Lunch- Homemade turkey and cheese on sourdough #respect
Dinner- Alice Springs Chicken and the worst garlic mashed potatoes from Outback
I love maps.
I love them. I love looking at them, studying them, and then exploring and watching them come to life.
Not a fan of GPS and Siri. Cause they take all the fun away. The whole point of travel is the journey. But with GPS and Siri you don't get a journey, you get directions. I don't like directions. Unless they're cardinal directions.
Actually, I'm really good with cardinal directions. Like you can blindfold me, drive me into the wilderness, drop me off, and I'll still be able to find my way home. I always know which direction is North, South, East and West. I tell people it's because of the 1/32nd Comanche in my blood. Basically I'm an Indian tracker. That's real. I really am 1/32nd Native American.
I love a good paper map. Most people don't even know how to fold a paper map these days, and that's absurdly depressing. It's also unacceptable. Everyone should have at least one paper map in their glove compartment, even if it's not of the state you live in.
For me, I like maps because they allow you to travel and explore without going anywhere. An imagination is all that you need.
When I was 3 my parents got my brother and I a globe. I loved that globe, it's the first map I remember owning. You could plug it into the wall and it would light up. Then there was this magnifying glass attached that you could slide around to "peak" into different parts of the world. The view it provided was a snapshot of the culture in that city. Hawaii had a dude surfing a wave, China had the Great Wall and Australia had kangaroos. Same picture every time, but when you're 3 you imagine it changes when you're not looking. You imagine every time you take a peak, you are really seeing that part of the world, in realtime.
The globe also had texture. You could run your fingers over the various mountain ranges (though it always looked more like bubbled defective plastic than it did intentional "mountain ranges"). And it had color. It was mainly just a blue ball cause of all of the water, but the deserts were always sun burnt orange and the rain-foresty areas were always a lush green.
I loved that globe.
There are two main reasons why I love a good map. I think the first reason is because maps provide perspective and context. They let us know where we are in the world and help us to see where we can go... think about that for a second.
The second reason is because, for me, a map is the epitome of opportunity and adventure. You look at a map and you realize with this in hand, I can do anything. There are places I can go, things I can see, people I can meet, and this wonderfully simple little tool is the key to it all. That is pure excitement.
I'll be the first to admit I don't travel as much as I'd like to. I mean, I think we all would admit that. But traveling is expensive and we all have responsibilities that we unfortunately can't neglect. Also, I did not grow up in a family that took extravagant vacations. Instead of going to Europe together and snow skiing every winter, we built a pool and hot tub in our back yard. And I sure don't hate hot tubs.
But a map. A map lets you peer into the magnifying glass and see yourself there. It gives context to the opportunity for future adventure. Right now I have responsibilities that I can't exactly neglect, but this map shows me where I will someday go and what I will do. It allows me to familiarize myself with a place I have never been and gives me comfort that that place will always be there, right there, waiting for me.
The excitement for potential adventure that a map provides is enough to tickle the itch that will someday need scratching. It's enough for right now. I know someday, when the time is right and my bank account is favorable, I'll be the one surfing the wave in Hawaii, scaling the Great Wall and boxing with kangaroos down under. But until then I'll just let my 3 year old imagination do the trick.
I love maps.
The globe also had texture. You could run your fingers over the various mountain ranges (though it always looked more like bubbled defective plastic than it did intentional "mountain ranges"). And it had color. It was mainly just a blue ball cause of all of the water, but the deserts were always sun burnt orange and the rain-foresty areas were always a lush green.
I loved that globe.
There are two main reasons why I love a good map. I think the first reason is because maps provide perspective and context. They let us know where we are in the world and help us to see where we can go... think about that for a second.
The second reason is because, for me, a map is the epitome of opportunity and adventure. You look at a map and you realize with this in hand, I can do anything. There are places I can go, things I can see, people I can meet, and this wonderfully simple little tool is the key to it all. That is pure excitement.
I'll be the first to admit I don't travel as much as I'd like to. I mean, I think we all would admit that. But traveling is expensive and we all have responsibilities that we unfortunately can't neglect. Also, I did not grow up in a family that took extravagant vacations. Instead of going to Europe together and snow skiing every winter, we built a pool and hot tub in our back yard. And I sure don't hate hot tubs.
But a map. A map lets you peer into the magnifying glass and see yourself there. It gives context to the opportunity for future adventure. Right now I have responsibilities that I can't exactly neglect, but this map shows me where I will someday go and what I will do. It allows me to familiarize myself with a place I have never been and gives me comfort that that place will always be there, right there, waiting for me.
The excitement for potential adventure that a map provides is enough to tickle the itch that will someday need scratching. It's enough for right now. I know someday, when the time is right and my bank account is favorable, I'll be the one surfing the wave in Hawaii, scaling the Great Wall and boxing with kangaroos down under. But until then I'll just let my 3 year old imagination do the trick.
I love maps.
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