Introduction: Welcome To My Nomad World

The Original Modern Nomad

I pondered how to begin and where to start and came to the conclusion, from where the nomad seed was spawned. What shaped my ideals and manifested the modern day nomad in me, the explorer, the discoverer, the pioneer in me. Just because a land has been discovered is no reason to not continue the discovery when something new can always be found regardless of how many times I’ve been there.

My fondest memories are from my earliest travels and why I am happiest when roving. A lifetime of homes, though roaming is where I am most at home. Home is where the heart is. Lack of roots is to my liking when any semblance of family is only long ago memories too few to count too many worth forgetting or that can’t be replaced with improved recall from a classic movie. They say blood is thicker than water. I dispute that notion. The people closest to me are several degrees extracted from any blood relation yet fit the bill beyond exception.

The older I get the more often I ask when departing if that will be the last time I will be there. The questions have only become more precise during the pandemic. None of us know when the last time we’ll have sex, a flight, a train trip, a ride on a tram, a taxi, a walk on a boat plank, a walk down a beach, a last giggle, a last sigh, a last night… I think you get the drift, it’s a tricky thing wondering when the simple things taken for granted for so long may be the last.

Far from morose, I have had and have an incredible life. What some may find very interesting, others may find completely dull. Those that choose to follow any of this are welcome to and those who choose not to be of little consequence. I’m not doing this for anyone other than myself. There are options in life and life was meant to be full of options.

Some consider a nomad insulting yet without them we would not be where we are today. It is human tradition. I do consider myself a nomad yet I also consider myself a pioneer married to discovery. Not everyone wants to be an explorer but that which they absolutely must but I could never be content with that. At this very moment I am listening to the calling of the prayer in a country most would consider western culture at its best. Never judge a book by its cover. I’ve heard the calling many times in many countries but this beautiful voice seeps into my marrow and gifts me the contentment I need, an irreplaceable solace.

I have socked myself away for the last year, marking few steps other than from the couch to the fridge. I have never been grounded this long. I am unhappy but I have not become complacent. As spring dawns late I feel recharged, ready to continue my journey, return to the activities I love and find myself again. I will tell my story, my nomadic timeless travel treasures and prepare for those to come.

I learned a lot during this pandemic and continue to. It either brings out the best in people or their worst. The anti-maskholes, the conspirists (no, it’s not a word but it should be) fueled racism (yes, the former guy was the catalyst but I won’t let him or his flying monkeys ruin what remains good in the world), and anti-vaxxers. Negativity can breed negativity just as easily as positivity can breed positivity but it’s up to us in the positivity realm to outweigh the hate and fear. Our world is well out of balance at the present and each of us must do what we can to weight the scales toward positivity to project the universe onto a healthier, happier trajectory.

“One person cannot do everything, but everyone can do something.” – Keith Ellison

Travel has changed over the 6 decades from when I first began, in particular the last decade. What I did would be near impossible today but the inconveniences do not outweigh the benefits and everyone should see the world we share with their own two eyes if at all possible.

A word to the wise traveler. As the world is vaccinated, I expect many will be anticipating travel to be as it once was but it will never be the same again. As more countries open up and people take flight after such a long absence, it will take some time for the airlines, airports, border control and customs to get into any kind of sync again. People will have to practice a lot of patience and research what to expect and plan for the unexpected. It will be a masterpiece in the making of guidelines that could virtually change day by day as we and they acclimate to the ‘new normal’. It won’t be pretty.

Many have not understood me. They may not but the universe always has and that is good enough for me. I’ve been called a freak and a weirdo but I wear these as a badge of honor. Some really just don’t like me because my way of life is so different from what they’re comfortable with. Their fear of someone who lives their life so differently is written all over their faces. It’s not naivety, the attitude leans more misogynistic from both men and women. Yes, women can by misogynists. Perhaps it’s the buttons I press unconsciously in some who wished they had the courage to live their life differently. A dear friend, who has now passed once said to me, “I wish I had the courage.”

Some people ask, aren’t you lonely? I have felt alone but never lonely. I can be in a crowd of a million people and feel more alone than being on my own and alone. We come into this world alone as surly as we will leave it. I’ve always preferred my own company. We are stuck with ourselves, might as well enjoy it. I believe in unconditional love and know very few who are capable or interested in this concept. I believe loving ourselves unconditionally is the only way to express love to others. Being our own best friend is compulsory in befriending others. If unconditional love were reality, we would be living in a drastically different world. We must make the best of it. We have 50, 60, maybe 70 years of real productivity. A drop in the bucket in the big picture, a Nano second of time. I don’t want to waste a second. 50 years after our demise no one will give a damn unless we do something miraculous. I won’t die regretting anything and that is all that really matters to my soul.

We are born with love. Hate is learned. Although to be fair, humans begin development as deuterostomes. Basically we develop our asshole first, maybe some just never develop past that or work terribly hard at it.

I steer clear of negativity; I can’t be bothered with haters. To waste one’s life being angry all the time is a crime against humanity and those that profit off it are the scourge of society and when I wished I believed in hell. It takes concerted effort and tremendous energy that could be spent in making our own lives and those lives around us better. Without humanity, we cease to be human.

I want to leave this planet in better shape than when I arrived and have a lot to do. I want to attract others into my orbit that share that same mentality to become part of my last chapter. I can count those now on two hands and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t appreciate them and whom I am dedicated. You know who you are. Thank you. You are a major part of my timeless travel tales.