:: verbal connections ::

The fall season has almost arrived.  It’s already Labour Day … the kids are set to go back to school, and our lives are changing back into a regular routine of making lunches and homework assignments.  Sometimes I don’t understand why the changing of the calendar year occurs at the end of December rather than at this time of year.  This is the time of year for changes.  This is the time of year for fresh starts.  I wonder how much it would take for the calendar makers to adjust things to make September 1st the start of each year.  At least it would be warm for the New Year’s parties.

We were on the road and mostly out of touch for fourteen days, my wife and I.  Being on the road on a long trip can be a confusing vortex of changing time zones and of landmarks visited and of people met.  Accents change, and scenery changes, and the bed you sleep in is a different one every night.  Your brain has to adjust when you get home to moving at a less frenzied pace.  But it’s not really about the destinations on these trips.  It’s about the spaces between the dots that we connect, and it’s about how we spend our time when we’re watching the miles roll.  We talk a lot, and laugh a lot, and dream together in ways that aren’t always possible when we’re at home underneath all our everyday responsibilities.

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When it comes to surprises, there are a lot of directions in which things can go. And the same surprise can depending on the surrounding circumstances turn out to be either a good surprise or an unhappy one.  Our job is to figure out which is which and to figure out how best to deal with them.

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The most interesting things about travel – the things that you notice – are the things that change.  The things that you see that are different from the things that you see at home.  When you travel, there are almost always differences enough to be somewhat overwhelming.  At the same time, it’s also those very differences that comprise the reasons that we travel.  When I travel, I’m looking for that change.  I’m looking for something different than what I would see when I am at home.

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On the road, your first home is always your car (or the vehicle with which you happen to be travelling).  Your second home is your hotel (or motel) room – it’s where you begin and end your travels every day.  It’s the place in which you have to feel comfortable for at least the length of your overnight stay.  There are so many little things that can go wrong on a road trip.  The last thing that that you want is to have issues in your home-for-a-night.  That kind of thing can ruin your entire day.  And no-one wants to sit in a tiny box with a crabby travelling partner for long.

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