For The Love Of Great Expeditions
Sunday • June 20th 2021 • 3:38:26 pm
There is a rule that is not as popular as it should be,
I call it the 45 minute rule!
Basically, the 45 minute marker,
divides adventure from expedition.
Now, before I carry on,
allow me to admit.
That I was in deed the child,
that would eat the tasty sandwiches...
The moment he quit fidgeting and settled in,
in the bus, that didn't even leave the parking lot.
And let me further clarify,
that these were real sandwiches.
Sometimes they didn't even use butter,
but, like, rotisserie chicken thing.
And it would not always be ham,
often it was a large sausage called: Oławska Kiełbasa.
And sometimes little bits of said chicken,
cooked to perfection, of course.
We are talking here about,
high end culinary creations.
Chicken recipes passed down through generations,
and there was always this special spice that accompanied the poor chicken.
And before I go on,
I wan to say that when New York's El Blizzardo hit.
I saw the snow, I was there,
people were building igloos and all that.
But, I wasn't mindful of expeditions and adventures even,
and tragically my time during El Blizzardo was merely few days off and then crawling back to school.
In my defense, I quietly assumed that El Blizardos happen every other year,
or so.
What I am saying is that we need to develop a nose for Expeditions and Adventures,
and thankfully it has never been simpler to take photos, and do take a lot of them,
What I should have done, was to walk,
or attempt to tunnel with all the other maniacs across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Perhaps I would have made it to see Dave in person that night,
they were apparently not paying enough for people to show up.
Mostly though I was a Coco fan,
goodness knows he needed at least one audience member back then.
And for once,
it actually helped, that I didn't speak a word of English (rimshot).
Unfunny comedians aside, the lesson was learned,
know when an adventure begins, always be ready.
And know when an adventure becomes an expedition,
make sure to take plenty of water, and silly photos.
These things happen once a decade,
and my goodness, each decade will be better than the previous.
El Blizzardo went down in 1996,
by 2006 the end of my first decade, I've had the great pleasure of finishing to learn Engrish, and retiring as a programmer.
By 2016, the end of my second decade, not only did I finish reading my first thousand books,
but I slowly begun discovering, that unbelievably, I had something to say.
And while it is true that 2026 has not arrived yet,
I will have surely cursed the world with the completion of my first Audio Book by then.
I think it is really important for all of us to create funny and long winded narrations,
it is good for the spirit, it works great across time, and it is not even that hard.
The thing about Audio Books is not that they require extra time,
bur rather, that it requires many years, to make a good Audio Book, as many as you can spare.
And while a good paperback should me be more than a hundred pages,
a good and interesting Audio Book, should be 50, or 100, or even 500 hours long.
As many years as you are willing to spare,
and you will never regret it, especially if you manage to share all the wisdom of that particular age.
All else fails, just tell them this come your final chapter:
"Hey, if you can sit through my book - you can sit through anything." - and that counts for something.
Never miss an expedition, because an expedition comes from almost the same place,
that you curiosities do - and I bet you never thought about it that way.
Be it a great adventure, or a 45 minute plus expedition,
the moment it comes to a close, you won't just be better for it, you will be Greater for it (and I mean the word in a Philosophical sense)
It is all fun and games,
until you find yourself becoming a Greater, and Greater Being.
And I bet you never thought about this too:
"What exactly is the point of an expedition?".
We are so deeply familiar with the answer to the Expedition question,
that it almost sounds circular when you say it: "The point of an expedition is Greatness."
Even though it may seem like walking to the Supermarket for a change,
is no big deal, it is.
Because it is the time you spend,
with the most important thoughts, how lucky you are, how young, or wise, or out of control, or all of the above.
All that it takes to set off on great adventures,
is leaving the car keys at home; and a good pair of walking shoes.
Look around,
You are surrounded by Adventures and Expeditions.