When I am in a pensive mood, it weighs on my mind at times. I can happily tell you that I made up for my lack of traveling and the tried and true when I was in my mid 30's.
I drank a drink where Madonna and Sandra Bernhardt danced on a bar in New York City, I stood at the top outlook of the Luxor hotel in Vegas at midnight, I have snorkeled in the Caribbean and smoked a cigar while playing poker in Aruba. And, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What is it that I wish I had done? I really wish that when I graduated from college that I took the plunge I was so afraid of and move to Manhattan.
I dreamed about living in the city...it was vastly different from where I grew up and seemed so exciting to me.
I began to think about my travels and the roadmap of my experiences when I sat next to a man at a bar. His nails were embedded with oil and grease and his name was enblazened on his shirt. I took him for a laborer or an auto mechanic that never saw different scenery past the city limit line.
I was wrong. He had traveled and lived in Alaska, California, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Wisconsin, Asia, Europe and Africa. He told me of the times that he worked in Alaska and saved every nickel he could while he worked. "The Wages were GREAT...not like here," he would tell me. Of course, Nashville sucked to him.
Everyone has a home, a place they feel comfortable. But he didn't. He told me he made enough money in Alaska to travel for 5 years. He lived like no other for that time, and now he works like no other. He is virtually penniless. He's slept at the mission, walked across America and slept under the stars.
His stories were fascinating, but his eyes were sad. I'm sure traveling and taking chances is fantastic. But so is getting into your own bed at night.
Cheers
More Musings Later-
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