From Threat to Discovery

Train station Fes, Morocco

Train station in Fes, Morocco.

From threat to discovery is my blog concept for 2019. Often we view things as a threat, either psychologically or physically. Threats can stop us in our tracks. In my view every threat rather real or imagined or induced by outside forces, can lead to discovery. All we have to do is get on board, explore and keep an open mind.

When my son was 4 years-old I invited several of his friends over to our house with their mothers. Our big front yard gave them lots of room to run and play. We lived on a dead-end street where very few cars used the road. While the boys were playing, they started running as a herd in circles and then headed toward the street. A few of the moms started screaming for them to stop. Maybe the moms knew more about herd mentality than I did. I was not alarmed.

As the boys’ speed and direction toward the street continued, the moms stood up from their chairs and raised their voices louder, “Stop.”  The boys kept running. Just as they neared the street a car approached and it was then that I yelled “Harry, stop.” He did. He turned and looked my way, raising his arms for the others to stop. Seeing the boys, the driver of the car stopped too. The threat was gone. Some of the moms grabbed their boys by the arm and scolded them. I hugged my son. Because I rarely raise my voice my son knew immediately that something was wrong. At least that’s how I interpreted the event. I discovered the power of restraint.

Sri Lanka Poya parade

Poya parade in Sri Lanka.

I tell this story because as a writer I choose to use my scream voice only when the situation truly merits it. I don’t want to use it as a rhetorical device to create unwarranted tension or deliver titillating thrills or to put myself in a seat of authority or at the top of Google rankings. I want to commit myself to this because at times I have been guilty of it. It’s so easy to stray. On one side everything becomes terrifying, dangerous, sensational or guilt-ridden when the scream voice is employed. On the other side everything is magnificent, perfect and unbelievably awesome. Such a tone may get attention, but it is undeserved attention. If that voice appears, a good reason should follow. I choose the middle ground. Where things are murky, argued over in good faith, authentic. Curiosity unleashes discovery, not threats. I believe our world can be a better, more interesting and knowing place. This is how I find pleasure in my work, in its results, and whatever value it may have to the society in which I live.

Every time I get off of a train, plane or boat I discover something new. I might be happy, scared, curious or disappointed. I know to look further. That’s where the real understanding, knowledge and experience come from. When sober voices raise their octave, we can assess and take action when warranted. Like the boys running toward the street, if our voices are always screaming we won’t know the difference between the mundane and the exciting, the beautiful or the dangerous.

Join me at Who’s Taking the Train to read about discoveries around the world and within.

Reconnecting With Friends in Austin, Texas

Austin skylineDespite having family and friends, many people choose to travel alone. I am one of them, mostly.  Professor Constanza Bianchi, from Queensland University Business School in Australia studied the matter. She reported that when solo travelers leave home they are choosing “freedom, uncompromised fun and meeting new people” over the companionship of a friend or spouse.  I have just returned from a trip to Austin, Texas with a friend to see a friend. My travel companion Joan and I have been friends since childhood. We met Susanne while in college. She lived in the Chicago area, but now lives 30 miles south of Austin with her husband, Randy. They have been Texans for only a few months. Joan and I promised to visit when they got settled. Due to time constraints we didn’t take the train. Before leaving I ruminated about why I like solo travel. I questioned how the Austin trip would go and how it might be different if I traveled solo.

The difference started at the airport security line. I have TSA PreCheck, meaning I can go in the shorter line and don’t have to remove my shoes. Joan has no such clearance. We marched to the longer line and waited as people moved slowly towards the security scanners. Joan is not the most agile person. She clumsily removed her laced shoes while balancing her bags that began leaking a make-up compact, keys and a few coins. She failed to mention her metal knee replacement to the security officer. She got pulled out of the line and waited to stand spread eagle while a female attendant searched her body head to toe. She was giggling during the body search and mouthed to me, “Take a picture.” I didn’t take a picture.

“They don’t like people taking photos,” I told her. “They have authority to detain us for whatever reason.” I viewed her actions as folly to keep any frustration at bay.

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A Dog Sled Journey in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

In a few weeks I will be riding in a motor coach heading towards the north woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Aboard will be 35 other women who want to dog sled and snowshoe through Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The trip will involve four travel firsts for me: transport in a motor coach, a large group, women-only, and dog sledding. Thoughts thrash through my head while anticipating my dog sled journey. I think of the advantages firsts.

Waterfall in Michigan Upper PeninsulaTraveling in a motor coach

I’m told that motor coaches have an onboard bathroom, reclining seats, tinted windows, movie monitors, door-to-door service, efficient fuel savings (carbon imprint relief) and a reasonable cost. I will add that being in a confined space for hours offers the chance to build camaraderie among fellow travelers. The last time I traveled by bus was Chicago to Salt Lake City upon graduation from college. I went to see my boyfriend Rudy, who was living in a state-subsidized forest ranger hut in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. But this is not a public bus. It’s a reserved luxury motor coach.

Large group travel

Advantages of traveling in a large group can also include less cost. Group fares to attractions and accommodations are often less than those purchased individually. There’s also the safety in numbers factor. When adventure travel finds you on remote snow-covered paths unreachable by car, it’s comforting to know someone is behind or ahead of you. Being with women who don’t get lost, can read a map or are familiar with the area brings comfort. Sharing laughs with new friends is always welcomed. Strangers are sometimes better to travel with than friends. Expectations are fewer and surprises greater. Curiosity, not familiarity drives the show. Personality conflicts and privacy issues may be a concern. In a large group, I think it will be easy to avoid any antagonists. A single occupancy room will offer respite from the group and provide time alone.

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Tell Me Where You’ve Been

Orchha cenotaphs in northern IndiaWhere have you been? That’s the first thing I want to know when I meet people. What were the moments you most remember while traveling? How did travel change you? However, I live in a part of the world where most social encounters begin with a person’s name, their occupation and place of residence. It’s awkward to fit my travel questions in. People are suspect. Why do I want to know this? These people have retained some semblance of a private life. People are hesitant. They’ve been bored listening to other people tell their travel stories. They don’t want to be boring. People are hurried. They don’t have time for something that requires them to pause and reflect. I understand, but still I want to know.

I want to know how traveled changed you because I notice the changes in myself. When I walk into a room I feel a bit different from everyone else. It’s not that my physical appearance makes me stand out. I’m not unusually tall or small, beautiful or ugly. I’m socially competent, not an extreme introvert or extravert. What makes me feel different is where I’ve been.

Chances are that no one in the room has sailed on the Ganges River in northern India in a small wooden boat powered only by two young men with bamboo oars. The primitive boat, the water, the temples, the campsite, changed me into someone who knows first hand this part of the world. It woke me up. You don’t have to travel far to experience this feeling. When I walked down a long road seldom used by pedestrians in the town where I live, I learned that walking is very different from driving even when on familiar ground. Afterwards I felt different among my neighbors and towards my town. I am not alone in this feeling of transformation through travel.

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When the Path and Purpose of Travel Changes

Garden of Dreams in Kathmandu, Nepal

This year I will be using the train more as a metaphor than a mode of transportation. Passenger train systems are limited. Many of the places I wanted to travel via train were either not on the route map, too expensive compared with other modes of transit, or took so long to reach that it was unmanageable. That’s not to say that this is the end of the line for me traveling by train. I have been a train enthusiast for most of my life. That wonderful first moment of sitting down in a comfy train seat heading out to somewhere I’ve never been before, and handing control to the train crew, will always grab me. I am a five-minute walk to a commuter line that brings me right to the heart of Chicago, a world-class city where the Amtrak station serves as a transportation hub for the entire country. I am fortunate to have such an option. However, train travel is no longer enough. I don’t want to be limited by where the train tracks lead. My path and purpose for traveling has changed. Continue reading

Discovering the Buddhist Way in Sri Lanka

The Polonnaruwa Vatadage“It is better to travel well than to arrive” – Buddha

The shop stalls in Negombo were packed with beads, Batik dresses and bright blue elephant pants that added a burst of color to the streets. “You’re friend just bought a skirt,” called out one of the shopkeepers in English. I laughed at his assumption that all ivory skinned people on the street must be friends. At the same time I knew my own assumptions would be challenged while traveling in Sri Lanka, especially because I was traveling with a new friend, Bhante Sujatha, a Theravada Buddhist monk and native of this country.

Known by many as the “loving kindness” monk, Bhante’s physical stature is small, more like that of an adolescent boy. His smile is boyish too, at times impish. I met him at the Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock, Illinois, where he is the abbot and founder. Ordained in Sri Lanka at the age of eleven, he has been living in the United States for 20 years. For the past six years he has taken a small group of Americans to visit his native country. I readily accepted his invitation to join them. Continue reading

Walking Barrington

It was 6:45am when Susan McConnell and I stood on the corner of Haegers Bend Road and Lake Cook Road in Barrington Hills, Illinois. Sprinkles of sunlight hit the pavement. The air was cool and pleasant. The sky spread its blue hue for as far as we could see. It was a good day for a walk. Sometimes travel doesn’t need to include flights, trains or cars, nor exotic places and people. The walking journey, or spaziergang as the Germans call it, is a chance to slow down, observe, and refresh one’s outlook. As residents of Barrington, Illinois Susan and I had driven down Lake Cook Road thousands of times. Yet we had never walked its length and knew of no one who had. After traveling across the world this past year, I longed to explore my own backyard. Continue reading

Traveling to Totality

Solar Eclipse viewing hill in Du Quoin

Solar eclipse watchers on a hill at Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.

When traveling I often wonder what matters most – where I go or whom I go with. Two weeks before the solar eclipse I still had no plan. I wanted to see the solar eclipse in totality with someone I knew. I had procrastinated over the three-day, $800 dorm rooms offered at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. When I found someone who would do that, the rooms were no longer available. Then my lifelong friend Joan said she’d take Sunday off from her job at a casino in Joliet and drive down to southern Illinois with me.

It was my former neighbor and friend Dennis who convinced me that Eclipse colander experimentI must see the total eclipse. “It’s life changing,” he said. “Everything you thought you knew is put into question.” Okay, he had been drinking when he said that but he is not one to sensationalize.

Joan didn’t care if I had a plan. “We can always sleep in the car at a truck stop if we have to,” she suggested. While she’s on a tight budget, Joan was the right person to go with. She’s a lot of fun and easygoing. I found a tent in my basement and called the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds to see if they had space available. “Yes, we have lots of space. Just come. No need for reservations,” the woman on the phone said. This would be an ideal place within the path of totality. Du Quoin is about 20 miles north of Carbondale. We would avoid the anticipated traffic congestion and crowds being reported by news outlets. I had attended a rodeo at the fairgrounds so was somewhat familiar with it. Continue reading

Finding Inspiration on a Commuter Train

Commuter trainHeading toward Chicago on a Metra commuter train I didn’t notice the woman who sat down beside me until she said, “I hope you don’t feel crowded.” She had pushed a large piece of luggage toward her legs to clear the aisle. There was a Cub’s game that day and the train was packed with fans. The woman also held a small backpack. She was going somewhere beyond a day trip to Chicago.

I looked at her luggage and said, “No, don’t worry about it.” And asked: “Are you going on a trip?”

“Yes, through the Canadian Rockies on the train.” I got excited and immediately wished I was going with her. She was on her own, an adventurer, and up in years. I had to know more.

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An Overnight Train to Allahabad

Train arrives in Allahabad, India

The Bundelkhand Express #11107 arrives in Allahabad from Jhansi, India.

The train is late. We wait. It will transport us overnight to Allahabad (ALD) and into Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and one with the largest number of people living below the poverty line. My son and I have been in India for six days. We have yet to see anyone on top of a rail car. We don’t see unaccompanied children. The station in Jhansi is filled with young men, just as we have seen in the streets and shops. When I asked an English speaker about the lack of women out and about I was told, “Many women remain in the home with their families.”

It’s nearing midnight. The station has a waiting room for women only. A few elderly ladies dressed in colorful saris and some mothers with young children sit on the benches wearing forlorn faces. I don’t know if men and women travel in different compartments on this train. In Delhi, the metro trains had a women’s car. I chose to ride in one and found it comfortable – less crowded, less noisy and less smelly than the other cars. Will it matter to the men if I am sleeping in the same space as them? Will it matter to me?

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