One of
the main reasons I like listening to Jimmy Buffett is that he is a storyteller. On his most recent album, he has a song
titled “I Want to Go Back to Cartagena” that talks about his desire to see the
world and how much he sees this as an adventure. There is a part of the song that talks about
how “the importance of elsewhere is still that important to me”. I truly understand that feeling. It is probably one of the reasons I enjoy my
job. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been
in Turkeytown, Two Egg, Scrambletown, Gainesville and Bushnell. I’m writing this in Pensacola, and will be
all through the western part of the panhandle by the time you’ve read
this.
I’ve
also come to the very strong belief that one of the best things my wife and I
have done for our son was to let him understand the importance of
elsewhere. Right now that is coming
strongly into play. I’m also happy to
report, that even with the current happenings, Dad here has not started fueling
the helicopter with a setting of ‘hover’.
So far, I’ve been able to keep that helicopter in the hanger.
So what
is going on? Well, Ian is now down to
about seven classes left before he finishes his associate in science degree
from the local college. He wants to
continue on to finish his B.S. degree.
Ian still wants to be a cartographer.
He has been looking at colleges that have the appropriate programs. We’ve already toured Lenoire Rhyne, in North
Carolina. There are 3 or so schools in
Florida we will be looking at. We will
probably be taking a look at R.I.T., in Rochester, New York. And finally, Ian announced that he wants to
take a look at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. That
last one was a bit of a surprise…. But
his rationale is valid. The school
offers the program he is interested in.
Ian also pointed out he already knows the town, since we’ve been there a
number of times, and actually been on the campus a few times as well. Also, he
also knows someone going there already.
So…we will see what happens.
The
point is, however, that Ian sees the world as an adventure. He is not afraid of the world, but wants to
experience it. Ian does not see the
world as a scary place, and does not see his special needs as a limiting
issue. Instead, part of the adventure is
how to navigate around them. He revels
in the differences between people and cultures and environments. Fits well with his interest in cartography as
well, does it not? Also, isn’t it better
to go through life seeing it as an enjoyable challenge, than something to be
afraid of? I know too many people who
fit the latter description, and not enough who fit the former. In the long run, I truly believe this desire
to see, to go, and to do serves every child well. It creates curiosity, and curiosity needs
answers. To get those answers, you
explore, and when you explore, you learn.
Ian and
I were talking the other day, like we usually do, and he told me he would
really like to go to the Masai Mara or maybe Indonesia. I told him I would really like to do the
former, but I’m not really interested in the latter. Mom then asked Ian where he was planning on
planting the money tree he would need to harvest to get there. Ian did what he normally does with those kinds
of questions – he just laughed and said just wait. I
don’t doubt that someday he will get there.
Ian definitely does understand the importance of elsewhere.
