wanderlust

wanderlust |ˈwändərˌləst|

noun

a strong desire to travel: a man consumed by wanderlust.

         First of all, shout out to United Airlines.  After flying Southwest and American Airlines every month for the past year, I feel like I upgraded from the Flintstone mobile to a Rolls Royce.  Comfy seats? Adequate legroom? Personal monitors? Check. Check. Check.  Fly the friendly skies indeed.  Give me a High Life and a hot dog and my vacation is complete at 35,000 feet. 

            Speaking of personal monitors and air travel, though, I’ve been watching a trailer on loop for that Ben Stiller masterpiece The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  I’ll ignore the irony of making a 100 million dollar[i] movie about a man’s “secret” life (not so secret now, eh Walter?), and I’ll concentrate on what I’ve gleaned to be the central conceit of the film, at least based on the trailer.  Basically, Mr. Mitty hates his boring life.  He never does anything out of the ordinary, and lacks the courage to do anything exceptional, including simply asking a woman out for a cocktail.  However, some sort of hallucination man waving to him in a poster just unleashes his imagination.  Soon he is scaling Alpine peaks, leaping from helicopters into turbulent seas, battling a shark with a briefcase, and playing soccer with underage children in a third-world county. 

            Set this montage to “Viva La Vida” or some Explosions in the Sky, and even I will feel a stirring down in my soul.  A feeling that I should get off my keister and go out and experience life: scream into the Grand Canyon, learn to play the sitar on some beautiful rug in India, tug the tail of the tiger, ask that vexing vixen out on date.  You know the deal; Go. Do.[ii] Heck, even the movie poster for Mitty is ol’ Ben sitting crosslegged on wing of an airplane at 35,000 feet.  The message is clear – Get out there! Travel! Don’t be scared to see and do things you wouldn’t otherwise! Life is short! It’s not the number of breaths you take but the breaths that take your life away yada yada…

            What’s the deal with wanderlust?  Why do we have such an innate desire to travel?  The simple answer is to see new things.  After all, it is no secret that the human eye craves novelty.  The somewhat deeper answer is that we are tired of our daily routine.[iii]  Both are true to a certain (and certainly large) extent. 

Many people are not happy with their lives.[iv] Many people want to see spectacular things.  In the age of twitter and twenty-four hour news coverage, many people suffer from information overload.  I’m supposed to feel more connected.  This morning, I listened to Mike and Mike on ESPN radio and heard them discuss the officiating in last night’s Clippers-Thunder game.  I switched stations and listened to Memphis radio dynamos Drake and Zeke discuss racist comments made at a school board meeting.  I got on twitter and saw a map of what North American will look like if the sea level rises ten feet.  I read a review by the Economist of Godzilla that said it was terrible and was so bummed out that I went to Flixster and watched all the trailers again because I want to see it at midnight (the 85% guaranteed fresh on Rotten Tomatoes reassures me).  I saw a picture of the new largest outdoor chandelier (how soon until the next largest outdoor chandelier?)  Just today, I’ve read about the wildfires in Southern California, why a female editor of the New York Times has was possibly fired for asking for equal pay, and what Dolly Parton thinks about a too-much-naked Miley Cyrus spitting water on her audience members. 

            Right now, in May of 2014, citizens of Earth are more connected than they have ever been.  That castle on a mountaintop in Germany is closer than ever before.  Those hot springs in Iceland are as inviting as ever.  That cruise you have been dreaming of is only a click away.[v] It doesn’t take much to climb out on that wing, find your inner Ghandi, and see the world like Mr. Mitty.  I think this is a good thing.[vi]  The best part of watching Mr. Mitty doing all of these things in this trailer is that (if you have the means) all of it is possible.  YOU can destroy your Jos. A. Bank suit by wearing it while diving into the ocean saltwater because you really don’t care.  YOU can tap your inner Pele, turn around someone not wearing cleats, and assist in the game-winning goal as the sun sets majestically in the background.  YOU can do what Quint could only do once, and get the better of the shark.  YOU can get all inspired and write your Leaves of Grass.

            Listen, I just looked to my right out of a very small airplane window and saw a jet in the distance zooming in the opposite direction.  I can still see the contrails against the setting sun, and as I type this, I feel like it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.[vii]  Since I started this post, the stewardesses have passed out their beverages, the baby in the back has screamed itself to sleep, and woman in front of me has reclined her seat enough to make me regret typing the first paragraph.[viii]  I’ve still got an hour to go before I land.  One of the first things I’ll do when I land is check my twitter.  Why? Because I want to feel connected.  Maybe I should learn a lesson from this endlessly looping Walter Mitty, and climb out on the wing to my left.  Not because I need to escape[ix] and not because my life is dull, but because I’d rather feel connected through personal experience.  I think in the future, a lot more value will be placed on seeing something firsthand, rather than seeing it on some glowing rectangular screen.

           

             

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[i] This is terrible, because I’ve taught language arts for three years, but how the heck to you write “100 million dollar”? Is it “100,000,000 dollar” or “$100,000,000” or “$100 million” or even “$100 million dollar”? I guess this is something I should know if I’m going to be keeping a blog. 

[ii] You're GD Right I just used a colon and semicolon correctly in consecutive sentences.  Like I said, language arts teacher for three years. 

[iii] Personally, I love feeling like an astronaut eating some vital, nutrient laden paste every morning when I enjoy my greek yogurt, but I realize I’m probably the exception. 

[iv] Not me. (Am I overdoing it with the footnotes? Sorry. Wait. A note within a footnote? Inception Footnote!). 

[v] I, for one, am inclined to avoid the Carnival Cruise Caribbean sh**-shower, but that’s just like, my opinion, man.   

[vi] The man sitting next to me is apparently happy giggling to himself while watching We’re the Millers  on his iPad.

[vii] HOLYSMOKES Not making that up that was awesome!!!!!

[viii] What is it about air travel that makes 75% of people on board the plane fall asleep within fifteen minutes? Finally, someone else is in charge of my well-being. Take me to Houston. No, I don’t need a beverage.  You’re charging for mini-pretzels? My life is too stressful – let me escape for a little in this locked and upright position.    

[ix] I don’t know where else to include this, but the woman in the seat in front of me rocks back and forth more than Flipper.  Jeez. I’m getting crushed repeatedly.  C’mon!