Testimonial from Matthew Hope

I was in a bind. I wanted to visit my friend in Norway, but couldn't see any way that I could afford it. That's when Well-Travelled Guru came to my rescue.

Although every airline gave me a minimum price of $1600 from Minneapolis to Oslo and back, Lorna Rockey promised me that she would find me a round trip ticket for under $1400. And so she did. Thanks to Well-Travelled Guru I will be able to visit my friend at peak travel season for only $1300 and some change! That's far less than any other travel agency could offer me.

I also live with a physical disability. Lorna Rockey took that into consideration when making my travel accommodations, and went the extra mile by setting up necessary assistance and special seating on all my flights. It's reassuring not to have to be concerned about getting my needs met as I travel from Minneapolis to Oslo with a white cane.

Whether you're a seasoned traveler, or just looking for a bargain priced new experience, Well-Travelled Guru is well worth checking out.

Matthew Hope is a talented musician who resides in the Twin Cities, MN, United States.

this JUST in...

sherpa don is all abuzz framing our inaugural 10 pataca note, from our very FIRST well-travelled guru happy customer living in Macau. ;-)

OBAMA born in USA, period.

another public service announcement brought to you by the guru...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/25/birthers.obama.hawaii/index.html?hpt=C2

so please give it a rest folks.

Easter meditation...

Jesus, probably THE most enlightened Being ever to walk planet Earth,
chose to die. whoa.
in this world of "it's all about ME", He was born understanding that it's really all about "WE".
personally i am SO grateful for Christ's supreme example of selflessness; as it's such a rare commodity to behold in all it's Glory.
the beauty of Easter is the sacrifice made in death, so that ultimately we all can LIVE.
thanks JC, i owe you(at least) one.

R.I.P. tim hetherington and chris hondros...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/tim-hetherington-chris-hondros-killed-libya_n_851558.html

i was really grieved when i read these young and amazing war photographers/journalists were killed yesterday in the same incident, in misrata, libya.
2 men who fearlessly gave their all, to provide us a safe yet front-row seat into the wars that rage.
i applaud all who have the courage to make a difference, putting their very lives on the line
so that we can become more "awake"; for there are far too many armchair spectators among us.
today i dedicate jack london's credo to tim and chris:

"I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to LIVE, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time."

and what a beautiful example of LIVING you both were.
your impact made was immeasureable, and will forever live on.

the scam behind the rise of oil and food prices...

"Phil Davis runs a website and widely read newsletter to monitor stocks and options trades. He's a professional's professional, whose grandfather taught him to buy stocks when he was just ten years old.
His website is Phil's Stock World, and stocks are his world.
He's subtitled the site: "High Finance for Real People.""

this is what phil is vexed about these days...

"It's a scam folks. it's nothing but a huge scam and it's destroying the US economy as well as the entire global economy but no one complains because they are 'only' stealing about $1.50 per gallon from each individual person in the industrialised world.
It's the top 0.01 per cent robbing the next 39.99 per cent – the bottom 60 per cent can't afford cars anyway (they just starve quietly to death, as food prices climb on fuel costs). If someone breaks into your car and steals a $500 stereo, you go to the police, but if someone charges you an extra $30 every time you fill up your tank 50 times a year ($1,500) you shut up and pay your bill. Great system, right?"

whoa. i think phil's on to something folks! read the entire article here:

http://aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/04/2011415143212280315.html

change your words, change your world...

a simple yet relevant concept.

if we are frustrated that we don't seem to be getting our message across, maybe it's not the message or even the messenger that's at fault, but the way we are expressing it that needs to change.

remember: we see the world as WE are, not as it is.

possibly a different approach is needed?

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KLW6WGNX

update on what's going on in the Arab world...

'great article that sums up what's happening right now. the guru's just trying to keep ya'll informed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/opinion/13friedman.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

man kills 1, injures 3...

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=14398749&hpt=T1
what would cause a "normal" person to finally one day just "lose it" and go on a shooting spree? just what is it that tips us over that edge, the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
i mean, let's get real here...
we've ALL gotten upset with someone who we feel has done us wrong and/or betrayed us, right?
but what was different the fateful morning this guy got up? just when did he decide to throw ALL reason, logic, AND his future to the dogs?
oddly, he turned himself in after he committed the crimes. can he even comprehend what he's facing now?
as a prison outreach volunteer, i meet these guys face to face often. one guy i know is in FOR LIFE, 'went in when he was 26, and is now 46. he's not the same guy that went in there 2 decades ago, but the law doesn't care much about that.
honestly though, there are so many that should be in prison, but are lucky that they've never been caught. there are the cheaters, philanderers, prevaricators, imposters, embezzlers, users, abusers, addicts, and tax evaders among us(maybe even YOU), who somehow seem to fall between the cracks, never found out and/or prosecuted.
ahhh, but...
"in the Universe there are neither punishments nor rewards, only consequences"

the next time you feel the need to sit in judgment over your neighbor(or that crazy guy who lost his mind and went ballistic), just remember:

 as you're pointing your finger at them...there are 3 pointing back at you.

we are ALL Eman al-Obeidy...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/06/libya.rape.case/index.html?hpt=T2
if you've been following the news of libya, you know her name.
she is the post-graduate law student who was kidnapped @ a libyan checkpoint, held for days, and brutally raped repeatedly by moammer gadhafi's brigades.
can you imagine what that was like, to be sodomized with rifles and have a legion of strange men take their turn beating and raping you for days on end?

nope, me neither. :-(

how does one possibly recover from such heinous inhumanity?

and yet, Eman had the raw courage to go to the hotel where foreign reporters were staying and tell her story; risking her very life to do so.

wow, now THAT'S a hero!
an ordinary human accomplishing an extraordinary feat.

i think about the young relative of khaled said in egypt, that started the ENTIRE revolution(and eventual overthrow of a long-time dictator) just by ONE powerful statement on facebook:

"WE ARE ALL KHALED SAID"

indeed.

aren't we also all Eman al-Obeidy?
doesn't the diminishment of any other diminish us all?

when all is said and done, there is no "us and them", only us.

let's try and live to make that the only reality.

back home and recovering...

sherpa don is ALMOST sober and has decided to let the cat out of the bag...

sherpa don says, "WE WERE IN VIVA LAS VEGAS PEOPLE!!!"

yes we were, and a good time was had by all. ;-)

now we are to the task of planning a bon jour for a client heading to paris soon.
ahhh, paris in the springtime - douce!

more later...