((Brian's Note: Gary Waddell is a Las Vegas legend. He is a Nebraska native who started out working in radio in his hometown of Kearney. He would later work as a TV news reporter at WFLD-TV in Chicago before moving to Las Vegas in 1971. He currently anchors the Noon, 4PM and 6PM news at KLAS in Las Vegas.))

 I've been thinking a lot about the world this week. People who know me know that I am an avid motorcycle rider. I don't just go to the pub on Sunday, I ride a lot. Last summer some friends and I went to Alaska. A couple of years ago I flew to Europe and rode through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy, through the Alps and Dolomites. This year, I'm headed to western Canada.

 This came up, because this week I've been watching the latest adventures of actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. They rode motorcycles from the top of Scotland all the way to the southern tip of Africa and documented the trip on videotape. "The Long Way Down" will be coming to a cable channel near you soon.

 What Ewan and Charlie found is what most people who have traveled have learned: that the world is full of wonderful people.

 Our tour guide in Europe had what I think is a great, albeit not practical, idea. When young people graduate from high school or college, their governments should pay them to travel the world for two years. As long as they stay out there, meeting people, they continue to get paid. His contention is that they would learn that people around the world have a lot more in common than they do differences. That people, no matter where they live, are very much the same. Their customs differ. Their lifestyles are different but we all love our friends, families and kids, want them to have a better life than we had, and we're nice to strangers.

 If you get a chance to travel, do it. Don't just look at the historic buildings, get to know the people. It may change your life. It could change the world.

((Brian's Note: Gary Waddell was my mentor at KLAS in Las Vegas. I want him to be as proud of me as I am of him. Feel free to leave a comment below or send an email by clicking here.))