Take Me With You!
posted in General |There’s a REI commercial for one of their recent sales that recent struck a chord with me. It features a frazzled sounding clerk working his tush off, when in walks someone looking for various stuff. “Hi, can I help you find something?”
“Yes, where is your rock climbing equipment? And your kayaks?”
“Over there and there- hey can I ask where you’re going?”
“Oh, some friends of mine and I are going to hike into the Columbia Gorge and kayak out. By the way, I’ll be needing mountain bike stuff for our trip afterwards.”
Subdued, the clerk goes back to opening his boxes, when a feminine voice approaches …
“Pardon me, can you tell me where to find your camping stuff? I’m going to need a tent suitable for the Serengeti.”
“Take me with you!” and the sound of sobbing.
This struck a chord with me for many reasons. Brookes was recently coming through the airport, and I was to collect her; for one reason or another the plane was about two hours late. So I bummed around the airport, seeing people rushing this way and that way with their carryons, people speaking in foreign languages, people who had obviously been on an airplane for over six hours.
Have I told you how I love to travel?
To make matters worse; my in-laws have recently begun hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a dream of mine to hike the Appalachian Trail, but the PCT would suffice I believe. So Nan and Rich disappear into the wilderness for days at a time, often with their dogs and their GPS and their cell phone (I hope.)
Rubbing salt in the wound; one of my customers on my paper route goes for frequent one week vacations. I noticed when he returned from his latest excursion that on the back of the van he takes with him is a Pacific Crest Trail sticker.
I wanna go out to play.
