It’s a wide, wide world of sports out there. As a sixteen-year-old “dork” (my older brother’s affectionate name for me) I knew but one thing—my need to experience a part of the world not the one I had grown accustomed to thus far during my short life. Being one for extensive research and preparation when it comes to important life decisions, I opened the college application booklet my teacher handed me. I flipped to the list of acceptable state universities. I selected Montana (perhaps due to recent exposure to the film A River Runs Through It), scrolled my finger down to University of Montana, and then filled out the form accordingly.
Done and done. A few months later it was settled. I didn’t have the guts to go totally crazy all at once. I mean, I wasn’t about to study abroad or make the leap to New York City. Montana seemed similar enough to Texas while being about as far away from Texas as I could go without crossing any meaningful borders. (Later, I would discover that crossing Colorado as a youth from Texas would be challenging…but nothing I couldn’t handle.)
Immediately after graduating high school from Aledo, Texas I packed my Volvo 240 DL and took off for the great unknown. It wasn’t even June yet. I had the itch. I knew something else was out there. I knew the world had more to offer, and I wanted to experience it. I needed to embark on a vision quest of sorts. From Texas to Montana. From Portland to Detroit and back to Missoula, I crisscrossed the country that summer. I lived in my car and in a tent. I camped illegally in at least five states. I lived off of fruit and muffins swiped from banquet tables left unattended on university campuses across this great land. (Old-school dorms served as an excellent free source of food as well as shower facilities.) Heck, I read through the entire Gospel of John while actively driving across the state of South Dakota.
I grew up. I grew down. I grew all around. The important thing was I began to get outside of myself. I developed an appetite for new experiences, cultures, and people. Seeing the world through new eyes and gaining new perspectives fueled my life of empathy, curiosity, and humility. (Yes, Texans are loud and brash. There is a time for that…but not very often, and in low doses.)
All of this to say, the wife and I are taking the boys on a trip around the world. We’re getting out of Dodge for a bit. We’re gonna travel and experience life differently. It’s tough to experiment with freedom these days (like I was able to back in the nineties). I suppose it was tough in those days as well. I’ve seen the tweets and tiktoks on the wall, so I’m being a bit proactive in kicking my kids out of the nest. Sure, on this trip I’m going with them. I’m hoping, eventually, they will be motivated to take a similar trip on their own—to get out there and be a bit stupid, to experience, to grow, to learn.
I most likely won’t write next week or the next. With any luck, I won’t be dead. I’ll just be expanding my world together with those closest to me. Until my return, peace.
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