In a presidential election year, huge conventions for the Republican and Democratic parties give prime spots to former presidents and luminaries from past campaigns. But Gen Z’s, some of whom will be voting for the very first time in November, couldn’t possibly remember the policies and accomplishments, let alone the challenges and controversies that plagued former presidents, especially those who go waaaay back to before they were born. You know, like 30 years ago! Outside of history class, how are former presidents remembered, and how much control do they have over their legacy?

My whole family was gathering in Chicago for a bat mitzvah. I arrived at Union Station a few minutes early to meet my son’s train, due in from New York. But the reader board posted a delay, so I waited. And waited. And waited. Frustrated, I went to the information booth to ask, “What’s going on with the train from New York?” 

Long pants, long sleeves, and a head net covering my face did nothing to prevent a horde of mosquitos from devouring me. With nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, I tearfully admitted defeat. Together with my husband and then-young sons, we broke down our campsite and hiked out of the North Cascade Mountains. It was too late to drive back to Mercer Island. The big question was “where to sleep tonight?” As newcomers to the Pacific Northwest, we knew nothing about eastern Washington. We searched for the biggest nearby city on our AAA map.

A large snake slithered across the footpath just inches from our boots on our first day walking the Cotswolds, 800 square miles of charming villages and towns in southwest England. Though totally uninterested in us, the snake added drama to the first hour of a weeklong walk. Our guidebook identified it as a nonaggressive, though venomous, rare British Adder. Whew!

You’ve seen kids wearing shirts that boast, “My grandma went to Italy and all she bought me was this lousy T-shirt.”  I’m not that grandma.  I want the people I’m abandoning to look forward to my absences, and to welcome me home with open arms. Finding gifts for my family has become part of the adventure - things with a touch of the exotic to help them feel a little closer to what I saw and smelled and did on my travels.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes when searching for the “perfect” gift.  This is the story of how I left home alone, meandered to Tuscany for a travel-writing class, and searched for presents that should make each recipient look forward to my next escape as much as I do.