Today was one of those forever days. I'm sitting outside the Amtrak train depot. I'm writing and I'm alone. Alone because after 60 days with John, I said good bye. As I hugged John & he walked away, tears ran down my face. I could feel how badly he wanted to stay. Maybe he wanted me to go with him. I hope he knows how badly I wanted him to stay. I really did not want to separate.
In the time we spent together, I learned a lot from John. Only on rare occasion did I see him get upset. He is very polite and is honestly interested in the lives of every single person we met. Being truly interested in everyone we met is a virtue I hope to portray someday.
His desire to learn and continue education is unparalleled by other peers and friends. He has inspired me to continue to learn and to strive to read. As he walked to his train car, he turned and signaled another good bye with a strong mid-western wave of his hand. His back turned, and a fire stopped burning in my heart. My friend boarded the train to head home to Iowa. I began a new search and journey. Alone. It was a journey I feared very much.
Even in the sadness, I knew there was some part of John inside of me. John is with me in all my adventures. He is with me every time I go exploring. If he can't physically travel with me to the south west, it is my responsibility to bring the south west to him. I must look under every rock or stone to see what is living underneath. I must bury my hands in the soil and sift it through my fingers, continually scanning it and analyzing it. I must look through every book store with a thirst for knowledge. Most of all, I must stick my hands, feet or body in every river, creek or trickling brook to feel the life of water. My eyes must scan the horizon looking at the surroundings. I must study how the water and its surroundings co-exist. I must look to see how man has altered this co-existence. Only by doing these things will John be with me. Only this way will I feel I have given John as much as he given me.
"John....Welcome to the southwest!"
Good bye.
4 comments:
"...is unparalleled by other pears..." I find that all types of fruit offer excellent examples to learn from as well ;-) Thanks for sharing your trip.
Mike
Funny stuff. Corrected.
One of the most powerful posts yet. Nice.
I'll agree with jason. That's awesome stuff there my friend. Thanks for sharing that. It's funny how that can work, your time with John and how part of his spirit got inside of yours. I just got a chance to ride with MG this past weekend, and even just a two and a half hour ride with the right guy can get into you. Weird, but really cool all the same.
Again, I thank you for sharing this intensely personal side of you.
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