Planning a trip starts months before the actual morning of
the drive to wherever the first take-off is. But for certain trips that have
taken on a special meaning even before the first map-search is typed in, the
planning and dreaming have been accumulating for years.
I cannot remember how old I was when I heard Ma Gibbs say, “Only it seems to me that once in
your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in
English and don’t even want to” (Wilder, Thornton, Our Town; I.192). The sentiment, the truth of the statement
seemed so right to me. I remember accepting that statement with the same
wholeness as I accepted being able to deliver a letter that has “the mind of
God” in the address.
I have a box full of gathered maps and notes. It is time to
order the wishes and promises and enjoy the reality of traveling.
