"Gotcha Day" by Jane Satchell McAllister
– adopting a new perspective
Traveling halfway around the world to help fulfill a friend’s new beginning.
Jane Satchell McAllister's writings draw inspiration from the wide variety of people and places she encounters, from her home base in Davie County, North Carolina to rich adventures across our country and abroad. She has co-authored two Images of America books through Arcadia Publishing prior to serving as the director of the county's public library for nine years. Her current main writing project involves compiling her family’s stories so that their descendants can better understand and enjoy their heritage.
Author’s Talk
Jane Satchell McAllister
My full version of this story offers both documentary and color commentary, written so that friends and family might share in the experience. I am thrilled that “Gotcha Day” was chosen for this Luck & Opportunity anthology since I often reflect on how fortunate I was that circumstances allowed me to be a part of this life-changing trip.
Travel has long been a mainstay of my life. My husband, an historian by training, has proven himself an amazing travel researcher, trip planner, and tour guide. We share a love for travel, history, and art history. We have walked untold miles in some of the world’s great museums, marveled at such grand architecture as La Sagrada Familia, Hagia Sophia, and St. Mark’s Basilica, wept with joy in the presence of exquisite mosaic craftsmanship in Ravenna and Monreale, savored local cuisines, happened upon magical cultural events including Salisbury Cathedral’s decennial Flower Festival and Toledo’s annual Corpus Christi Festival procession, and soaked up extraordinary natural beauty, all while mangling any number of foreign languages given our decided lack of propensity in languages. Ask me about deciphering the subway map in the vanilla station in Moscow or accidentally speaking Spanish in Paris.
In retirement, our travel focus has shifted to North American camping, hiking, and kayaking adventures. Who knew that one day I would paddle through waters with alligators!
While photographs and videos capture precious moments from our trips, crafting the stories around those moments brings context, depth, and emotion, and enables me to make the same trip all over again, with renewed pleasure. Retirement affords the time to record our travel vignettes and offer them to interested readers.
I hope you enjoy my “Gotcha Day” trip. - Jane Satchell McAllister
