I’ve been thinking of how we travel, and when I read two books, “On the Road” by John Kerouac and “The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I began thinking some more. In this podcast, I’ve buried the concept of time within my monologue and will expand on the topic in the next episode.
Listen on..
The Transcript. Kinda.
Streaming consciousness monologue.
I enjoy being on the road, and when I use the word "road," I do not always refer to the physical aspect. Before I continue, I must warn you that this episode may last longer than some previous ones.
Also, I want to start with a quote from Walt Whitman, which I stole from Jack Kerouac's book, "On the Road: The Original Scroll."
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick together as long as we live?
- Walt Whitman.
Alright, I want you to focus on the line—Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?
I've just finished reading John Kerouac's "On the Road" and listening to Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road." After finishing "The Road," I ordered the paperback copy, knowing exactly where and when I will read the book's print edition.
Pause. When I say I know where I will read the book, I have a place, a room, and a sofa in mind. When I reach that spot, I will stretch out and read "The Road" in one sitting. This book demands one sitting. The same applies to "On the Road," but the narrative does not tempt me enough to reread the story.
Therefore, I do not know the exact date I will read "The Road." I just know I will read it when I reach my destination.
Both books describe journeys. John Kerouac's tale is semi-autobiographical, and Cormack McCarthy's tale takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, describing the journey (on foot) of a man and his son to reach the southern parts of the USA to reach a warm locale and to find respite from the dangers they face on the road.
Why do you travel or undertake journeys? Many travel because their business demands them to travel and return with riches for their masters and mistresses. These people undertake the journey, transact business, and return without pausing to understand or appreciate the lands they visit or the people they meet. Some rise in the organization, wrap themselves in a cocoon of seven-star luxury and live in their bubble world. Even when they move to another country or county and live there, they shun the 'native' or judge them through the lens of their home country.
Some, like John Kerouac, travel without knowing why they are on the road, and the trip becomes a blur. John Kerouac's narrative did not appeal to me, nor did his lifestyle at the time or his crazy encounters.
I don't wish to experience what Cormac McCarthy described in his book, nor do I wish it on anyone.
But pause for a moment: the journeys described in these two books take place on the road yet differ wildly.
Some people wish to travel on the road and 'live it up,' as they say. Others escape from something – danger, a horrible life - and seek a better future. Yet others travel to conduct business, and others disappear on family holidays, honeymoons, or other reasons.
Every experience is real, and it is not for you or me to claim someone else's travels are inauthentic. Your reality is not mine.
Even when you travel as a group, not only will each of you experience the trip differently. Different motivations drive each of you differently. I stopped traveling with a man because his reasons for travel diverged from mine. The prospect of picking up women motivated him, and I just wanted to photograph the landscape, historical monuments, and people on the street.
On another journey, one member of our small group searched for temples everywhere and wished to pack in as many experiences as possible. In contrast, I wanted to visit just a few places and explore them deeply.
What do you bring to your journeying? Your prejudice, curiosity, respect for strange places and people? Do you wish to remember everything literally or combine the tangible experience with your mental journeys, one superimposing itself on the other?
Your journey, experience, perception, and memory of every trip will differ from mine, and how you communicate your experience will vary. Some people write, others write and take photos, others make photographs, and others make videos, photographs, and write!
If we travel together, we journey along different paths, yet there are many points where we walk together towards that distant horizon.
Travel is as much of a spiritual experience as a temporal one. I'd like you to consider what I just said and ask if you agree.
In "The Road," Cormac McCarthy tells the tale of a father and son, both nameless, walking along the road, each bound to the other, journeying towards freedom, freedom, in the end, meaning something different for both. "I give you my love more precious than money" are the unspoken words between the two, cementing their bond.
They are two anonymous travelers walking together, each treading his path.
Walt Whitman asked, 'Will you travel with me?"
Who will you take on your journeys – friend, family, acquaintance, or will you have your thoughts as your companion?
Let me know your thoughts. In the meantime, keep taking photos. Have fun. See you next time!
Share this post