On "On The Road"

My bed is constantly changing...

I shut my eyes on couches without cushions, floors both hard and carpeted, in airports, apartments, airplane seats: middles, windows, and aisles, train booths, surf board bags, buses, beaches, camper vans, and back seats of cabs

Backpacks, sweatshirts, towels, and balled up t shirts become makeshift pillows

My clothes are worn day in and day out; stains like scars should be worn with pride and accompanied with a story

My hair can be shaped in any desired direction and as it grows longer, can soften the uncomforting blow of sleeping on a solid floor

With a little hunt and a bit of luck I find little gems for brekkys, lunches, dinners, and meals in between

Over these cheap local eats, coffees, and beers, I swap stories, converse worthwhile conversations, and compromise card games with complete strangers, fellow travelers, and solo wanderers

I crunch exchange rates, negotiate over pennies, and walk away with black bags, a full stomach, and a good buzz, if I was looking to find one

I’m not ready to say goodbye to an intoxicating amount of complete liberation and elation

See you later,

LB

Going Home Feels Like Surrender

Well, I stopped writing. I can't really put a finger on it, but I think not having a good light at night while I was in my camper van in New Zealand had something to do with it. During the days I was typically surfing, cooking, driving, or map reading. By night I watched a movie and usually fell asleep, wrapped in my surfboard bag, parked in some illegal fashion.

I am going home tomorrow. I may not be ready to go home, but I am ready to leave Fiji. I'll explain the place in a later post. It is going to be strange re-entering my native country after being gone for so long. Back to a life of not much myster-"ity." A cell phone will become a Global Positioning System for others to find out where I am and what I am doing at all times. I will be able to complete a full day without attempting to choke down another bowl of instant cup noodles. That will be good. I will not have to really worry about the bed bugs, or much of bugs in general. I will not have to convince myself that the ants crawling over my food will be a good source of protein, especially since I have been lacking any form. As far as food goes in general, I will be better off in the States.

I plan on attempting to sit first class on my flight home. I have a plan, and a backup. If they do indeed fall through, I will be sitting on the aisle in coach. Window gives for a better sleeping position, but I'm thinking ahead. After all the booze I plan on consuming on the 10 hour ride, an aisle seat will allow me to move to and from the bathroom as I choose without disturbing the unlucky soul that will watch me drown my fears of going back to a place of responsibility; a place where credit card debts are real and these people called parents will be the first to tell you.

Currently Packing,
LB