Page 6 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE

EDITOR/PUBLISHERS
Ron & Mary James

ASSISTANT EDITIOR
Mia Sellfe

ART DIRECTOR
Don Inhousen

CIRCULATION
Jake Washington

STAFF WRITERS
Alison DaRosa
Ron & Mary dining in Bergen with their friends Knut & Johanna Kristiansen.
Priscilla Lister

A NEW WORLD OF FRIENDSHIPS John Muncie

Jody Jaffe
t wasn’t that long ago that friends were folks friendships don’t always work out for the long COLUMNISTS
met in your neighborhood, church, clubs or work. term, though we all promise to stay in touch. Back
IMost were local; long-distance relationships home, we all move on with our busy lives, our brief Robert Whitley
were rarely forged, except for relatives scattered friendship a lingering, but pleasant, memory.
around the country. Today, social media, cheap Some relationships sustained with social media Susan McBeth
flights and an explosive increase in cruising have are renewed in person when travel brings us to-
radically changed the dynamics of friendships. gether again. We meet “old” friends on a new travel FEATURE WRITERS
Most of these new friendships are carried on adventure, join them for lunch or dinner when our
via social media or email . Though Facebook, we paths cross and even act as tour guides for them Sharon Whitley Larsen
feel joy when they feel joy and sad for them when when they visit our home turf.
things go south. In other words, we care about our Because we have traveled extensively over the Carl Larsen
travel friends just like we do our neighbors and last dozen years and met a lot of very nice people,
work associate friends. it is not uncommon for us to reconnect with friends Maribeth Mellin
Some may argue that friendships developed and made on previous trips. On our last trip, we had Amy Laughinghouse
maintained in this kind of virtual neighborhood are great visits with friends in England and Norway and
superficial and meaningless. But from our experi- made new friends from the East Coast who recently Judy Garrison
ence, our friends really do care when we fall ill, we dined with us when they visited our hometown of
celebrate life events and face danger. San Diego. Wibke Carter
There’s a good chance we will never again see Our new friends around the world are one of the
many of these newly made friends again -- at great benefits of our travels, and deserves more Kathi Diamant
least in person. But we all still remained linked recognition that it gets.
by the shared traveler’s values of curiosity about So here’s to our new friends and old. And to the Margie Goldsmith
the world and a desire to explore it. Shipboard ones we are sure to make on our next adventure.
Michael Burge

Ron & Mary James ADVERTISING SALES
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6 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018