THE VOLCANO MAY STRAND ME IN PARIS AND COLOGNE:
I don't know about you, but when I'm traveling abroad, as I am now writing
from Cologne, Germany, I get in a time warp and become blissfully unaware of what's
happening.
This is more often the case when I am staying with family in Paris or
at the moment with my best friend, German TV star and director Andreas Stenschke .
When I bunk down privately I'm more averse to the news, as opposed to
when I'm at a hotel, alone and sometimes lonely, which forces me to
watch more TV such as CNN, at which time I'm on top of current events.
So, it was a bit puzzling and also intriguing when I received an
e-mail from my friend Dorothy Fontana, one of the original writers of
the TV series Star Trek, who was concerned that I might not be
able to fly because of the volcano. Not able to fly, I thought to
myself? What volcano? The skies look very clear.
And then I started to pay more attention and saw the calamity that
was affecting travelers all over the world, whether due to the fact that
they were stuck in a foreign country or they couldn't get into one. I
saw the continuing coverage, whether on the Internet or on local TV,
most of the reports confusing as no one really knew when air travel
would resume. Or the other reports referring to test flights and the
fact that many airlines had taken advantage of certain windows that
afforded them the opportunity to take off, fly and safely land somewhere
without any ensuing havoc.
My emails from concerned friends continued, with some wondering what I
was going to do? There were suggestions of different routes home, one
of which was to go east around the world, through Dubai, then Tokyo and
finally to my home base of Los Angeles. It was akin to following the
route Marco Polo had traveled, though I wouldn't have time to pick up
any silk to sell on the journey.
Michael
Russnow at the Rhine in Cologne
Others asked if I needed food or
money, the latter of which I always need and I was sorely tempted to
take advantage. Initially, I wrote back with the headline, "HELP:
Ashes are falling everywhere and we are forced to wear gas masks out
in the streets." Then, my conscience got the better of me and I copped
to the gag.
I also admitted that since my arrival in Paris on April 8 I was using
ground transportation, such as the very fast and extremely economical
Thalys train from Paris to Cologne, where I am staying for eleven days.
During this time, I've had a bunch of meetings with German producers
and watched Andreas direct a popular TV series (he's a triple threat in
the business, as he acts, writes and directs), which included the
surprise casting of me as an extra on Alles was zahlt. I was
so good that the crew, which had previously respected me as a Hollywood
professional, started spitting on me and I was denied access to the
catering table, befitting my new lower than Untouchables status. I now
empathize with my downtrodden colleagues in the American TV/Film
industry.
I don't return to Paris for another three days, and then after three
more I will finally fly again, to Casablanca next Sunday. I can't
imagine it will not clear up for my Easy Jet to take off and I doubt if
the dust will have meandered so far south to the skies above Morocco.
Still, I am amazed that due to a quirk of fate I was not denied this
trip, which would have been the case if I'd left a week or so later . On
the other hand, even if the clouds of ash remain for the next week,
there are worse things than being stranded in Paris, don't you think?
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