dad, thenbattingpractice. Andby theway,
theanswertoyourquestion isanunequivo-
cal“Yes.”Baseball isandalwayswillbeour
nationalpastime.
HectorQuintana,Miami
A.P.RESPONDS:
Beautiful sentiment,Hector.You
mademe remember playing catchwithmy dad
andhow thatwas thegreatest thing in theworld.
And thanks foranswering thatquestion. It’sgreat
to know thereare like-mindedpeopleout there.
TIMINGISEVERYTHING
I travelmanymileseachyear formy job, so
whenIvacationI try togo to theunknown.
Thisyear,webookedourfirsttriptoRoatán,
Honduras, and there itwason theApril 15
cover. Although I’d done research on the
island,youhavecoveredallthemajorpoints,
andnow I’m doubly excited to go. Please
keep bringing us articles of placeswe, as
business travelers,maynotget tosee.
JanL.Cooper,Roselle, Ill.
J.H. RESPONDS:
We found Roatán to not only
have a fascinating history, Jan, but also to be a
uniquevacationspotwithgreatopportunities for
fun and relaxation. Enjoy your vacation!
CHASINGADREAM
What a great and inspiring article about
KurtWarner (“SecondChances,”April 15).
I graduated from law school 30 years ago,
andItookthebarexam inmynativePuerto
Ricoand inFlorida, failingboth. I started
working andbecame complacent. I have a
greatwifeand twowonderful kids, andwe
have instilled in them tonever to giveup.
Myoldestsontoldusrecentlythathewould
continue into lawschoolafterhegraduates
fromTennessee-Chattanooganext semes-
ter.He then said tome: “Dad, youhave al-
wayssaidtoneverquit,butwhataboutyou?”
AsWarnersaid,“Life isfilledwithadversity,
andeither youdefeat it or it defeatsyou.” I
willdefeat thebarexam inorder to fulfill a
lifelong dream of becoming a licensed at-
torney.Iwillshowmysonanddaughterthat
ifyoupersevere, youwill succeed.
PedroM.Roman,Goodlettsville,Tenn.
A.P.RESPONDS:
KurtWarner inspiredmewhen
hewas playing football, andyou’re inspiringme
now, Pedro. Bestwishes to youon thebar.
the onlyway forme topropose tomy girl-
friendwas inanairplane. She is averypri-
vate individual, so theproposal couldnot
takeplaceover thepublic-address system.
I alsoneededenough room toget downon
oneknee, soupgrading toFirstClasswasa
must.Weflew fromDFW toMiami to con-
nect for our flight toLima, Peru, and the
nice crewwasmore thanwilling to help.
Whenwe tookoandarrivedat theproper
altitude, the seat-belt sign was turned
off. I stood, took a knee and askedher to
bemywife. Thepurser promptly took the
best picture of us—herwith a surprised
lookandmewith a smileandononeknee.
Itwas truly the best flight ever. Andnow,
AmericanAirlinesfliesdirectfromDFWto
Lima,andmywifeandIarelookingforward
totakingouranniversarytriponthatflight.
WillyVargas,FortWorth,Texas
J.J. RESPONDS:
I’ve seen a lot of things at
35,000 feet, Willy, but a proposal isn’t one of
them. What a unique and romantic proposal —
I’msohappyAAcouldbeapartof it.Bestwishes
for a lifetimeof happiness.
ALL-AMERICANS
AsU.S. citizenswhohave lived inBolivia
and Ecuador, we are in our ownway an
all-American family, flyingbetweenNorth
andSouthAmericaonAmericanAirlines.
AmericanWay
helpsuswitharticlesandads
about cities, tourist destinations andeven
specific restaurants, whichhelpmake us
feelmoreathomeinbothournativeandour
adoptedAmerica.Thanks for that.
JamesMcEnteer,Quito,Ecuador
J.H.RESPONDS:
Ourmission is tohighlightplaces
big and small for people to visit and experience,
James. It’salwaysnice toget feedback that infor-
mationweprovide is consideredvaluable.
GREATMEMORIES
IreadtheApril1 issuecovertocoveronare-
centtriptoCuraçao fromMiami.Fromthe
Editor’sNote (“APerfectGame”) to thear-
ticleonMiguelCabrera(“SettingtheRecord
Straight”), youdid aphenomenal job. I’ve
beenanavidbaseballfansincemymomand
dadenrolledme inT-ballwhenIwasakid.I
playedballeverydayofmylifethroughhigh
school, and I still try to find time toplay
in charity softball games. Your issuewas
genuine,nostalgicandimpactful.Icanclose
myeyesandseemymomsittingbehindthe
backstop, cheeringwith the othermoms;
I remember taking groundballs frommy
Climbing
Advice
WHILE READING
American Way
on a
flight to South America for a Patagonian
trek, I was intrigued by Barrington Irving’s
around-the-world solo flight and his goal of
climbingMount Kilimanjaro (“Taking Flight,”
Feb. 1). In 2007, for my 65th birthday, I
climbed Kili for the third time. As usual, it
was an extraordinary cultural experience.
The Tanzanian guides quickly bonded with
my Afro-Ecuadorian son-in-law. They had
never before had a black client. My son-in-
lawwasawedbyacountry ruledbyAfricans
who spoke their native tongue, not the lan-
guage of conquistadors. As for the climb,
there are a few steep sections, but no cliffs
onanyof thestandard routes. Tosomeoneas
competitiveas I imagineBarrington Irving to
be, I offer onebit of advice: Bynot trying to
be the first incampeachday, youwill almost
guarantee being first to the top on summit
day. Have agreat climb, Barrington!
JohnE. Kurnick,M.D.,
PalosVerdesPeninsula, Calif.
BARRINGTON IRVINGRESPONDS:
Thank
you for sharing your experience in climbing
Mount Kilimanjaro, Dr. Kurnick. I absolutely
appreciate your advice andwould love your
inputas theexpedition teamcoordinates the
logistics in our attempt tomake the climb.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to
my story in
AmericanWay
.
Missed it in themagazine?All
AmericanWay
articlesareavailableon
aa.com/americanway
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
JUNE 01, 2013
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