Roots

I suppose it was to be expected that, while being here on my former home turf and getting caught up with old friends, I'd occasionally entertain the thought of settling down. Not necessarily hanging up the Chinook, mind you, but planting myself somewhere more or less permanently, and as plants have been known to do, set down some roots.

The lack of the kind of deep social intimacy that often typifies the mobile lifestyle is, after all, difficult to ignore, and while I have made great strides towards dealing with it, I still can't deny that it is one of the few (possibly the only) lingering rubs to living the way I do.

Spending greater lengths of time in one place has helped me to form relationships that run deeper than, say, a typical week-long stay permits, and also dropping in on family and friends when I'm passing through is another big help in satisfying the need for interaction that goes beyond the usual "so where are you from?" or "what sort of work do you do?" exchanges.

And there's always the telephone, video chat, email, and this blog that help to maintain some sense of community and connectedness, but I wonder if all of these methods combined even come close to duplicating the kind of friendships that only develop when one is "around" day after day after day. And as this quality of friendship may very well be an essential requirement for long term happiness, I find myself wondering exactly how much longer my desire to wander will sufficiently outweigh the need for this sort of regular connection.

I'll freely admit that I don't see myself living this way forever, but then, I doubt if I ever saw myself living in a one bedroom apartment in Burbank forever either, so I guess that's not too meaningful. Still, as we wend our way through any of life's chapters, it's only natural to ponder from time to time how or when the current one will end.

As I suggested at the beginning of this discourse, the nearness of good friends really should conjure up thoughts of, at the very least, hanging around for a long while, if not settling down for good, and as a result, maybe this isn't the most objective time to weigh their validity. That is, perhaps such thoughts are far more telling if and when they arise and persist during times of relative solitude.

For now, I'll just tuck these reflections away for further introspection, revisiting the subject further on down the road with the sort of renewed perspective that carefree travel has a way of providing. While savoring the company of good friends as long as I'm here, I shall continue with plans to resume my southern migration in a matter of days, curious to find out if the allure and promise of the open road will once again, as before, push the perceived need for roots far enough into the background.