I recently had a friend
text me. He and his sweet wife were traveling and checked in with a cute
picture, but it was his candid remark that left me in deep thought. He quipped
“We are covering ground before it covers us.” Well... isn’t that just enough
said? I told him I was going to steal that line.
That may become my
mission statement. Or my mantra. Or my slogan. But for a person that is
interested in seeing as much of this beautiful, crazy planet we live on before
we are planted in it, that says it all. Who’s with me?
I understand not
everyone is as “Good to Go” as I am. That’s OK. For those of you that travel
from the comfort of your armchair, with a cup of coffee as you read this
column, thank you for allowing me to share the world with you. For those of you
who watch a movie or television program and think, “I’d love to go there someday,”
it’s you I’m talking to today.
This week I spent some
time with a traveler that lost his wife of many years. He fought back tears as
talked about things they were going to do together. Luckily, they made lots of
memories together, but they weren’t finished yet. There was still ground left
to cover.
My friends that enjoy
my travel stories declare to me that SOMEDAY they want to go with me on a group
adventure. I usually cite my saying from the soapbox which they feel doesn’t
apply to them. I remind them that AARP sends us cards on a monthly basis,
whether we are signed up or not. We are there... and not gaining ground if we
expect to cover it.
My mission, mantra,
slogan, soapbox speech has always been “If you can guarantee that next year you
will more healthy, more wealthy, more able to travel NEXT YEAR, then definitely
wait. If you can’t guarantee yourself this, then travel NOW.” In other words, you should cover ground…
before it covers you.
If you think I’m being
insensitive, then ask the person who was planning on going SOMEDAY and now they
don’t have a partner to go with. If you think I’m being unfeeling, then ask the
person that only takes trips to doctor’s appointments. If you think I’m being callous,
then ask the person whose knees and hips and back keep them sitting in that
armchair reading my articles instead of being able to travel with us. Those
people may have insight on waiting to travel.
(Boy, Patti Beth, you
are on a roll!)
It doesn’t get easier
to travel as we get older (there, I said the “O” word), it gets more
challenging. It may be easier to find a hotel or flight online, but that
doesn’t make standing in lines at the airport, or the size of coach seats any
more comfortable. We may have more time, or more money, but will our eyes and
our sense of adventure be as sharp SOMEDAY?
I’m stepping down from
my soapbox now. I have trips to plan, pack for and write about. I have ground
to cover.
