Monday, February 28, 2011

Feb. 28th 2011...Back On The Blog

Happy Birthday Evan.....

Today is an auspicious day for me aside from trecking through South America. 30 years ago this day, my first child  Evan was born and I am remembering it liksay e it was yesterday. How happy I was to become a father for the first time ;all the,hopes and dreams  the possibilities and the unknowns.What would he be like as a young lad, as a teenager and now, 30 years later, a full-fledged adult? I am happy to say I am very proud of him....a poet with a sociology degree and a nice kid to boot. I only wish he would come traveling with me but that's a small thing to ask for given his age..besides who wants to travel with Pops??...I don't see many 30 year olds traveling like I do...
As a matter of fact, what I've discovered is that the majority of people traveling are under 30's and over 55's, with the emphasis on ..over 55's! In the last 2 months I've seen many people in there late 60's and 70's tromping the same territory that I have. Folks who really don't look like they would be capable of walking around the block, never mind climbing up and down mountains ,mini though they might be or walking 6 miles a day through green fields, ancient paths and pastures. But they are doing just that. And its these very folk who  inspire me to keep going. My motto (well one of my many mottos) is "you gotta keep movin to keep movin" because if you don't , with advancing age your body and then your mind will just fall apart. It's with this always in the back of my mind that I choose to travel , especially in winter when the tendency is to spend a lot of time in doors with the tv on. Mind you, I couldn't do this if I hadn't been fortunate enough to retire at 58 from a mind-numbing job and, I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for the life-saving liver transplant I received in 1995...Ok, here's another age thing...Has it really been that long?...and..Am I really 60 years old...a 90 year old would scoff at such thoughts but, well its true.Back then I was lucky if I could walk down to the end of the driveway (which was only about 40 ft.) let alone find myself on a new continent where I knew not a soul ....What a long strange trip indeed! Let it be said right now that I would not have survived without the unwavering support and love of my family first and foremost and the dedicated resolve of all the doctors, nurses and support staff who made the right decisions to facilitate my survival...And also my many friends who were there every step of the way. A special mention must go to my union who responded at the right time with much support shortly before I  was transplanted...... Thank you....Thank you......Thank you..all of you.

  So, it is with these thoughts, which are never far from my mind that I am now doing what I'm doing; traveling around Ecuador, a most beautiful country with fierce mountains, active volcanoes, beautiful valleys and gentle people.
In the last 17 months I have been to Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico and now Ecuador with an ever evolving plan to go to Colombia in a couple of weeks. During this time I managed to squeeze in a jaunt with the Olympics in Vancouver and a 6 week volunteer trip in the US from New York City to Washington DC via, Annapolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Dover, East Haven and a few other cities and towns to raise people's awareness for the need for organ donors. Oh and did I say I spent a month in the lovely town of Georgetown Ontario where I grew up (if you could call it that)spending time with some of my dearest and most cherished friends. Some I've know for 50 years!...(there's that age thing again). Last but not least, I spent 8 months back in my adopted home town driving a limousine around my fair city of Victoria; discovering all over again how beautiful and unique Victoria is through the eyes of people who happened not to live here.

So that brings us to the present and to what I'm doing now and have been doing since I left Victoria Jan. 5th
This is the year I decided I was going to really travel ...now that my 4 lovely children  were all done with school and I could truly divest myself of the responsibilities and anxieties of parenthood. I must say too that it was with a mixture of fear of the unknown , and anxiety and exhilaration that I jumped on that plane Jan.5th...not knowing where I was going exactly but knowing what I was leaving behind...

South America here I come ready or not! 

1 comment:

B.J.Miller said...

Hey, David,
Great to read you blog. I'd no idea where you hads disappeared to, but now I know! I've been trying to narrow down the countries I want to visit and Ecuador was #1 on my list, based to an extent on I.L. mag. I was concerned for you after not hearing from you re. helping your friend. I even stocked up but we'll have to chalk that up to research;>) Anyway, hope you enjoy Ecuador and can't wait to hear your take on Colombia.
Salud, Mi amigo,
Bruce J. Miller