“When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find himself a good and sufficient reason for going.”
“Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word. And there's an opening convey of generalities. A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner.” +
Travels With Charley: In Search of America
-- John Steinbeck
“We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.”
-- John F. Kennedy
It is now t-minus 4 days and counting until The Big San Francisco Vacation.
To expound on the two quotes above from Mr. Steinbeck, I must tell you that I have found a good and sufficient reason for going, and that I will indeed be a foreigner in four more short days. :)
I will be in San Francisco, and as that is located in the State of California, and *not* the State of Texas, I will be (as we Greeks say) *xeno* (a stranger). In this case, I will be happy to be xeno. :)
The quote from President Kennedy is there just for me. I know what it means to me, and a few people very close to me will understand it also. There are fears associated with this trip, and there are also hopes. As I have written in prior posts, this trip is far more than a mere vacation. There are many layers to this trip: vacation, book research, recovery, and many other things.
I can scarcely believe that the days are down to this - only four - and that I will soon be on a plane winging my way toward a trip I first conceived over two years ago. It has been a long time coming, and I am a changed person from the one who originally planned this journey. I believe, as difficult as those changes were to take, ultimately they are making, and already have made me better in a multitude of ways. It is in the crucible that the metal is made strong.
San Francisco will be a place for me to celebrate the harvest of change.
I can’t even wrap my head around the level of excitement I am starting to feel for this trip. There are so many last minute things I have to do in the next 3 days, I will not have much time to really absorb, and enjoy that excitement.
Once I get on that plane to San Francisco, and I have settled into my seat, I will be able to smile and soak it up. When I actually land and then step out into the city itself I know I will have a grin on my face that will last the entire two weeks.
I will report daily from the City by the Bay, with photos. In the meantime, I have some serious packing to do. :)
Polla Filia,
J.F.
+ Mr. Steinbeck, a Californian, who lived the last bit of his life in New York, knew about Texas because his wife, Elaine was Texan. He understood the Texan mindset well.
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