Blog Trolling

from Lexi Eddings...

I'm a fan of blogs. Even though I am on Twitter & FB, I love the longer format available on a blog. It's hard to really communicate in 140 characters or in the photo/vid/meme rich environment on social networks. So I'm on the lookout for blogs about things that interest me.

Like travel.

I happened across a blog by a guy who was taking a 113 day round the World Cruise. Each day, he shared his observations and doings, both on the ship and on some breathtaking excursions. He and his wife were very fit--a day when they only walked 5 miles was a slow day for them--so they often took off on adventures that involved lots of activity. I was fascinated. It was almost like taking the trip myself. I binge-read his whole voyage!

I totally agreed with him about grumpy travelers who visit other places expecting everything to be just like home. I cringed with him over people who didn't respect the sacred spaces of other cultures or behaved like stereotypical "ugly Americans." And I share his disgust with tourists who haggle over a dollar on some handmade trinket when they've spent thousands of dollars to get to that exotic market in the first place.

But he left a bad taste in my mouth a time or two.  He made a few snide comments about fellow travelers who didn't walk fast enough on the promenade deck for his taste. Then there was snarky observation about walking behind an overweight woman whose bottom jiggled in white yoga pants "like a pair of 'possoms fighting in a bag." (Ok, I'll give him points for a clever visual, but it's still a comment worthy of a mean girl.)

The worst post was about the day he was frustrated because too many people with disabilities were allowed on an excursion and their mobility issues slowed him & his wife down.

Really?

Before NSIP reared its ugly head in my life, I used to walk the treadmill at a snappy 3.5 miles per hour without breaking a sweat. Now with my lung condition, 2.0 is my steady pace--2.5 on a good day but only for a few minutes at a time. But even if I could only do 1 mile an hour, I'd still try to do it.

As long as I possibly can.

So to the World Cruise Blogger, I say: Life belongs to everyone who's still breathing. I intend to continue to travel and have as many adventures as my health and wallet allows. I try not to inconvenience others, but for pity's sake, have a little compassion! If you have to wait a little longer because of me or someone like me, take that moment to thank God that you are healthy and fit right now.

And pray that you never become the one who slows someone else down.