6April2014
My father has been a mechanic of
close to 40 years. He is a master of his
craft, and has owned the same red tool box for as long as I can remember. He always told me, “This toolbox has wheels
on it for a reason. If I don’t like where
I am at, I can move my toolbox down the road.”
I think I will have to take a page from his book. It has been a very difficult realization to
come to, but I think it’s the right thing to do. I have recently learned that there is nothing I can control, but my own attitude toward a situation. I can't make a woman love me if she doesn't want to, and I can't expect everything to go just as planned. All I can do is keep moving forward. There is nothing keeping me in South Carolina
anymore, and I have a deep urge to find something more. Over the past month, I sold my furniture and
most of my non-essential belongings. On
Friday, I rented a U-Haul trailer, loaded it up with all my things, and hit the
road. I didn’t have much of a plan, only
to explore the country for a couple weeks, and end in Washington State. I want to meet interesting people, and
explore new places. Along the trip, my
goal is to ask a couple very important questions:
Why are we here?
What keeps you moving
forward?
What is your greatest
accomplishment?
What is your ultimate goal?
What do you value most about
yourself?
It is not so much the answers that
are important, but the questions themselves that are important. So many people go through their lives without
contemplating these questions or evaluating their goals and
accomplishments. There are seven billion
people on this planet, and we all have one goal: Survive.
Whether it’s an average American Joe, a homeless refuge, or a terminally
ill person, we all have that motivation to keep moving forward at all costs. What compels us to survive, and why? What keeps us moving forward at all costs,
even though we know the inevitable end result? What do we want to be remembered for? What kind of legacy would we like to create for ourselves?
These questions have been ones that I have
continuously asked myself since I was a very young man. I remember asking my mother the meaning of life
at a very young age. After careful thought,
she opened up her bible and replied the only way she knew how to, “The meaning
of life is to serve and fear god.” Is
that why we are here? Were we really put
here to serve a super natural being that may, or may not really exist? Dalai
Lama wrote, “Our prime purpose in
this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt
them.” An American Poet, W.H. Auden,
once wrote, “We are all here on earth to help others; what on
earth the others are here for, I don’t know.” The truth is, I don’t yet
have any answers for these questions that I am asking. Maybe I will find them along the way.
I am incredibly nervous. I have never done anything like this before,
and have absolutely no real plan. I am
not even sure if I will make it to the West Coast. I’m pulling everything I own in a U-Haul
trailer behind my little, four cylinder Audi, with my dog, Betty White riding
shotgun. So many things can go wrong
during this trip, but all I can do is hope for the best, and prepare for the
worst. I really cannot control anything,
and have no idea what is going to happen in the following days. Having no plan is something completely new to
me, and even though, I am nervous, I am excited for the experiences, and I am
looking forward to hearing people’s stories.
“Make
a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may
previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So
many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative
to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security,
conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of
mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging 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."
-Into The Wild
Baltimore
April
4-6, 2014
 |
| South of the border.. Not quite Mexico |
 |
| But first, let me take a selphy |
After a thirteen hour drive with my
very nervous dog, and a very heavy trailer, I made it to one of my favorite
cities, Baltimore. Charm City is where I
lived for the past four years, built some of the closest friendships, and ran
my first marathon. When the Coast Guard
stationed me in Baltimore back in 2009, I had no idea what to think. Friends had told me that it was a dangerous
city, so I had moved there with an irrational fear. To my surprise, it turned out to be one of
the most charming and beautiful cities I have ever been to.
There was no doubt that I had to stop in
Baltimore while on this trip. Fortunately,
one of my best friends had the room for me and Betty White to stay for the
weekend. The morning after getting into
town we laced up our running shoes, and headed out for a half marathon. One thing I love about this city, is that it
is one of the most active cities in the country. With little training and preparation, we
managed to pull off top ten finishes in the 13.1 mile race. It felt great to kick the dust off the legs,
and run with a good friend who had helped me qualify for the Boston Marathon last
year. I am always excited to return to
Charm City, and will likely return again.
Every time I come back, I fall in love with it again.
 |
| One of my best friends and I on another great race! |
 |
| Here's to good friends, and good times. |
On to the next destination... Pittsburgh, were i will give my beautiful daughter a suprise visit!
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