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August 5, 2003 leaving las cruises As a rule, one should not scorn the unknown.  One should remain open to new experiences; at worst, the unknown deserves neutrality.  But there are exceptions to the rule.  There exist some people, some places, and some things so patently odious as to warrant rejection without the slightest consideration.  Two examples are Caribbean cruises and Las Vegas.  I have experienced neither, yet shun them both. Why spurn cruises?  After all, millions of people annually seek relaxation and recreation aboard ships in the Caribbean.  What is it about a cruise that the discerning traveler should avoid like syphilis?  Try confinement, scheduled movement, forced social contacts, and professional entertainment to name a few. Cruise ships are huge, I admit.  But they aren't huge enough.  Any surface area smaller than the earth's combined land masses is too small.  I will never travel every square foot of this planet, but I know every place on earth is an option at any given time.  I don't have to first float around on the Carnival Queen eating lobster with a financial adviser from Dubuque or fifty year-old newlyweds from Scranton until reaching the next port-of-call on an itinerary I had no hand in making.  I have the freedom to haul ass in any direction, at any time, and I need not sit through a performance of Oklahoma by the "Off-Broadway Carnival Players" before doing so. And what can I say about Vegas that clanging machines, glaring lights, sweat-soured colognes, and desperate high-roller wannabes haven't said already?  Nothing.

©  2003 by the beastmaster