At shoulder
height I struggle to see one foot in front of me let alone the exit. I look at the ground. Trying not to wheel my backpack over the
polished leather boots, sneakers, heels.
There were no bear feet, no thongs.
That would be unheard of. I weave
through the crowd and watch the legs covered in black slacks and stockings
crisscross through every available gap.
High above me, in electronic format are the train times and platform
numbers to destinations dispersed in all directions. It’s rush hour and everyone moves with pace
whether they have somewhere to be or not.
Eventually, stepping out into the street the cold air hits my face with
a welcomed freshness. It has been nearly
three years but is all still strangely familiar. It’s exciting. Not just because of the buzz of commuters,
but because I’m back in a place of wonderful memories. Cheryl and I find a quieter part of the
street to wait for a cab and as I look around I’m amazed. Amazed to think that used to be me! A world so foreign from anything I have
known. An environment so unrelated to my
ideal setting. It was a place I never
thought I’d be but I once was. I used to
be in that crowd and not just in it, but I made it work for me and it wasn’t
bad at all. As I look around with a
sense of slight amazement, I felt proud to see just how adaptable I could be…
England was a
nice break from the unknown road. I had
great company with old friends to catch up with, and Cheryl and Dan gave me a
home to stay. I made the most of old
favorite past times like street markets, eating at my favorite restaurants, walking
the parks with the squirrels, and sitting at Beachy Head with Cheryl to watch
the sun set over the rolling English plains.
I also made the most of new activities; Sunday at the ‘Comedy Store’ to
see impromptu and hilarious talent, burlesque and caberet shows in Soho, and
long dinners in the many classy bars sipping port, talking for hours. It was all wonderful but in a strange way,
all so different. The buildings and streets
were the same, but everyone from that past experience was no longer there. It
was familiar ground but a whole new situation.
I was visiting a place where I once set up a life, but now was just
passing through. It wasn’t better or
worse, it’s just how it is. Being able
to adapt to the inevitable change is essential.
That’s life. The amazing and
rewarding thing is to not just adapt but to welcome change, even create
it. That’s where a smile sets in. That’s travel. I found these quotes below for inspiration,
and with that in mind I leave London behind and board a plane to a whole new
continent, where everything is foreign, strange, unknown, and wonderful.
“I give you this to take
with you:
Nothing remains as it was.
If you know this, you can begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.” Judith Minty, Letters to My Daughter
“If
opportunity doesn't knock, build a door” Milton Berle
“In reality nothing is more
dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very
basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of
life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no
greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a
new and different sun.”
Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild
"I saw that my life
was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted." Jack Kerouac
“Destiny is not a matter of
chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a
thing to be achieved.” William Jennings Bryan
