My life has been defined by the moments that I went out on the open road ... starting a journey for an unknown destination. These are key, contemplative, moments in my life. I will tell you about them, because they have punctuated a lot of times that helped me get through.
Car: 1972 Scout II
Time: 16th birthday
The first time I ever left my house to drive alone. I was going from my parents house to a night school class at ASU, but I never felt more alive.
Car: 1973 International Travelall
Time: After high school graduation
My roommate Kris and I left Wallingford, CT to drive to Ohio, New Orleans and then Colorado. It was our post-HS road trip, and it felt like we owned the world. Nothing could touch us and everything was possible.
Car: 1992 Ford Bronco
Time: Junior year in college
My Dad and I left Phoenix on a dark morning to drive my car to Philadelphia. The first time I would take a car with me (and get lots of parking tickets trying to park in Philly). It was a feeling of ownership that I have rarely hard (even when I bought a house).
Car: 1992 Ford Bronco
Time: 1 week after college graduation and being commissioned in the Navy.
I left Philadelphia at 5am on the way to a wedding in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and then to South Carolina for Nuclear Power School. My first trip as a wage-earning adult and the beginning of my time in the Navy.
Car: 1992 Ford Bronco
Time: Leaving Washington DC in the Fall of 2002
I left DC at 6am on the way to Norfolk, VA to report to my submarine, the USS San Francisco.
Car: 1992 Ford Bronco
Time: Arrival in Guam
I left the vehicle depot in Guam after picking up my car and drove through the typhoon ravaged island, with power poles lying everywhere. I went to Tumon and watched the sunset on a quiet night over Nikko Palace.
Car: 1999 Nissan Sentra (the Bronco was totaled after it slipped off the road in a tropical storm)
Time: Back in the USA
I picked up the car in Los Angeles with my mother and then we drop up towards Seattle (almost getting in a car accident in the first 30 minutes). It was just when we arrived on the mainland.
Car: 1999 Nissan Sentra
Time: leaving the Navy
I had all my possessions packed in the Sentra until it was loaded to the axles. I left the personnel processing station and drove out of Seattle without stopping to change out of my uniform. I put 200 miles between me and the submarine before I changed. I was almost as excited as the first time I drove away from home. That trip took me all the way across the country to DC, where I sold the car.
Car: 1989 BMW 325i
Time: after business school
On a clear morning, I left Phoenix AZ with a back seat full of books an clothes on my way to San Francisco. I was taking a risk, going to a new city. My life is in closets (a storage unit in Philly, a closet in Colorado, a closet in my parents' house in Phoenix, a closet in my friend's house in SF, and I live in the closet of a room in Japantown.)
I am in flux. I have no home. But I have my wits and my knowledge, and I know that the future holds bright things.
I am full of optimism.
