Matthew Klem - Mugged by Seagulls

Mugged by Seagulls

Stories Told & Lessons Learned Around the World

MATTHEW KLEM

Published by Matthew Klem / Magestik Publishing

Copyright 2021 Matthew Klem / Magestik Publishing

All rights reserved

www.muggedbyseagulls.com

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher and author.

Some names and other identifying features of individuals portrayed in this book have been changed. Other individuals real names are used with explicit permission from them.

Photo credits: Matthew Klem, Ken Arsenault, Tamara Klem

Front and Rear Cover Artwork courtesy of Norm Delaney

Map images provided by Google Maps 2021 Google, INEGI

Geocaching.com 2021 Groundspeak Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-9865081-8-9

To my daughter Megan who said I should dedicate this book to the Thunder Turkey.

ALL HAIL THE THUNDER TURKEY!

Preface

I t was a Friday afternoon , and Scott and I were at the airport. I had been shadowing him all week and was anxious to get back home. After going a whole year without a cancellation, today was going to be that fateful day. The woman at the counter told me the earliest she could get me home was on Sunday. That wasnt going to cut it. I had a wake to attend that afternoon and had to be home before then. Scott suggested we drive to Toronto from Providence, Rhode Island. Despite the snowstorm, the roads seemed passable by car. The gate agent booked me a return from Toronto to Moncton for Saturday afternoon. We got in the car and made the trek to Pearson airport.

Fast-forward 12 hours, and I finally stepped into terminal 1 at Pearson airport ready to come home. That was until the Air Canada agent told me my flight was tomorrow, not today (Saturday). I nearly popped a gasket as I told her it wasnt supposed to be for Sunday. The best she could do was put me on standby for later that day. I took her offer and made my way to a hotel. I had been up all night and needed at least a few hours of shut eye.

Upon returning to the airport later that day, they gave me a standby boarding pass. When I got to the gate, they told me it wasnt likely I could get a seat but to wait and see. As frustrated as I was, I went for a walk through the airport to calm my nerves. I made my way up the escalators and wandered down towards gate 40, which was on the other side of the terminal. About halfway there, I stopped and looked up. And at that moment, something magical happened.

I had my headphones on, and as Chantal Kreviazuks Time played, I looked around the airport. From the windows on the ceiling to the passengers walking by, an incredible feeling of contentment overcame me. At that moment, I realized that I had been given a gift: The gift of travel. My job was taking me on adventures to new places that I otherwise would never have experienced. I had been so obsessed and angry about my flight cancellation that everything else had blanked out. At that moment, I realized that I was fortunate to have the chance to travel.

With a deep breath in, I felt a sense of calm fall over me. One way or the other, things would work out as they should. I finished my walk and returned downstairs to an anxious gate agent. They had been paging me over the intercom for several minutes to let me know a seat had become available. The universe had decided I would get to say goodbye to my recently deceased friend after all. Boarding pass in hand, I got on the plane and made it back in time.

Since then, I have had a lot more appreciation for the opportunities that have been given to me when it comes to travel. With inspiration from my friends and family, I decided to sit down and write out the most memorable stories from my excursions around the world. Traveling has not only exposed me to numerous new cultures, but its given me insight into my own life. Being pulled out of your own world and dropped into another is a sure-fire way of putting things into perspective.

Whether you get to travel or not, I hope the stories you read here inspire you to look at the world differently. It certainly has changed mine.

Theres Always a Story to Tell

I had just spent the better part of a day exploring the downtown area. Having never been to this part of the world, I wanted to take in as much as possible, given that I would only be here for a week. Being right there by the water, with the bridge and opera house just behind me, this was as far from home as I could get, yet somehow it seemed familiar. Having spent most of my life in the Atlantic region of Canada, being near a wharf with the smell of the ocean around was as familiar to me as the odor of hotdog carts is to a New Yorker. I sat down at a bench and looked across the quay and thought about getting something to eat but wasnt in the mood for anything too heavy. I never was a fan of sitting alone at a table in a restaurant. I always felt that the staff was somehow looking at me, feeling bad that I was dining alone. Not that I care what others think, but sometimes you just dont feel like subjecting yourself to situations where you know people are judging. When I would dine solo, I would always end up with my face buried in my phone, trying to keep myself occupied until the food came. Occasionally Id strike up a conversation with the waitress. That usually ended with me feeling more uncomfortable as somehow in my head, Id think I was doing something wrong. So, for this particular night, I opted for something simple, familiar, and less awkward.

I walked into the local version of a McDonalds and ordered my good ole standby meal. Sure enough, fast food here was no faster than it was back home. After waiting for what felt like forever, I collected my food and went outside. There were tables and chairs near the pier, so I sat down to enjoy my supper among the waves. The sound of the water and the birds was far more appealing than the chatter inside the restaurant. I always revel in people watching when I am in new places. I find it interesting to see that no matter where you travel to, most people, in one way or the other, are more alike than you would think. I often wonder what people are thinking and where they are going and what brought them to the same place I had come to.