About six months ago, I was traveling with my good friend Adam, and he mentioned how nice it was to have a travel partner. Initially, I thought it was a compliment directed towards me… …but he elaborated. When you travel alone, there are some advantages….you get to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, nobody to please/piss off, ect, ect.. But one of the major disadvantages about solo travel is that you ALWAYS have to watch your stuff. When I go to the beach….I try take as little as possible…..but I do need to take my bike, backpack, camera, money or a wallet, and also whatever I decide to put in the backpack. Granted, I had a wonderful weekend…but no matter what I was doing……I constantly had to watch my stuff. I have come up with a new term since I have been here…..it is called “Travelers Paranoid Panic Attack”. I don’t care who you are…..this has happened to you at one point or another….here is the scenario:
You are traveling somewhere and you think to yourself…..”I want to get my _____ out of my ______” . So you look in your _____ and start looking for whatever it is that you need. When you cannot find it immediately…..you start to pick up the pace of your search. If you still cannot find it, depending on your personality….you might throw in an F bomb or two….and start throwing things out of your bag/backpack….while picking up the pace even more. This is when the paranoia sets in….. If the search is still in progress you start playing back your day and try to remember who might have “stolen” your goods. Then the accusations start flying……. “It was that son of a bitch on the beach selling ice cream!!! I knew he looked sketchy.” “It was that old man with the hair and arms……he looked guilty as hell”. And then out of nowhere………as if God has been playing tricks on you the entire time……whatever it is that you have been looking for….appears.
Needless to say……this weekend the “Sketchy looking son of a bitch on the beach selling ice cream” did not steal my camera. I left it in my bicycle basket and not in my backpack……..I digress.
Ashby
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