The Road Boomer

03/10/2024

Lapland is one of the world's more exotic, unknown regions. Among the things it's known for are Northern lights, brutal winters, 24 hours of daylight in June, the home of Santa and, of course reindeer. You can learn all about the life of a reindeer-herding family in this story by The Road Boomer:

Reindeer-Herding Family Combines Old School Ways with Innovative Entrepreneurship

06/09/2024

Russian's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 also created tension in neighboring Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 and later closed its 833-mile border with Russia. The result has meant hardship for a number of Finnish border towns which depended on Russian tourism and investments. But the story is more complicated than that. You can read about it here:

Finns Near Shuttered Russian Border Face Uncertain Future

09/08/2024

All I heard about Finland before traveling there last week is it's the happiest country in the world. I decided to probe this claim from a different perspective - looking for unhappy Finns. If you're curious to know what I discovered, you can read about it here:

American Reporter Seeks Unhappy Finns

02/08/2024

You don't find a Spanish chef cooking first-rate Thai food in Helsinki, Finland every day. But that is exactly what happened when I stopped by Du Dii earlier today. You can read the interesting story about chef Pedro Mata here:

28/05/2024

What happens when a mechanically incompetent homeowner blindly hires a handyman who calls himself The Fixer. But the guy turns out to be the other kind of fixer who quickly needs to come up with 15k to pay off his angry bookie. Read about how it all turned out here:

The Fixer

12/04/2024

We've all been there: The dreaded 800 call that goes on and on and on without solving your problem and getting bounced from one customer service rep to another. This is what it was like for me the other day:

Calling 800 Numbers Can Cause Health-Related Issues

28/03/2024

On an isolated road in northeast Brazil, I stumbled on three young boys in a horse-driven cart. The road is new - a shortcut to stunning Atlantic beaches. But not much has changed over the years in the sparsely populated area on the way there. Read more about it in this photo story:

A trio of youths make their way along a new road in a horse-drawn wagon, a typical mode of transportation in this remote, sparsely settled region in northeastern Brazil. The road, known as PI-309, was completed in 2018 to reduce the driving time from Teresina, the capital of Piaui state, to the Atla...

29/02/2024

A day trip on northeastern Brazil's Parnaiba River Delta was an extraordinary experience, the details of which you can read about here:

Parnaiba River Delta Journey: Natural Diversity Beyond Compare

21/02/2024

Imagine two people being best friends for 93 years, including four decades as business partners, and still going. Read more about Aniese Seed and Bob Storer here:

Aniese Seed [L], 99, and Bob Storer, 100, spend an afternoon reminiscing about their years together as best friends and business partners. They first met 93 years ago at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in downtown Toledo. Over the years they double-dated, lived on the same street and, in 1976, formed a...

08/02/2024

Carlos Said is a legend in his own time. In the world of soccer, sports announcing and education here in northeast Brazil his fame is unparalleled. You can read about this most interesting man here:

At 92, Soccer’s Legendary ‘Thin Man of Steel’ Lives on

30/01/2024

The sweet innocence of youth on display at the Chicago Children's Museum. Read more about it here:

At 15 months, Isla is discovering the world beyond her home. This day, at the Chicago Children’s Museum, she is joined by hundreds of her peer group doing what kids do best: Play. Strangers to one another, they briefly interact before moving on to the next adventure. Their varied ethnicity is a sn...

19/01/2024

There are wineries and then there's Rovere, a unique and charming Uruguayan vineyard operated by siblings Tamara and Alejandro Rovere. You can read about them here:

Unique Family Winery Tackles Challenges in Uncertain Climate

04/01/2024

All of us are creatures of habit in one way or another. Some take it to the extreme, which is the topic of the latest satire from The Road Boomer:

Creatures of Habit Drive This Lover of Change Crazy

28/12/2023

The life of gauchos in Uruguay is changing year-by-year. Read here about one old-school gaucho who has adapted to the change:

Old-School Gaucho Develops New-Age Career

29/11/2023

We've all faced stressful situations in grocery stores, when everything that can go wrong does. You can read about my recent experience - 37 Minutes of Hell in a Grocery Store - here:

The Wait: 37 Minutes of Hell in a Grocery Store

18/11/2023

Growing up as a poor, minority woman in Uruguay makes it almost impossible to get ahead. Daniela Borba defied the odds and is operating a successful business in Montevideo's affluent Carrasco neighborhood. Read how she did it here:

Uruguayan Woman Overcomes Long Odds En Route to Success

08/11/2023

If you love tea you'll probably like the national drink of Uruguay, called mate [mah-tee]. But it's more than just a beverage there. It's an obsession with much of the population. You can read all about mate in Uruguay here:

Uruguay’s National Drink Is More Than a Pick-Me-Up; It’s an Obsession

18/10/2023

Uruguay is one of South America's best-kept secrets, a safe and progression nation that surprises most visitors. Learn more about this fascinating country here:

South America's Best-Kept Secret

07/09/2023

Lebanon's Monastery of the Nativity is part of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Its origins date to the founding of the first Christian church in Antioch. Read more about it here in this Road Boomer picture story: https://www.theroadboomer.com/gallery/lebanon-2-2023

06/04/2023

Nearly 40 years later, Bhopal, India remains the location of the world's worst industrial accident. Hundreds of thousands have died or remain sick, with debilitating illnesses being passed on from one generation to the next. Read more about it here in this photo essay:
https://www.theroadboomer.com/gallery/india-1991

On Dec. 3, 1984, a gas leak at the Union Carbide chemicals plant in the industrial city of Bhopal killed more than 3,000 people, most of them living in a nearby shanty town. It remains the world’s worst industrial accident. For the survivors, the ordeal was just beginning. Another reported 20,000 ...

31/12/2022

One of Ghana's top radio personalities is also a leader in country's feminist movement. Read about the amazing Nana Akosua Hanson here: https://www.theroadboomer.com/articles/current/ghana's-feminist-movement

Radio Personality Helps Lead Ghana’s Feminist Movement

30/12/2022

African Americans are moving to Ghana for a number of reasons. Here's the story of one family who moved from Texas in 2020 and have become a great resource for other expats: https://www.theroadboomer.com/articles/current/african-americans-in-ghana

African-American Family Embraces Move to West Africa

27/12/2022

Desmond Koney is changing the way people are farming in Ghana and has a vision of Africa helping to feed the world. You can read Desmond's amazing story here: https://www.theroadboomer.com/articles/current/new-age-farming

Young Visionary Leads New Age Farming Movement

14/11/2022

In the Accra, Ghana shantytown suburb of Jamestown, most children have little hope of escaping the cycle of generational poverty. See details in this Road Boomer photo story here: https://www.theroadboomer.com/gallery/ghana-2-2022

In Jamestown, a coastal shanty enclave in south Accra – Ghana’s capital – children are raised in stone caves and wooden shacks. Many of the families are squatters whom the government has tried to evict time and again, without success. The women roam better neighborhoods selling fish, bread, pr...