Escapees September-October 2023

thoughts for the road

I can’t promise that you will have such an unforgettable adventure. But I can say with certainty that you will miss many wonderful experiences if you are always tied to the umbilical cord of a prearranged itinerary. Serendipity dies in the shadow of predictability. Those who always follow any strict itinerary remind me of the processionary caterpillar, a strange breed that feeds on pine trees and gets its name because it always moves through the trees in a long procession. One leads and the others follow, each with its head snugly fi tted against the rear extremity of its predecessor. A French naturalist tried an experiment. He placed them in a circle on the rim of a fl ower pot with each one connected to the last. They kept moving around the rim of the pot until exhaustion and starvation set in. Habit and past experience kept them from leaving the rim to partake in the food supply that was close by and easily visible. If our travels are going to be a great adventure, we cannot be afraid to take a risk and leave the procession occasionally. Otherwise, we can end up going in circles along the rim of life. It is the unknown and the unplanned, so rich in possibilities, that turn life into an adventure. An excerpt from Escapees magazine Sept/Oct 2006

Co-founder

September/October 2023 ESCAPEES Magazine 1