2009/06/23

PROMPTuesday #61 – Im-a-gin-aaaaaation!

DaGoddess @ 03:46

ImaginationAll I could think of when I read the word ” was Spongebob. I know, I know. It’s a sickness. No, it’s worse than that. It’s called “kids”. When you have kids who were present for the debut of the Sponge and all the friendly undersea critters, you become familiar with it, too. (It sure as hell was better than Barney and thank God it was pre-Dora!)

Anyway, Deb wants us to use our imagination this week and describe something we’ve never experienced. Uh…okay. I guess.

So here I am, suitcase and camera, passport and ID in hand, standing alone at the airport. My flight for London leaves in just under and hour and the butterflies have found me. I’m heading off on a trip around the world. I have no idea when I’ll be heading home. All I know is there’s a world to be seen and I’m getting paid to see it for other people.

After exploring London and the surrounding area, I head to Edinborough. I’m particularly excited because I’ll be catching up with an old co-worker there. Sheila. We haven’t seen each other since I was pregnant with my son, but Christmas cards and other mail have kept us in touch. From there, the plan is to hit Paris and then move on to more exotic locales, like Morocco, Kenya, Botswana…just about anywhere and everywhere imaginable, including Topeka. Don’t think the U.S. isn’t exotic. Much of it is just as foreign to me as another country. I’ve seen so little of my own country. I think, “perhaps I should have started with America…” and then I dismiss the temporary guilt, knowing full well that this assignment is something I always dreamed I’d be able to do and I’ll get to wherever I’m going however and whenever destiny desires.

This line of thinking brings me back to the real purpose of the trip: to experience the world, to document my experiences in both word and image. Thank God for National Geographic’s contest otherwise it would have never happened.

I grab my cell phone and give one last call to the kids. They reassure me all will be well and they’re excited for me. I realize this is the last time I’ll be using my regular cell for however long as I’ve been given a satellite phone since I’ll often find myself in the middle of nowhere. It’s not likely to encounter a footballer in the U.K. or a rhino in the middle of Africa with a cell tower attached to their heads.

Everything’s different, but I’m still the same I realize, finally in my plane seat. “Will I be the same when I return?” I wonder as the wheels lift off the runway. Only one way to know for certain: I have to go. And I do…

9 Comments

  1. Love it! But, as usual, I want the story to continue. You really need to write a book!
    :thumbs:

    Comment by pamibe — 2009/06/23 @ 06:58

  2. I love this story. I am going to have join prompt Tuesday again to get my creative juices flowing.

    Comment by Renee aka @cutiebootycaes — 2009/06/23 @ 09:05

  3. That was really cool…makes me actually want to leave America and see what’s out there…but I probably won’t. hehe ;)

    Comment by Crystal — 2009/06/23 @ 09:12

  4. Pretty good post. I just came across your blog and wanted to say
    that I have really liked browsing your posts. In any case
    I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

    Comment by Jenny — 2009/06/23 @ 16:59

  5. Pam, I need to find a way to get paid to sit around musing.

    Renee, Crystal — the world awaits!

    Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/06/23 @ 20:34

  6. Yes, you do! :thumbs:

    Comment by pamibe — 2009/06/24 @ 03:25

  7. I totally do. Because otherwise I’d write this stuff offline, never to share it with the world unless I sneak into Panera Bread for free internet, and then no one would read it.

    (If I’m lucky, phone gets paid this month)

    Just wait until you see the post that goes with this one in a few hours

    Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/06/24 @ 03:34

  8. Please take me with you on this trip. I will carry your tripod.

    Comment by San Diego Momma — 2009/06/24 @ 19:58

  9. And I’ll need you to help navigate. Of course, I’ll have to medicate you for the flying, but that’s okay. Besides, I need you to do lots of writing for me.

    Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/06/24 @ 20:01

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.