Something Of Everything

Participating in an interstate relationship has necessitated me getting on a few planes lately. And while I know that flying is safer than crossing the street I also cannot help but think of catastrophy as I sit in a hunk of metal hurling itself across the sky in contravention of all common sense. Flight is one of those things that makes one consider mortality. And so I have recently wondered whether there is anything I have missed in my life. The short answer is that I have done a bit of everything I want to do but I would just like to do more of it.

It all depends on how finely you choose to sub-divide life. I want to travel and have definitely done that. If however I want to list dozens of interesting global destinations then it becomes a case of sometimes yes and sometimes no. But if one accepts that there will always be limits to how long that list can be then I think my more general take on things makes sense. It makes sense in that there are common elements we seek in all experiences.

So I have had lots of excellent experiences of friendship even if there may be others I have never met who would also be wonderful friends. Likewise I have experienced times of affection and intimacy but will always crave more.

I have done lots of things including some I would never have expected. Consider the very minor celebrity of candidacy. I have witnessed some fascinating changes in the way the world works and even played a tiny part in some of them. Everything from sitting in a cinema the first time Star Wars took the world by storm to seeing the day in which an African-American became President of the United States. But what other experiences are to come?

I have listened - over and over - to some awesome music and even contributed to making some. But what new combinations of tone and timing and timbre have I so far missed? I have told and been told some amazing tales and anecdote but there is a whole world of others just round the corner. I have an impressive Transformers collection that nonetheless is missing some key constituents.

In short I have had something of everything so am satisfied if that is all I can get but there is much more that I want even if it is more of the same. And as they say - it is safer than crossing the street (but then I have to do that too)...*

* Attribution to The Young Ones pilot episode for that line.