FIRST...YOU PACK!

I hate this part. You are going to be gone for 10 days... different climate, different events, just 10 days of different. Now, you have decisions to make. What will I need for the next 10 days? At home, everything is right there, accessible to your every whim. On the road, a different story. Thus, we PACK. My wife hates it when I pack because I like to travel light but pack heavy. Yep, an oxymoron, so let me explain.

I start packing for a trip with my golf gear because, well, I'm a GOLF NUT so that's the most important "stuff" I take. Unfortunately, I'm also a journalist so the golf "stuff" also includes cameras, cables and recording devices for audio and video. I grab everything that I think I can fit in my golf bag. That means the "extra" clubs for those special courses, an umbrella (which I always have trouble locating since I live in Las Vegas,) extra tape and bandages and a variety of shoes (not just golf shoes but athletic shoes and sandals as well.) Once I have accumulated everything I own, I turn one room into a packing disaster area. If my wife had yellow police tape the room would be taped off for my own protection.

Of course I hate to take dirty clubs on a golf trip so first everything needs to be scrubbed and really deep-cleaned. This process is extremely theraputic or OCD, I can't decide which. All I'm certain of is that it is exhausting and invariably ends with many items being left behind because, in my heart, I really want to pack light!

Beyond the golf equipment and electronics comes the clothes and toiletries. These are simply necessary evils and, no matter how much time I have, I will always leave these until the last minute. That means I resemble the Tasmanian Devil as I toss clothes in a suitcase like LeBron James practicing three-pointers.

In the end, I will forget the same things every time. My toothbrush, socks and a belt being the usual culprits. But, hey, in the end does it really matter? As Buckaroo Banzai said; "No matter where you go, there you are." So a few forgotten, wrinkled or even broken items (as long as the golf clubs are OK) don't really matter.

More latter, I'm off to be strip-searched at the airport.

Head Nut #0001