Episode 16

Michele clearly has big time karma in Australia, the Land of Oz. She describes the Aussies as a charming combination of British good manners and correctness mixed with American Wild West individualism and penchant for fun. She’s traveled there many times for both business and pleasure. The first trip was in the late 60’s while working at SRI International when they sponsored a conference in Sydney. Then she met Trish Mappin who became one of her forever best friends—many years later they even traveled the world together. Her next junket was to play in a tennis exchange in Canberra arranged by the then American Ambassador to Australia. On her way home from that trip she and a galpal flew to Hong Kong which led to an off-the-charts wild week full of rugby-playing hunks! In addition Michele managed to spend not one but two month-long Christmas jaunts with her Aussie friends in a magical place called Binalong…a mere dot on the outback map. These sojourns proved to be enchantment personified. Suffice to say, over the years Michele encountered many divine Australian men, but you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out the delicious details. To tie up this all up in a typically tantalizing bow, Michele concludes by telling a story of how she lured a German race driver into her web while dining at a trattoria in Milan, Italy. Never a dull moment!