Bonding Beyond Borders by Buying Beyond Borders

Besides the martinis, girls and guns, one of the fascinating features of the James Bond Lifestyle is the experiences of international travel. The opportunity to sample foreign culture, food, booze, and of course, women, is part of what makes "double O" such a lucky "seven."

Set some time away from your normal "missions" and explore the stuff that foreign experiences are made of.
photo © 2011 Bond Lifestyle

But not all of us get to travel on MI-6's shilling, and not all of us have funds sufficient to allow for extended five star hotel stays. Neither do we have the time to do so. So how do we get our taste of Bond's international travel fun without maxing the credit card on airfare and hotels, nor getting new stamps on the old passport?

We can eat, drink, smoke, wear, and otherwise immerse ourselves in the products and productions of a chosen foreign land. In From Russia With Love, Bond carries an Italian gun (Beretta), drinks French bubbly, and wears a Hong Kong "pyjama coat." Live and Let Die sees Bond drinking Scotch Whisky, eating American Fried Chicken, and drinking Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. In Goldfinger, he chugs the hooch from Germany, France and Switzerland. By now, you've got the photo.

So, set some time away from your normal "missions" and explore the stuff that foreign experiences are made of. Perhaps one day you do an Ireland day, wearing Donegal tweed, drinking Jameson's, smoking a Peterson Pipe, and reading Joyce or Dylan Thomas. Or head south to Italy, and wear their suits and shoes, drink Chianti, munch on prosciutto and provolone, smoke a Savinelli briar, and read Dante. Like to re-"orient" yourself? How about a kimono, sushi, Sake, and an old Mifune film or Musashi's Book of Five Rings? Want to go West young man? Cowboy boots, Bourbon, a Marlboro, and a Louis L'amour paperback.

The point is when you can't travel, you assume the "trappings and the suits" - not of woe - but of where your international man of mystery muse takes you.

Remember, a good agent can blend in with his surroundings, and while you are experiencing the types of food, booze, clothes and philosophy you are going to run into in a foreign land, you are going to be able to much better blend in when you actually land in that foreign land. Whatever terra incognita you find yourself in, you will at least "cognita" something about its products and outlook. Being an international consumer broadens your horizons, makes for a lot of fun, and can help bail out those countries that are within a hair of financial Armageddon. Everybody wins.

Thus, when you can't jump on the jumbo to some exotic destination, you can at least "buy into it" and be Bonding beyond borders before you know it.

© 2011 W. Adam Mandelbaum Esq. - justiceneversleeps.net

Author of The Born Again Bachelor's Bible - Great tips for divorced or divorcing men
Member Association For Intelligence Officers
Former operative at NSA
Present New York Attorney