Gratitude Poem from Montreux

Thumbs up for the two guys taking a selfie with a table-size plate of lobster.

Thumbs up for Charlie Chaplin getting banned from the USA.

Thumbs up for the best espresso I've consumed outside of Italy.

Thumbs up for the Swiss rail pass in my bag.

Thumbs up for jazz and cobblestones.

Thumbs up for the jagged French Alps.

Thumbs up for the funicular.

Thumbs up for what’s left of Mountain Studios.

Thumbs up for piles of bowler hats, canes, cards and commies.

Thumbs up for the 201 to Chillon Castle.

Thumbs up for Lord Byron.

Thumbs up for hot salami, vespas and olive oil at La Rouvenaz.

Thumbs up for the geriatrics in fur coats posing at the Freddie statue.

Thumbs up for the Duck House.

Thumbs up for BBC on the TV in the Jetsons lobby.

Thumbs up for Chinese tourists pocketing the bad breakfast buffet.

Thumbs up for burned casinos and Deep Purple lyrics.

Thumbs up for international borders cutting through the lake.

Thumbs up for precision watches.

Thumbs up for Porsches and $35 salads.

Thumbs up for Les McCann and Eddie Harris 50 years later.

Thumbs up for Claude.

Thumbs up for five petabytes of concert storage on three servers.

Thumbs up for cafes with wall-size videos of Alicia Keys.

Thumbs up for Alicia Keys.

Thumbs up for thick scarves and hats in the afternoon.

Thumbs up for the waterfront promenade.

Thumbs up for Oona.

Thumbs up for Graham Greene buried right across the river.

Thumbs up for drivers that speak five languages.

Thumbs up for Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who sat at this table.

Thumbs up for the stock memo app on my phone.

Thumbs up for no international roaming charges.

Thumbs up for sobriety and serenity and mindful wandering.

Thumbs up for the blue glassy lake that I text back home to the woman I’m thinking about.

Thumbs up for home, wherever that may be.