The Vegas Voice 2-21

How to Give Yourself a Lyft or Uber
By: Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker / Out & About
Last month, we looked at Uber and Lyft.
In just a few years, these two companies
with their cars and drivers, have become almost
indispensable, and have revolutionized how
people get around.
In fact, in this coronavirus age they have added
helpful services and now run personal errands
for people who are, or prefer to be, housebound.
Either company will make individual runs to
supermarkets to pick up grocery orders or drop
off laundry at your favorite cleaners. And if
you’re hungry they’ll even deliver hot meals to
your home from restaurants.
For many adults who live in major
metropolitan areas, Lyft and Uber drivers function almost like personal
chauffeurs. When I visited my daughter in Washington DC, I was
amazed how easily she adapted to this lifestyle.
A native Californian who previously wouldn’t have considered life
without her own car, she now grabs her cell phone, autodials Uber,
programs in her destination info and has a driver waiting in a matter
of minutes.
To me, this entire process is astounding. But younger adults and even
seniors in their fifties, seem to be unintimidated by the required use of
a “smart” phone, which is essential if you use either service.
Before you get started, you have to set up a personal
account online, follow a series of prompts, install a prescribed app,
and register a credit card for future charges. Some seniors, however, may
balk at all these requirements. I have always suspected “smart” phones
are named to suggest a kind of superiority, so
you might just want to call a taxi!
But there are real advantages to using
either Uber or Lyft at home or on a vacation.
My experiences with both of them have been
positive, and I’ve been impressed with their
prompt response, professionalism, cleanliness,
and drivers’ concern for protecting their clients
from COVID.
Plus, once you set up your account, things
get much easier. Costs for each ride are
automatically charged to your credit card, so you don’t have to handle
cash.
Next month we’ll look into phone systems designed especially for
seniors. Some can travel with you, offer special helps, and connect you
with a live personal assistant.
Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker is a travel agent and the owner of
Vegas Vacationers Inc. She can be reached at:
Merryman2@aol.com
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Devil’s Island Visit
By: Burt & Dianne Davis / Our Vacation
It looks like a tropical paradise with plush
vegetation and the melodic sounds of birds,
but to French prisoners sent to this infamous
penal colony, it was a death sentence.
During our Viking Ocean Cruise “From
the Caribbean to the Amazon” we visited Iles
du Salut, the three island complex which
includes Devil’s Island.
Napoleon III established a penal
colony on the three islands as a means
of finding a secure prison for more than
6,000 prisoners housed on ocean vessels.
Many notorious French criminals were sent
to these “Islands of Salvation” opened in
1852 and known for the harsh treatment of
inmates.
Our visit was self-navigated with maps provided. A forty minute
walk from the pier and there we were, staring into cells measuring five
feet by ten feet including a so called bed.
The guards’ quarters and prisoners’ cells stand decaying. But visitors
can almost sense the despair which must have permeated the grounds.
The prisons of French Guiana were closed in 1949. During the almost
February 2021
100 years they were open, 70,000 to 80,000 were sent to the islands.
One in ten survived to the end of his sentence. There were few guards
as attempting escape through the shark infested waters was a suicidal
decision.
We stopped at the Governor’s House/
Museum and read about the Penal
Colony’s most famous inmate, Alfred
Dreyfus, a French officer falsely accused of
treason. Most historians support the theory
that this was an anti-Semitic set-up to
remove the only Jewish officer in the French
army.
Dreyfus was exonerated after surviving
five arduous years on the island, often
shackled to his bed. There was a time when
Dreyfus was the sole inmate on Devil’s Isle,
60 meters away from Isle Royale.
In 1973, the movie Papillon presented the
Hollywood version of life on Devil’s Island based on the novel by Henri
Charrière who was convicted as a murderer by the French courts. The
excursion was a look back at a noteworthy time and place of history.
Thanks to Dianne and Burt Davis who continue to travel the world
and share their adventures with our readers.