon] that the stewardesses, pilots & flight crew get to experience. They take off in one place, and touch down somewhere new and different.  Set at the beginning of the Jet Age, this kind of travel was brand new. Over 50 years later, international travel is no longer unattainable, but an everyday reality. I’m living out my own whirlwind travel adventure too. In January & February of this year, we were in 6 different cities in China, and now we are in Thailand, kicking off another 4.5 months on the road in Asia. I get to live my own adventures. And I love it. I also love the 1960’s nostalgia. It was a decade of so much change, so much progress, and so much history. I read a book earlier this year, called The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty that struck with me with the same sense of nostalgia. The fictional main character lives from 1890 – 1980, and saw so much progress and innovation in her 90 years. I could be jealous, but then I remember how much I’ve lived through in just 30 years. Born in 1982, the world was in a different place, historically & technologically. Our wars are no longer Cold, but now hotly focused on Terror. I remember growing up with records & cassette tapes, and now all of my music fits on a device the size of my wallet. From computers to the Internet, from September 11 to electing a black President of the United States, I’ve lived through 3 incredible decades. And who knows what the future holds and what change is yet to come. The 1960’s looked grand, but I wonder how many people then realized they were living in such a pivotal decade. Will my generation see the next pivotal decade? And will I notice it? In the words of a hero of my generation, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”