The Age of E-ING

My father was in public relations. It was interesting to me as a kid growing up. If you have ever seen the HBO mini-series, "Madmen", then you have an idea of the kind of life I may have had. Not so much drama, but Dad was a "Jet-Setter" and there were weeks when he touched three cities in four days. His office in NY was centered by four cooking stations. They created food art for food ads. Visiting once a month was filling to say the least. Food Photography isn't what one may think. The food is never fully cooked and the props they employed to make things look over the top edible wouldn't cause anyone to salivate. But it was his world, and multi-cultural experiences entered my world because of this.

Today I am an E-er. Not a jet-setter, jetting off to another world, an e-er. Largly due to the economy, I find myself connecting in as many worlds as my dad did or more by FAC-ING; TWEET-ING; BLOGG-ING; SNOOT-ING; E-MAIL-ING; I am an e-er and this is my universe.

I would agree that the virtual could never be replaced by the actual. Where wine is considered, tasting, touching, smelling, experiencing the "actual", is everything. Yet in today's economy, it is hard to visit McLaren, Casablanca, Tasmania, Red Mountain, Amalfi, Galicia, & Mt. Hermon in a day unless you E-hop. So I do with all the gusto I can. Seeking reviews and recommendations from obscure, out of the way places in corners of the globe that I may never have the time, money or means to actually visit. All the while musing that it all started with the jet-setting sixties and now I travel, virtually, everywhere learning as I go, meeting amazing people and touching a piece of them through their wines, that I then seek on winesearcher or snooth and the order for delivery for my next wine class.

It may be that this type of travel is a shell of the full existance that my jet-setting parents engaged in; Yet in all my e-travels, I never get tired of the life and the tales seem just as real and I am always home for supper with my family.

Its a great day johnny, a great day.