The World of the Surreal

You know, it can be rough traveling all the time. One tends to lose track of time, place, belonging. It takes some getting used to living more or less out of a suitcase, feeling like every day must hold something special because, after all, you’re traveling! Don’t get me wrong, I love being in this situation. I love waking up somewhere new, different. But, I also love waking up in my own bed, at home, with all my toys at my immediate disposal. I like routine, as I also like the occasional disruption of the non-routine. Such a quandary. Like I said, sometimes complete immersion can be difficult.

You’re probably thinking, “Really, sucker? What the hell’s your problem?” Okay, yeah, well let’s be truthful: I don’t have a problem. I have a conundrum, a paradox, an enigma. I created this bizarre reality, and I’m living in it. It’s not that hard, really. In fact, it’s quite pleasant. If anything, being new to me it’s created something of a sensory disconnect, like a limbo between what and how I’m used to living and how I’m able to live now. Moving around, extended vacations in beautiful places, traveling on the road for weeks at a time doing nothing but skiing, inserting ourselves in strange places merely for the entertainment of it.

It doesn’t feel quite real; it’s as if we’re voyeurs in our own lives. Out of body observers, hovering around just to get a jolly or two watching the rest of the world stumble and bumble around, scurrying here and there, getting all worked up over events that will inevitably calm themselves over time. Truth be told, it’s really fun to watch humanity.

I’ll admit there are still things that raise my ire. I really wonder if anyone knows what the hell they’re doing. Based on the history of man, it doesn’t appear so. Quite a bit of this looks like dumb luck; you know, trail and error. Trial and error is one of the accepted scientific methods. Ha! That says it all, doesn’t it? Thomas Edison became famous for being one of the best in history at it. Ad nauseum. Couldn’t stop himself. Hired two hundred guys to help him figure out thousands of things that wouldn’t work. For years, decades! Talk about lottery odds. Simple brute force. We’re not very efficient most of the time, but we sure are entertaining.

So that’s what I do a lot of in this endless train of visiting strange places. Naturally, we also get to run into our share of strange people. Take yesterday, for instance. We did something incredibly touristy – we took the self-guided tour of movie star homes in old Palm Springs, CA. It’s worth driving around the old Las Palmas neighborhood just to see the lush, palatial, well-kept homes. It’s amazing how close together all of the ’40s through ’60s Hollywood movie stars lived. They were like one big happy family keeping an eye on one another. Sure they were.

But, better than that, we were suddenly and unexpectedly accosted by an old codger, possibly even someone who lives in the area, while we were parked in the shade of a huge, well-manicured hedge by the side of the road. While talking on the phone to one of our sons, this old fart comes to a screeching halt near us, as if he recognizes us. He throws his Toyota Celica in reverse, backs up and instantly begins berating me through closed windows. We’re in a convertible, top and windows down, minding our own business here by the side of the road, where we’ve been for the last ten minutes. We look at each other. There’s been virtually no traffic in this neighborhood. We have no clue what this old battleaxe is going on about.

Noting his windows are closed and he seems to be getting more and more belligerent as the seconds go by, I figure he wants to give a tongue lashing without exposing himself to the very real consequences of me getting out of my car and giving this guy what for in a physical way. The long and the short of it – a chickenshit. After initially feigning real ignorance to his issues and the appearance of his vehemently displayed middle finger, I finally tell him to “Fuck off and die!” He leaves. What the hell was that all about!? LOL! What a crazy old bastard.

After that we’ve had enough of the neighborhood of the stars, and head to a favorite haunt, the Tommy Bahama restaurant in Palm Desert. It’s happy hour and it’s very busy. After some delay and distraction, we find two seats inside at the bar. We are just about to seat ourselves when a couple about our age approaches. They have scored two seats at the outdoor bar, but would prefer to sit indoors, out of the breeze and the heat. They very gracefully ask, would we consider trading seating locations? Absolutely, no problem whatsoever.

They express both surprise and gratitude, and we swiftly make the trade. No harm, no foul. Besides, we actually prefer sitting outside, so it ends up a win for everyone. We think nothing more of it, consult the menu and ready ourselves for a pair of mojitos. Suddenly, the nice bartender approaches, announcing the couple we traded seats with wants to buy our first round as a thank you. We happily say yes, and wave a cordial thank you to them both, with a kind acknowledgement. Very nice. Gratitude and grace, two of the best traits there are. An hour later, we thank them again as we leave. Very nice people. Let’s have more of that.

So that’s the world in live in. Unpredictable, wildly swinging from one extreme to the other. I remember one with humor and a faint bit of disgust, the other with fondness, empathy and care. The latter also makes me wonder why people continue to grasp the negative, the angry, the hateful. So much more is to be won with kindness and goodwill. And that is the best part of these travels. Witnessing people who try to do their best, even in trying conditions. People who are courteous and conscious the needs of others may not mesh with their own, and accepting that. Patience and kindness always win the day.