238 miles in the wrong direction

# Chapter 58


238 miles in the wrong direction on purpose. I know, few would do this in America I am discovering. Pretty much everyone thinks I am nuts. But I am also discovering that I value my kids and grandkids far higher than the average American . . . that is if you measure this value by how far I am willing to travel in order to see them. Even if for less than a single day. That’s right, the 500 mile round trip was to see my daughters and grandkids for less than a 24 hour period.


This is the sharp clarity that comes from the deepest clearest understandings of the fragility of life, and the brevity of life! No one will ask me how many hours I worked everyday for the span of my life, nor will anyone care how much I accomplished. Nor will they even care how much money I made or wasted. Now and at the end, the quality of life can only be measured by the relationships that I have and nurture. And I deeply value my relationships with my children and my grandchildren. I am always looking for ways to spend more time with them! I want them to have the deepest and richest memories of me, more than anyone else ever in their whole lives. That can only happen as I sacrifice and make the effort to see them, even though we live continents apart from one another.


I find that Americans spend measurably less time with their relatives, the closer in proximity that they live to them. No wonder I think that American’s minds have been lobotomized by alcohol. Their understanding is clouded by the consumption of these toxic beverages. I love them too, what can I say? But at the moment I am taking a break from alcohol, and I am loving my clarity. On the other hand, there may be no connection whatsoever between alcohol consumption and broken relationships, or devalued relationships. Heck, perhaps alcohol consumption is the only way some people can stand to be with their relatives at all. You decide.