Markets to supermarkets to Costco...

June 22, 2005:

I am sitting at a sidewalk cafe in a little market area in Rome -
Campo de' Fiori to be more exact. The market in front of me has
many small vendors under large white rectangular umbrellas as
protection from the sun. Mostly I see fruits and vegetables, though
there are also people selling everything from CDs to t-shirts to
wine glasses. This morning I have been partial to the fruits,
peaches and cherries specifically.

I realized this morning that I have been partial to the markets in
many cities and countries around the world in both places I have
lived and places I have visited. I am still not entirely sure of
the attraction, but clearly there is one for me and I am not alone
in this. Perhaps this morning it was a woman at a fruit stand
picking out a most particularly ripe peach for me, giving me a
knowing look that that this was more than a financial transaction.
The look told me I would enjoy my purchase - and she cared that I
did. Yes, this is part of the sales technique, but somehow much
more satisfying than "100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money
back" (if you stand in a really long line...) Dealing with the same
individual on a daily or weekly basis - and depending on that
person's integrity is an entirely different relationship than that
between an individual and a corporation - and depending on the
corporation's integrity. Aww geez... can't I just enjoy this peach
without consideration of the socio-economic justice of the
situation?? :) It was excellent, by the way... It's the little
things that make such a difference...

As promised, my updates are inconsistent and incoherent, running In
parallel with life itself. The original purpose of my mailing list
was to provide basic updates of my whereabouts to friends and
family, so here goes:

After reluctantly leaving Honduras I spent a month or so mostly in
DC, trying on some level for stability and "normal life." I have
realized that in my last couple of years of travel what I miss is
friendships and relationships and allowing them to progress and
grow. Clearly I also miss a sense of community. I meet wonderful
people everywhere and then I move on. Thinking that I might
eventually (soon?) live in DC or thereabouts, I allowed myself to be
closer to people than I had in some time, knowing I would feel the
hurt when I left for the summer, but comforted in expecting I would
return. It seems a shame to sum up the joy of my DC experience so
far with this one little paragraph, but that's what's going to
happen... for now. Will I end up in DC, Baltimore, Vancouver,
The Yukon or ??? Who knows... but I'm feeling the need to be
somewhere for awhile.

I was supposed to sail to Europe - Miami to Bermuda to Azores to
Portugal, but when I arrived in Florida the boat was not properly
prepared, and neither was the crew. With the near disaster of my
last ocean sailing experience it didn't seem like a good idea to
continue this one. I sincerely do hope to be proven wrong, and want
very much to get a note from Howard and Larry about the great times
I missed. Perhaps another time I will try a sailing venture of this
level.

Anyway, I am now making my way towards a friend's wedding in Greece,
on the island of Ikaria. I leave Rome tomorrow morning and with a
series of trains and boats should arrive in Athens in a couple of
days. Kind of funny that in making it to this wedding I seem to be
missing five?!? yes, five weddings of close friends back in the US.
The wedding was my excuse for the Europe trip, so I should make a
decent effort to get there I suppose. The wedding being on a
relatively obsucre island is of course a great motivation.

Before I left DC I did manage to get some Guatemala and Honduras
photos on the website, though I still didn't finish Alaska and the
road trip. All of this will happen eventualy, but I seem to do
better with the present and near future than the past I guess.
Perhaps this was why I decided to write about buying a peach instead
of answering yet another interview about Gold Dollar and White
Stripes. Ah well... Life is what one makes it, moment by moment by
moment.

I have to stop here and note that it does feel a bit self-indulgent
to be babbling along about my thoughts and experiences. I mean who
cares really!?! It seems especially odd noticing that there are
more people that I don't know personally on this list than people I
do know?!? Every once in awhile I feel as though I am starting a
cult. Not really sure where to go with that one. I'll work on
being more creative with the next posting... While my propensity to
go on and on is known - and implied in the name of this list - what
I really value is input, interaction and experience. I think that
must be why I am wandering... So, friend or stranger... What made
you smile today? Let's try to make meaningful eye contact...

All the best,
-Neil



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