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Strangers on a Tundra

1/24/2023

4 Comments

 
Picture

I still don’t know what Sherry thinks about the border wall and I never found out whether Neil favors our current tax treatment for carried interest. I probably should have asked, but the conversation never went in that direction and then the opportunity slipped away.

So I went up to Hudson’s Bay a couple of months ago to take pictures of migrating polar bears and I ended up living with two dozen strangers from four or five countries. None of us could leave our makeshift hotel because polar bears get hungry while they’re waiting for seal-eating season and, fun fact, they run much faster than humans.

I’ve never been more isolated. We had no television, no internet, and almost no cell reception. You had to stand near the window next to the space heater and hold your phone high above your head to get any signal at all and it took six days to download an emoji. It was like being trapped on the Orient Express, but with less snow and fewer murderers. I think.

Anyway, we had nothing to do for three days but ride around the tundra, looking for photogenic polar bears and an occasional arctic fox. At night, we ate dinner at communal tables and spent hours in the “family room,” ‘til boredom overtook us and we began to speak.

And speak we did. We talked about favorite places, travel memories, photo tips and nature. We talked about hobbies and life stories and how we chose to join the tour. We talked about food and restaurants and plays and movies and families.

And in all the conversations over three days together, we didn’t debate politics or celebrities or conspiracies or crises. We didn’t choose sides or tribes or lines that we dared each other to cross. Maybe we were all afraid of getting voted off the island and thrown overboard as polar bear chum, or maybe we were just open to the idea of engaging with new people and enjoying shared experiences.

Remarkably, we figured out how to meet with strangers, engage in conversation, find common ground, and enjoy each other’s company. After three days together, we were all on speaking terms and nobody got fed to the bears. Well, nobody we’ll admit to, anyway.

Best of all, it felt totally organic. I don’t remember our guides issuing a warning about political conversations or any topics that were off limits for our time together. More likely, the hyper-partisan bombardments of our daily lives were generally out of reach and nobody thought them important enough to import into our refuge.

It was all very refreshing and an important reminder of what’s possible when we get together with strangers. Now, if only we could do the same thing with people we already know.

Now that I’ve written a blog post about the trip, it’s deductible as research, right? Follow my future engagements with the IRS by clicking here to subscribe.
 
 
 
 


4 Comments
Larry Clark
1/24/2023 01:40:53 pm

One of the nice features of Amtrak's western long distance trains is communal dining. You show up at the door and the attendant seats you or your party according to the available seating -- party of one might be the fourth to the party of three.

The same conversation "rules" apply: Keep it civil.

Reply
Jane Himmel
1/25/2023 08:49:16 pm

Hi Larry,
I did not find my fellow train travelers from LA to Chicago to be at all interested in talking about anything! Even the people in the dining car. I was traveling solo and so looking forward to meeting new people! I traveled by train to Memphis, Tennessee on the City of New Orleans, many times as a child/teenager (family to visit) and I loved train travel! I’ll be flying in the future. At least then I will only have four hours to fill, as opposed to three days!

Reply
David Brimm
1/24/2023 03:22:10 pm

Polar bears tell great jokes. You should have spent some time with them.

Reply
Michael Romano link
2/14/2023 11:23:42 am

This article was so timely for me. Reason being that I was wondering when a future grandchild is born, what would be the best path educationally for him to get into an Ivy League college? I know this may be somewhat premature, but it would seem to be a logical step to plan ahead, if and when a grand child is born.

Reply



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