Ruff Flight, Ma'am?

I'm a dog lover. Cats are cute enough, parakeets are a fine way to get rid of unwanted newspapers, hamsters are cuddly, turtles are interesting, snakes are weird, and whatever other pet you want to name is pretty much your thing. For me, it's dogs. Then again, I live my life within reason. Even being a dog lover, I'll be the first to admit there are also dog lunatics. Not "fans" as in short for fanatics, but actual loony-tunes. This week, a woman identified only as Rivka wanted to fly from Paris to Tel Aviv. She told the airline that the last time she took her dog on a flight, in the cargo hold where doggies travel, he wasn't the same for weeks. Stressed. Full of anxiety. So she wanted to know if her beloved poochie could ride with her in First Class. The response was something like "Lady, you'd have to buy ALL of First Class for us to do that."
And so she did. $32,000 to fly one-way from Paris to Tel Aviv. She later said, "I couldn't imagine us being separated for the 4 hours, so it was completely worth it to me." Yowza. Not sure if the 8-year old boxer was able to take advantage of the hot towels, complimentary champagne, or in-flight duck-a-la-orange. However, a flight attendant was overheard to say "Please, no smoking in the lavatories, keep your seatbelts fastened at all times, be sure the overhead bins are completely shut and latched, and I need a pooper-scooper in Aisle Two...."

There is a small, luxury ship called the Aqua, which sails the Amazon River in South America, but 10 days ago, they had a serious breach of security when armed bandits suddenly appeared out of the jungle, and robbed the passengers of jewelry and money. Today, it happened again. Many people, including some Americans on board both sailings, booked this type of small-ship luxury to avoid the crowds of larger cruise ships. They want adventure. Looks like they got it, and in spades. Adventure can be exciting, but it creates its own set of security headaches if you're in the wrong part of the world at the wrong time. I try to put my clients in more mainstream products, for the most part. There are extreme exceptions, but there is good reason why large, well-known cruise lines became large and well-known in the first place. It's called popularity! 98% of the cruising public is perfectly satisfied with some level of "standard" cruise ships. The other 2% have a better idea, at least in their mind. Maybe it's not very Mavericky of me, but I'll stick with my 98% thank-you-very-much. I've been making a healthy living for 20+ years on those 98% and if going to the dance with the most popular girl is a crime, lock me up!

Speaking of strange goings-on in S. America, an environmental group from Brazil has launched a campaign to save the rain forests. A noble gesture indeed. However, their methods are a bit more controversial than the premise. The group is encouraging people to bypass the toilet, and urinate in the shower to save water needlessly flushed-away. Television ads are airing showing cartoon characters relieving themselves in the shower, explaining that households can save more than 1,000 gallons of water a year by reducing each home by just one flush a day.

How about that? I wonder if my frat brothers in college knew they were saving the rainforest?!