Wonders of the World - July 4 2026

 

Wonders of the World

July 4 2026

I do not travel well.

Like stone fruit

or cranky toddlers.

Which feels like a confession,

as if I’d openly admitted

to cheating on my taxes

or my unwitting wife.

Was I born a homebody 

or did I become one?

Not easy to say,

except that change is hard

and routine keeps me centred.

Do I lack imagination? 

Have I no spontaneity?

Am I too timid for adventure

too attached to my comforts

too mired in a rut?

Perhaps, somewhat,

but mostly I resent

insinuations like these.

Because, while I may not rush to catch an early flight

or eat raw fish

I travel in my head,

take risks

even if they are less apparent,

and create original work;

which is more than be said

for the tourists taking selfies

and checking off their lists

of wonders of the world.

Of course, not all travellers are tourists,

all first world visitors 

entitled Americans

who talk too loud

and complain about the portions.

And their carbon footprint

isn’t always too much

or even unjustified.

Mine, especially,

nicely settled

in my familiar abode

without the jet-lagged days

or sleepless nights,

the lost luggage

bad stomach

or tropical sun

draining me dry.

At home,

writing my way through time and space

without leaving my easy chair

or missing my dogs.

My parents were enthusiastic travellers. But on their return, they invariably declared that the best part of travelling was getting home again! (My dad was hardly an “ugly American”, but visiting London wa6 back in the 1960s (I suspect things have changed since then) he did complain about the portions:  the English version of a sirloin steak was like an appetizer compared to what a Canadian thought of as a man-sized cut of beef. I think he ordered a second!)

Of course, one must make a distinction between the tourist and the traveller. There is a telling difference in mindset between the two:  the former, more all-inclusive resort stretched out by the pool sipping pink fizzy drinks; while the latter brings to his travels an openness to adventure and accident, a respect for other cultures, and a lively curiosity. 

No doubt travel can enlighten and enlarge. But not me. Away from home, I’m too stressed, constipated, and sleep-deprived for either! Probably on the spectrum (autism spectrum, that is), which may explain more.