About Me — Michael Werner

The journey is better than the inn.

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I’ve been a writer or publisher my whole life. I love books and the people who make and read them.

For over 30 years I ran a book, workbook, video, and webinar company that produced content for teachers.

After selling that business, I’m now doing what I love best: writing. I write memoirs, business and marketing how-to’s, essays, and other pieces with an emphasis on adults older than 55.

Four other things I’ll share with you for now:

1. The journey. The great Spanish novelist, Miguel de Cervantes (of Don Quixote fame), once said: The journey is better than the inn. It took me a few decades to learn this maxim, but I’m happy to have figured this out. I once traveled to eight Central American countries in eight days, and that was pretty much how I viewed life. Make the list and check ’em off, baby. Today, though, I’m about the journey. In the last few years, I’ve fallen in love with cruising on big ships, but only those that have few port days. I love the journey, the uninterrupted time to read and ponder, and having no agenda with little or no ways for other people to contact me. My favorite cruise of this type is a transatlantic voyage of 14 or more days, many of which go from my home state of Florida to Europe. If there are intermediate stops en route to the final destination, I prefer to not even get off. If I were to do that Central American trek today, I’d pick one spot (Antigua, Guatemala might be that spot) and hang out there for eight days.
2. The greatest restaurant in the world? I’ve had the great fun of traveling all over the world, for both business and personal choice. Have lived in three non-US countries. The best restaurant in the entire world is Tacos Samurai in Monterrey, Mexico. It’s literally a hole in the wall, and the seating spills onto the sidewalk out front where you may be sniffed by street dogs and implored by kids wanting to shine your shoes or contribute to their college funds. You’ll likely be passed by stinking buses belching out black smoke. If you go in the summer it’s probably 98 degrees outside, but you can add another 5-10 degrees if you get within 20 feet of the kitchen – which is actually the cooks manning the trompos, the big spits – which is right inside the dining area. But, the gringa tacos (similar to tacos al pastor) come from the trompos oozing with melting pork meat and spices. Two, on flour tortillas, will fill you up. The main man wielding the knives is quite large, but a master at trompo-management. I’d normally drink a beer with tacos, but they don’t serve alcohol, so I usually just get a Mexican Coke, loaded with cane sugar.
3. Vegetables. Lest you think I’m a completely unhealthy eater, I’ve been searching for a vegetable recipe that would make me want to eat vegetables, which I really don’t like too much. In the last couple of years, I’ve found a few recipes I like, and then cobbled together my own, which I present in the link at the bottom. It makes eating vegetables more enjoyable than a bag of salty treats, my former go-to staple.
4. Parallel lives. I’ve spent most of my life as a publisher and writer, but if I could have a couple of other choices, here they are: First, I’d be a retired diplomat writing spy novels and living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Or, I’d be a raconteur living in Tuscany or the Amalfi coast. (I’m not sure exactly what a raconteur does, but I love the locations.) If none of those worked out, I’d become the owner of a retreat center in San Miguel de Allende, in the central mountains of Mexico. I wouldn’t have to do any work; my role is more of a ceremonial one.

There you have it. Questions welcome.

Thanks to Linda Ng for the inspiration.

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