Heidi's Travels ~ 4 comments

4 May 2006 @ 12:54, by hgoodgame I found this today on my box of green tea. 'The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers, but most of all the world needs dreamers that do!' - Sarah Ban Breathnath Well, it spoke to me since I've just returned from a month on the road, covering in all 26 states and seeing a lot of what is going on 'out there'. It was a pretty full round trip, took the southern route to the east coast and came back thru the north. Exhausting but enlightening. The northeast is a mess of traffic congestion, Maryland, Delaware, Washington DC, Philadelphia; all nightmares to drive thru when you're not familiar with the territory. The people I encountered on the way were mostly simple and kind, all trying their best to make it in a world seemingly crashing down around them. Gas prices of course.. well, we won't even get into that, it was the most expensive part of my trip since I slept most nights in the back of my truck in rest areas, lol! One place I visited was my brother in Philadelphia, where this country began with it's stand on freedoms. Freedom of speech for sure, freedom of the press, freedom from religious persecution, etc. Now one has to go thru a scanner much like at the airports just to see, for instance, the Liberty Bell. So much fear and yet I never encountered a single incident where I felt threatened even though I was a 'woman alone'. Most everyone I knew was worried about me doing this adventure by myself, especially sleeping in rest areas! No problem, they are well lit, and there are so many truckers that stay the nights there, I felt quite safe. The truckers were probably the most considerate drivers on the long stretches and I often felt them sort of surrounding me with the safety of their big rigs. I just got back yesterday, exactly one month to the day from when I left. I feel like I can do just about anything now! Drove over 8000 miles, had a couple of near mishaps but came back unscratched (except for a strange vampire bite on my thigh, ;) but it's healing very nicely too.) My initial interpretation is that we are all dreamers, like the people in the Matrix, deep in our dreams of happiness or sorrow as we have each created the dream for ourselves. I'm happy! If it all comes crashing down, and in many ways I am hoping it will and soon, because from the rubble we will raise something much stronger, enduring, and more loving (see, I'm in my dream too but I really like mine and hope it will be contagious!). Found this saying in the building where they house the Liberty Bell - ' The people themselves must be the ultimate makers of their own constitution.' Theodore Roosevelt, 1912 Now I can't seem to sleep past about 4:30am because that's when I usually started out most mornings. I've lots of stories to tell and they will slip out slowly as I re-adjust to being landed again. As Dorothy says, 'There's no place like home!'

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