Compression socks

I assume you know that I am an old guy. I would not be able to take a trip like this if I was younger because of the time and cost. Some things about life seem unfair. When you are finally at the point in your life when you can afford to have fun, your body may not be up to the challenge. We took this into account when booking this trip realizing that it was getting close to now or never. 

So, anyway, the trip to South Africa stretches over several days. You are not on a plane all of this time, but you are also not in a hotel. It is either wait in the airport or fly. The longest flight we will take is from Chicago to Dubai is 14 hours. The last plane leg is 9 hours. 

Yes, these are my feet. No, my feet did not appear in this photo by accident. I read somewhere that all photography contains a little bit of the self. I don’t see much of me in most of my photos so I wanted to personalize this one in the only way I could come up with on short notice. I think a lot of art is created in this manner. Artists create something and then come up with a story to explain their inspiration. The compression socks are supposed to prevent you from getting blood clots - deep thrombosis. We had a friend who at a younger and more fit age had a clot behind his knee. I think they look quite similar to those some of the pro bball players wear. The red socks on top are my unique fashion sense.

Dubai from the air. It was overcast so nothing was visible until we were fairly low. I think this is a small part of the artificial islands they built.