Friday, July 08, 2011
Let Me See
“Let’s walk just one more block. There might be something really great that we need to see, but don’t know that we need to see, either along the block or around the corner.” That‘s the kind of thinking that has shown me the Strict and Particular Baptist Church, the Church of the Natural Hygiene (What do people do in there?) and the Goodbody Mortuary. Admittedly, these aren’t places that guidebooks will direct you to, but they’re places that I’m glad that I’ve seen if only for their curiosity-piquing value. To me that’s one of the biggest pleasures of travel: the unexpected and moderately curious.
“Let me see!” is a phrase that young children often use as they attempt to push in front of you or to a window to catch sight of a curiosity. In a more sophisticated way, isn’t that “Let-me-see!” excitement one of the reasons that we brave the TSA and sally forth?
Climbing up to high places is another manifestation of the “Let me see!” impulse. A different perspective, an overview, is one of the rewards of travel. That point is well illustrated by the story about the little boy who was directed to draw an ice-cream cone. He confidently and quickly drew a circle with some dots scattered on it. His response, when questioned about this unexpected depiction, was that it was how an ice-cream cone looked from the top. From above, the cone is unseen. All that is visible is the mound of ice cream punctuated with the occasional nut. Travel often offers that different angle from which to view life.
In the book “1215,” the authors mention that during that time in history most people never travelled more than ten miles from the place that they were born. Isn’t that a stunner of a thought in this very mobile age?
This past spring, Paul Theroux had an article, “Why We Travel” in The New York Times where he examined some of our motivations for crossing that ten-mile boundary. Words like “marvels,” “sense-of-discovery,” “enlightenment,” and “enrichment” expressed some of his conclusions.
When you were a child, or maybe just last week, did you read about something that captured your imagination? Something that left you curious and having that “Let me see!” desire? Olive trees, Stonehenge and more recently Guernsey are some of the items from my list. I’m clearly a poster-child for the Louisa-May-Alcott-syndrome of “She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”
As a reader/ traveler/gardener, reading about “plant hunters,” has led me down more than one garden path, and left me to consider our desire to make plants from other areas our own. “Let me see!” becomes “Let me have.” And, oddly enough, the objects of our desire may be regarded as wild nuisances in their native habitat. I’ve noted that certain varieties of iris, rhododendron, fern, and even wisteria, which I have coveted, are occasions for ruthless ripping-up in other locales.
As well as being garden-changing, travel can leave a residue of life-changes. Broadened eating habits, music choices, and clothing preferences all are signs of, if not exactly “going-native” as the Brits used to say, at the least of exposure to options that probably come from farther afield than ten miles.
There’s a story that when Daniel Boone was about 80 years old he walked from Missouri out to Pike’s Peak just because he wanted to see it. My Mother was an adopter of that because-it’s-there attitude too. “Go while you can,” was a frequent maxim of hers as she aged. Conscious of creeping infirmities, she was eager to see as far beyond her ten miles as she could while she could. Wise woman!
So, in this traditional season of travel, walk another block; shout out “Let me see! ”and go while you can, even if it’s only 11 miles. A change of perspective often leads to surprise and delight.
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A random pick from more than 460 Michiana Chronicles -- refresh the browser to see another set:
April Lidinsky -- More essays by April
Joe Chaney -- More essays by Joe
Ken Smith -- More essays by Ken
Jeanette Saddler Taylor -- Let Me See / More essays by Jeanette
Heather Curlee Novak -- More essays by Heather
David James -- More essays by David
Elizabeth Van Jacob -- More essays by Elizabeth
Jeff Nixa -- More essays by Jeff
Louise Collins -- More essays by Louise
Jonathan Nashel -- More essays by Jonathan
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About the series
Michiana Chronicles is a series of radio essays by Jonathan Nashel, Louise Collins, Joe Chaney, Jeanette Saddler Taylor, Jeff Nixa, April Lidinsky, Ken Smith, Heather Curlee Novak, David James, and Elizabeth Van Jacob.
Michiana is the region of north-central Indiana and southern Michigan roughly centered on South Bend, Indiana.
Michiana Chronicles airs on Fridays at 7:35 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on WVPE (88.1 FM), the home of public radio in Elkhart / South Bend, Indiana.
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