Noshing With Tom Tarantino – February 29, 2024

Ira Sternberg: Welcome to Ira’s Everything Bagel, where I talk with intriguing people about everything—their passions, pursuits, and points of view. Are you a well-seasoned traveler? Do you think you've visited all the great spots in the world? More importantly, have you met interesting people in their own environment? Well, you may or may not have, but you’ll learn about places and people you may not know from my guest, Tom Tarantino. He's an entrepreneur, private investor, and author, along with Barbara Scott, of Looking for Legends, whose subtitle reads in part, Let Us Take You Somewhere You've Never Been Before. Looking for Legends will be available in April on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all the usual places. For everything about Looking for Legends, look for their new website, lookingforlegends.com, coming up shortly. Tom Tarantino, welcome to the show.

Tom Tarantino: Thank you for having me. I love your donuts—or your bagels.

Ira Sternberg: Yes, bagels exactly. A great background.

Tom Tarantino: Thank you.

Ira Sternberg: They both have holes, but bagels are definitely different than donuts—and probably healthier too. Let’s start with your background. I want to talk about the Ghost Ranch in a moment, but give us some insight into your background and why you decided to write this book along with Barbara Scott.

Tom Tarantino: We kind of fell into it. We were sponsoring professional squash tournaments in Philadelphia as America transitioned from the hardball game to the softball game. We found that the most grateful people were the women players. So, we talked to the head of the organization and said, "Let’s sponsor something internationally." We would get the top women players in the world to fly into young squash countries like Kenya and play the top men—and they’d kill them. It was a lot of fun. We went to a lot of places. We were probably shy at first, but then we got braver and learned how to travel. After that, we started visiting places beyond squash countries. One thing led to another, and here we are.

We like to say that most of our best friends are dead.

Ira Sternberg: Because of the reference in your book?

Tom Tarantino: Yes, and because they are dead. For example, we went to Bangkok. There was a man there who was a spy but also an architect, a silk salesman, a U.S. statue collector—and then one day in 1967, he went out for a walk and was never seen or heard from again.

Ira Sternberg: So, he’s not necessarily dead. He’s disappeared.

Tom Tarantino: True, but that was over 50 years ago.

Ira Sternberg: He could still be alive—you never know. So maybe some of your best friends are "missing or dead."

Tom Tarantino: That’s a good line, yes.

Ira Sternberg: Let’s go back for a moment. You said something interesting—you learned how to travel after going to these squash tournaments. What do you mean by learning how to travel?

Tom Tarantino: It’s all about logistics—when you get on the plane, when you get off the plane, and how you do it. Sometimes, going from A to B to C takes less time than going directly from A to C. For example, we once flew from Philadelphia to Miami, overnight to Buenos Aires, switched to the domestic airport, took a flight to El Calafate, rented a car, and arrived in El Chaltén at the bottom of South America—all in 24 hours, just in time for dinner.

That experience expanded our idea of what’s possible. For instance, many people in Philadelphia will spend $10,000 to $20,000 on a week at the Jersey Shore. For that same amount, you can go on a once-in-a-lifetime safari to Kenya, South Africa, or practically anywhere. The 24-hour rule means you can get from where you are to anywhere in the world in 24 hours. Once we realized that, our horizons expanded, and it changed how we thought about travel. We kept doing it for 25 years.

Ira Sternberg: That’s incredible. Along the way, you met many people—some alive, some not. Can you share an example?

Tom Tarantino: Sure. Have you ever heard of the "14 Eight-Thousanders"?

Ira Sternberg: No, I haven’t.

Tom Tarantino: They’re the 14 tallest mountains in the world. The first person to climb all of them was Reinhold Messner. Then there are the "Seven Summits," the tallest mountains on each continent. Messner climbed those too.

He lives in northern Italy, in South Tyrol, where he’s created six mountaineering museums. We went there, met him, and heard his story. For example, when he wanted to buy his summer residence for one of the museums, he used a straw buyer because he thought the price would skyrocket if the seller knew it was him. But the seller only wanted to sell to a South Tyrolean, and Messner happened to be one. It was a happy ending, and we got to explore his fascinating museums before heading off to our next adventure.

Ira Sternberg: Your stories combine a sense of place with the personalities of fascinating people.

Tom Tarantino: Exactly. Wherever we went—especially to faraway or obscure places—we found someone who captured the spirit of the location. These people should be worldwide household names, but outside their regions, they’re often unknown or forgotten.

For example, in St. Petersburg, Russia, we learned about Anna Akhmatova, a brilliant poet who lived through the Great Terror. She wasn’t even allowed to write poetry under Stalin, so she had her friends memorize her poems before burning them. She outlived Stalin and became world-famous. One of her poems about that era still resonates deeply. May I share a short section?

Ira Sternberg: Please do.

Tom Tarantino: "In the years of the Great Terror, I spent 17 months in the prison lines. Once, someone recognized me. A woman whispered in my ear, 'Can you describe this?' And I answered, 'Yes, I can.' Then something that looked like a smile passed over what had once been her face."

Isn’t that powerful?

Ira Sternberg: It is. She must have been an incredible woman.

Tom Tarantino: Absolutely. We also visited Pablo Neruda’s homes in Chile—he had such a rich life and extraordinary houses.

Another lesson we learned: You don’t need to travel for two weeks to experience something amazing. Many of our trips lasted just three or four days, yet they were transformative.

Ira Sternberg: Let’s talk about the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. It’s an intriguing place with a rich history.

Tom Tarantino: It is. The Ghost Ranch is larger than Manhattan and was originally a private retreat for contemplation. Georgia O’Keeffe painted there, and the atomic bomb scientists stayed nearby during World War II. Over time, it became a movie set for films like City Slickers.

Another fascinating story is about Jim Corbett in India, the greatest man-eating tiger hunter in history. He killed more than a dozen tigers and even mimicked a tiger’s mating call to lure his final kill within seven feet of him.

We’re not hunters, but we love looking for unique people and stories. That’s what our travels—and our book—are all about.

Ira Sternberg: It’s a fantastic way to explore the world. How long did it take to write the book?

Tom Tarantino: It wasn’t so much reliving our experiences as planning them. We’d spend six months researching a trip, which often became as enjoyable as the trip itself.

Ira Sternberg: Before I let you go, are you planning any new adventures?

Tom Tarantino: Sadly, my wife is 92 and has grown tired of traveling. I wouldn’t want to go without her—it wouldn’t be the same.

Ira Sternberg: Understandable. Well, you’ve had an extraordinary travel career, and your book reflects that beautifully. My guest has been Tom Tarantino, co-author of Looking for Legends, available in April on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For more, visit lookingforlegends.com. Tom, thanks for being on the show.

Tom Tarantino: Thank you for having me.

Ira Sternberg: Join us every Thursday for a new schmear on Ira’s Everything Bagel.