OUR 35TH WEEKLY UPDATE REGARDING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, SOME INTERESTING INSIGHTS, AND SOME WONDERFUL AND INSPIRATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOU TO ENJOY
FRIDAY, November 6
FROM CHRIS KRARAS
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
“WE TRAVEL NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE,
BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE US!”
Dear Friends:
Well, what an unusually exciting week we have all just experienced, with ELECTION DAY being the highlight of the week. Amazingly, at this point, we are still not 100% sure who will be the President over the next four years. But it was absolutely exciting and exhilarating to see the number of our United States Citizens turn out to vote. Statistics are coming in now indicating that this was the largest turnout ever, and it is truly indicative of what Democracy is all about and in particular, what the United States stands for. Regardless of who wins or loses, it is important that we are always united in the fact that we should all pray that whoever wins will be the best possible leaders for this country that we all love. I am not sure about those of you who are reading this, but I think I was quite ready to see all the political advertising and all the political bickering come to an end and to reduce the level of stress that seems to be throughout the United States. So, join with me in wishing only the best for all our leaders!
While I am speaking about our country, I also want to point out a very important date of Wednesday, November 11th, which I am sure you all know is VETERANS DAY. It is on this day that we should take a moment and pay honor to those millions and millions of people who served in the Armed Forces over these many years in defense of the country that we all love.
I also want to take this opportunity to honor one such person who happened to be my father, PFC Gus C. Kraras. My dad served during World War II for the United States Army, even though he was a new immigrant from Greece. During the end of the War, he served in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), fighting behind the enemy lines in support of our United States effort in Europe. My father, who died 2 ½ years ago, was always proud of his service to our country and on this day, my entire family and I want to take a moment to honor his memory. This is a picture of my father.
So, regarding Covid-19, as we all know, the number of people testing positive continues to go up and down over the last few weeks, which continues to create a concern for all of us. But, as I had mentioned so many times in the past, we should be totally encouraged by the fact that even those who are testing positive are getting much milder side effects, and 98% of them recover completely and rather quickly. The whole Coronavirus issue, of course, should continue to be concerning to all of us. But, we are encouraged by the way all our Group Leaders and Groups are approaching this pandemic and how they realize that by taking the proper precautions of face masks, proper distancing, and hand sanitizing, we can minimize its contagious consequences. Also, know that on all the White Star trips that have gone out since the middle of July, every single report has come back from all our Groups that the trips were wonderful and that all the people felt very safe. We have had no incidents at all – thank God. We continue to monitor that all the buses and all the hotels have the proper fog and misting devices to keep everything totally sterilized and that all the venues continue to practice the “Bubble Effect” protection for the Groups that I have described to you so many times in the past.
Speaking of trips that have gone out over the past week and are going out this coming week, we are delighted that we have Groups from places like New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan, going to places like the Smoky Mountains, Sight & Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA, and wonderful destinations in other places like West Virginia and New York State. And soon it will be time for our many Holiday Trips to start. We have buses from states all around the country that are heading into some of the wonderful Holiday celebration destinations. I will keep you updated on some of the experiences that we hear coming from our White Star Travelers.
Another bit of good news is that the Cruise Companies are slowly putting their Cruise Ships back out on the sea. It appears that all the Cruise Ships will be operating to many of the destinations that they have always enjoyed, starting the first of the year. We have several Groups who are looking forward to these trips, and we will make sure to post some great pictures for you to visually experience the fun that they are having.
So, as you can see, we keep a very positive attitude here at White Star Tours, and we keep moving forward and upward. As our White Star Staff calls each and every one of you, day after day, your responses have been so wonderful and so hopeful that it encourages our Staff to keep working hard for each and every one of you. We have found that almost none of our competitors in the Group Tour Business that exist throughout the country are opening their operations for the Groups to travel. But, we choose to take the path of taking care of each and every one of you and your Groups to ensure hope and excitement for your Groups in 2021. So, keep that same spirit going as much as you can.
Now for a little bit of enjoyment! The first little piece of entertainment that we have features a High School Chorus Group in Indiana singing some Holiday songs, and they all sound like Angels singing. But, I ask you to watch it to the end, because the real highlight is when one of the young ladies is surprised as her Mother comes unannounced after having been overseas as a Soldier. The uniting of the Mother and the Daughter is certainly something that will bring a tear to your eye. Click here to watch the video.
Finally, in commemoration of VETERANS DAY that we talked about above, please watch these three wonderful videos that will certainly inspire that patriotic feeling that we all have in our hearts. HAPPY VETERANS DAY!
Click here for a Veteran’s Day Medley
Click here for a History of Veteran’s Day
Click here for a Tribute to Veterans
SO, THAT IS ABOUT IT FOR THIS WEEK. I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH YOU ALL A WONDERFUL WEEKEND AND CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR YOU AND ALL YOUR FAMILIES. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
“TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE
DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T DO,
THAN BY THE ONES YOU DID DO!”