USA - Larger than Life

In my younger days, I often heard the expression "Larger than Life," which typically referred to a celebrity or movie. It was used to describe something special, and while it is mostly a positive term, it also has a dark side. Being LTL can also mean being dishonest, or in Aussie parlance, "up yourself."

During our recent family excursion to the USA, I found myself contemplating the term, and how well it seems to fit America and Americans.

I took the tour of Fenway Park (home of the larger-than-life Boston Red Sox baseball team). It includes the "Green Monster," a higher than normal boundary wall to account for the shorter than normal third base boundary.

Fenway also has a special red seat, marking the spot where on June 9 1946, hit a home run hit by Ted Williams landed 502 ft (153m) from home plate.

It was the longest ever Major League Baseball home run hit, at least at Fenway.

Ted Williams is LTL.

And it was the world famous Boston Red Sox who "sold" the best baseball player ever to their arch-rival New York Yankees. Babe (aka "the bambino") Ruth's transfer to New York is said to have led to "the curse of the bambino."

Baseball provides us with the analogy for almost anything American. It is certainly LTL.

We also visited a water slide park: "the largest water park in the world…"

The second biggest shopping mall in the world. Large is good:

• The cars are large.
• The roads are large.
• The toilet bowls are large.
• The shopping malls are large.
• The flags are large.
• The range of breakfast cereals and ice-cream flavours at the super-market is large.
• The meal sizes are generally large.
• The people are, well, large.

But being LTL is also about behaviour. It has been said that in the entertainment business, there are no small parts, only small actors. In the USA, the actors are mostly large. They have posture, even a swagger about them, no matter the role.

In restaurants and many retail stores, the service staff are generally performing a role: "hi, my name is Amber and I will be your server tonight;" or "Hi there, is there something I can show you?" And, one of my personal favourites, "You're all set now!"

At the local supermarket, you are likely to find grocery packers - "paper or plastic?" - and often a person who will take your groceries to the car. Each role is performed by an actor.

In the corporate world, everyone is a specialist. Public servants, maintain an air of self-importance. They often seem to perform their roles, no more no less.

And all of it seems LTL.

And the dark side I mentioned? I sometimes wonder if being LTL is sustainable.

Can we afford all those bit parts? Do the grocery packers get paid fairly? Does being larger than life equate to value creation? It does if you are in the larger-than-life business.

But being larger than life for some Americans also means being larger than accepting - or providing - government assistance. Take, for instance, universal health care. How is it that such a larger than life nation does not see fit to provide adequate health care for those who may not be quite large enough?

Generally, I like the concept of a larger than life USA, but somehow, this trip, it seems to have lost its swagger. A GFC and economic down-turn will do that to you. I look forward to a time when that larger than life America is back, but perhaps with just a touch of humility and compassion. 

I'll call it LTL 2.0. Perhaps it can happen in time for the football season.

Independence Day 2012

Reading MA July 4 2012: As we prepare for watching the parade and fireworks here in Boston, where independence all started for the Americans, you can't help but wonder at the incredible changes that have occurred as a result of the efforts of those who have sought freedom.
Good and bad, what a remarkable history these United States has had so far.
Visiting my brother-in-law and his family in Massachusetts has allowed us to gain a quick peak into the significance of this day to Americans.
And what fun for our own young children to learn a little more about the other culture and history from which they have sprung. Happy birthday America!
US highlights so far: making cookies with grandma; bbq with wonderful friends; trampolines; mowing the grass; Freedom Trail; happy birthday three-year-old.
The US adventure 2012 rolls on.

US2012 - Preparing to Go

We have discovered that, while it is a great idea to have people stay at your home while you're away, it adds additional stress to preparation. It just adds another element to the project: keeping the home fires burning.
And burglars please note: We are not leaving our house empty, and our dog is on alert!
The family who is staying in our home will come into a house that hasn't been so clean and tidy since, well, grandma was here to visit. Beds have been freshly made and instructions have been written about the dog's routine, the rubbish collection, the dishwasher, the TV, the internet, emergency contacts.
And we are not out the door yet. T - 1d.
Then there's the plan for collection at our destination, not so simple when there are kids and car seats and lots of luggage involved. Again thanks to Grandma and our friends.
Next stop: Twin Cities.

UPDATE Friday June 30 22.35 US Central: Arrived safely yesterday, and settled in to our Maple Plain base. Girls already made cookies this morning with Grandma.
Life is good. Day 1 in Minneapolis got up to a very comfortable 91 degrees.

Being Connected - Our Next US Adventure 2012

I write this from a chilly grey Sydney as we prepare and pack for our next US visit.

Being a family of dual citizens, we feel it's important to maintain the connectedness with our US family and friends by making the trek across the Pacific as regularly as possible.

While it is an expensive undertaking (two adults and two children traveling to and around the US at peak time), thanks to structural changes and competitive forces, international travel has become comparably far less expensive than it was, say a decade or two ago.

What awaits us in the US?
Grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends... warm weather, "american" food, hugs, stories... connectedness.
It's perhaps the greatest motivator of all. Belonging, being connected, loved and understanding where you've come from.
So as we gear up for 18 hours of flying time with a five-and-half-year-old and an almost three-year-old, we will focus our attention on the promised outcome. See above.

The steps we all take to be connected

Oh, and if you see a family that includes young kids on your next long-haul flight, please cut them a break, maybe even smile or offer them a hand. It might be us! And we're all just wanting to be connected, after-all.

I will try to post a blog or two while we are on our travels. In keeping with the theme of this blog, it's about living in a cross generational age.