Where Everybody Knows Your Name

“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same. You wanna be where everybody knows your name.” ~ Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo (“Cheers” themesong)

My full-time job for the last ten years has been to figure out how to create a workable “life balance” for us as a family while traveling constantly on what sometimes feels like one very long business trip! Chris works long hours at the office, so the “balance” part of our life falls largely to me. And since we don’t stay in any one place for very long (about two weeks is the norm), we’re constantly finding new ways to make a “home” wherever we happen to land.

Impossible, you say – home is home and travel is travel! And on the surface, you would be right! I’ll never forget the look on my niece’s face after I had dragged my overloaded suitcase into her room (prepared to displace her during a family visit) and dumped the contents out on her bed in search of dirty clothes. As we chattered on about the particularly hectic two-week itinerary I was following and what was ahead, she watched with amazement as I sorted through “my life” piled up on her bed. “Boy,” she said. “You guys really DO live out of a suitcase!” Now that I think about it, revealing the contents of that bulging bag likely said more than any itinerary I could describe!

I’m the first to admit there’s nothing “homey” about stuffing your whole life into two pieces of luggage, all the while being conscious of airline weight limits and simply how much any one bag can withstand! Certainly, trying to piece together your closet, shoe rack, bathroom, jewelry box and first aid kit in the comfort of somebody else’s home or a hotel is a challenge for the even the best of travelers – besides the unavoidable wrinkles and mangled undergarments, the item you always reach for first is the thing you inevitably left behind!

So by “home” I mean “familiarity” and “comfort” - and that goes well beyond what can be zipped into the largest of rolling bags. There’s a reason for the term “all the comforts of home,” and since for us that can’t possibly mean schlepping our furniture and knick-knacks from place to place, instead we’re forced to find that familiarity in what’s available to us in whatever way we can, wherever that may be – “home” is found in the local places, people and services at our disposal.

For us, the key to this is finding some kind of familiar routine we can count on – boring as that may sound, it’s an absolutely essential component of our travel process, especially when we’re staying in a new hotel or are jettisoned into an unfamiliar city. Establishing the routine takes some initial time, exploration and energy, but in the end it’s worth the effort. We’ve found that it’s the familiar and comfortable locales that make even the most unfamiliar terrain feel a bit more manageable and a lot more like “home.” So, although it may on the surface seem predictable or unadventurous to return over and over to your favorite spots, “slipping into a routine” while traveling actually works!

All that being said, venturing out to initially explore and discover a new place is all part of the fun, and that’s how we found this little café tucked away on a side street in the heart of Taichung. It was immediately apparent that we would return over and over to the cozy outside garden with the blue twinkle lights and comfortable chairs - the food is fresh and fantastic, the draft beer is imported, cold and refreshing, the service is fast and friendly – who wouldn’t want to spend the evening here? Uzos has become a comfortable part of “home” this week in Taichung, and although there’s no Norm sitting at the bar and Sam's part is played by a tiny woman named Vida, when we step inside we're greeted with a happy "Chris! Peggy!" which just confirms this little café is quickly becoming our "Cheers," the place “where everybody knows your name!”

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

You wanna go where people know,
People are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name.