bring the noyz

Ah my darling sweet Simon,

Let me begin by just telling ya straight: I don't own a passport.

[And yes, as will become more clear as you read through this, you seem to have struck a nerve. That being said, please forgive any excessively visceral response.]

Have I seen enough of the world? Not by a long shot. Will I ever? No. The day you have seen enough is the day you need to take a shovel, go into the backyard, dig a hole, lie down in it and wait for the icy hand of Death to claim you.

Will you ever see enough? I pray not, I doubt not, and I'll buy you the fucking shovel if you change your mind.

I also have no doubt, that like me, you remember the generalities (if not all the specifics) of many drunken twentysomething nights full of dreams of travelling if not quite taking over the world.

But as time passes we are presented with choices and we choose different paths.

Would I like to travel? Shit yeah, who wouldn't? And by posing that question I mean that you may be right to castigate those who have the means and the method but lack the motivation to do so.

Can you watch the "American Idol" final in France?

(Sadly, you probably can.)

But I beseech thee, my dear friend, do not include me in that group.

My path has not lead me down roads far from home.

I will be honest, I am not without my George Bailey moments. But as the years flow by I feel less and less like Mr. Bailey and somewhat oddly more like Tom Bombadil.

As for a stated reason of your travels:

Which brings me to one of the reasons I love to travel in the guise of a writer: the more I see of the world and its inhabitants, the more I’m reminded that we are, after all, only human. No matter where I go, people act like the humans they are. . . that we are.

We may have different ways of expressing ourselves but a smile seems to be universal. . . .

You are quite correct, a smile is universal.

And it's why we're here, really now, isn't it?

To smile. . .

Not just to smile; but to smile at, and to be seen smiling. We humans are social creatures afterall. Granted, a smile can sometimes mask deception and treachery. But a sincere smile binds and connects us to one another.

I love you dearly my friend, and I will neither begrudge nor second guess your choices if you grant the same to mine.

That being said, I wouldn't trade donuts for dollars for the smile on The Boy's soon to be six-year old face every night when he's falling asleep on my chest as we lie on the couch watching truly mindless TV over anything available in Provence.

That is almost as equally true for the smiles on the faces of all the multitudes of students and young adults whose lives have touched me deeply as I continue to teach.

While your travels take you around the world, mine generally take me on a more inward, introspective journey, into the minds of the voiceless.

Keep travelling. Perhaps someday I will meet you on the road.

Which would of course be sad, because as you know as Life Abundant I am also the Buddha. You'd have to kill me.

Oh well.

I've got Zuzu's petals in my pocket. It is a wonderful life.
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