Little Squirrels Can Climb Tall Trees by Michael Murphy (namjoon book recommendations txt) 📕

see that you were awesome. And I’m clearly not done yet. And I’m gonna show you the world, babe! This is just the beginning. We’re going to Europe. We’ll have tea in London and shop at Harrods before going to the theater. We’ll go to the Louvre in Paris. We’ll go see the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. We’ll watch the bullfights in Madrid.

“And Italy! Oh, Italy! There’s so much I want to show you in Italy. Rome, Naples, Milano, Pisa, Venice—oh, Venezia! We’ll rent a farmhouse in Tuscany and do daytrips to Sienna and a bunch of old hill towns that dot the countryside. We’ll go to tiny little family wineries throughout the hills of Tuscany, and you’ll taste some kickass wines.

“We’ll visit Athens. We’ll spend time in Istanbul, Turkey, where we’ll have breakfast in Europe and lunch in Asia. Where the New World meets the Old World. We’ll sail the Greek isles—Santorini, Samos, Mykonos….

“We’ll visit the pyramids of Egypt. We’ll ride camels and go see the Sphinx. We’ll visit Alexandria, Luxor, take a boat down the Nile. We’ll go to Petra in Jordan. We’ll go to the artificial islands in Dubai. We’ll go see the Taj Mahal in India. And we’ve got to go to Asia. You’re gonna love Asia! We’ll start in Thailand. I love Thailand. We’ll go to Bangkok. The city is freaking crazy, but you’ve got to see it. We’ll fly up to Chiang Mai in the north, where we’ll ride elephants in the mountains. We’ll fly south to the peninsula and lie on one of the many gorgeous beaches that cover the area.

“We’ve got to go to Hong Kong and Macau. We’ve got to visit mainland China. We’ll walk the Great Wall and see the Terra-cotta Warriors. We’ll visit Taipei in Taiwan. And Australia and New Zealand. There is so much to see in Australia—the place is so unbelievably huge. I want to take you to the big rock in the center of the country—you won’t believe it. And New Zealand is equally big in other ways. Both so different and so amazing to visit.

“And then we still have all of South America and Central America. We’ll cruise through the Caribbean, we’ll sail through the Panama Canal, we’ll hike in little out-of-the-way Central American villages where the jungle seems to go on forever.

“You’re gonna love ’em all, babe, and I’m gonna get to show them all to you. I’m gonna give you the world, babe. You’re my awesome guy!”

Kyle was speechless. He threw his arms around me and simply hugged me tight, which was good, because I’d been talking so fast I needed to breathe. Kyle kissed the top of my head and said, “I love you, Squirrel.”

“I love you too, big guy!”

“Every day I thank God that you came into my life. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, that could ever have happened to me. You are a gift from the heavens above.”

“Wow! You keep that up and I’m gonna cry! And I don’t look very butch and macho when I’m bawling my eyes out,” I warned him.

“Well, we can’t have that,” Kyle said. “I guess I’ll have to tickle you.”

“Don’t you even think about it!” I threatened, pulling away.

“I’ll try to hold off, then,” he said with a devious little smile.

That evening I did some research online and called a couple of friends who had been to Key West more recently than I had to get some recommendations. In a relatively short time, I returned to Kyle with a fairly detailed itinerary, including flights, two possible hotels, and a list of activities for our time there.

The next evening I added to that by presenting an even more elaborate set of options for Hawaii, including multiple flight options, numerous hotel options, even numerous islands! Kyle actually hadn’t realized that Hawaii was more than one place, more than one island. When I explained to him that Hawaii was actually many islands in a chain, the place just became that much more magical and enticing for him.

Since he didn’t really have the knowledge base to make decisions on the Hawaii trip, he asked me what I would pick. I mapped out a complete itinerary that would take us to four islands over ten days with hotel options on each.

“Who could say no to that?”

“So it’s good?”

“It’s good. I’m really going to Hawaii!”

“Yes, dude, you’re really going to Hawaii—and I’m gonna take you there.”

With Kyle’s approval of the outline, I jumped back on my laptop and started to make reservations and buy tickets. Kyle watched me as I feverishly typed and clicked and entered my credit card information time and time again. I caught him looking at me a couple of times, but I was making great progress, so I didn’t want to stop until I had everything nailed down. Kyle probably thought it was going well since I was smiling periodically, but he didn’t dare interrupt to ask.

“Okay!” I shouted with great gusto. “We’re going to Hawaii!” I reviewed with Kyle the dates, flights, and times as well as the hotels I had booked on each island. I had downloaded maps for each island and showed him those maps, pointing out where we would be staying as well as some of the sites I wanted to show him on each island. By the end of the review, Kyle was nearly as excited as I was.

“I can’t wait!” Kyle said, and I could tell that he meant what he said.

Chapter 14

IT WAS a little later that evening when Kyle’s cell phone rang. I was reading on the couch, and Kyle grabbed the call on the first ring, so I didn’t pay much attention to the call. The phone rang occasionally, but almost always it was something for work. I tuned in to the call when I noticed Kyle’s voice take on a certain edge. I heard him say, “I can’t talk now. I’ll see you tomorrow like we