Tuesday, March 20, 2001

In Salon.com's collection, Wanderlust - Real-life Tales of Adventure and Romance, Rolf Potts agonizes over the question of "what actually distinguishes backpack travelers from tourists." I've been giving this issue some thought, myself—trying to categorize the CoWC tour in terms of this dichotomy—so I'm keen for his insights.

"On the surface," Potts says, "it's a simple distinction: Tourists leave home to escape the world, while travelers leave home to experience the world. Tourists, Ann added wittily, are merely doing the hokey pokey: putting their right foot in and taking their right foot out; calling themselves world travelers while experiencing very little. Todd and I agreed that this was a brilliant analogy, but after a few more drinks we began to wonder where backpack travlers fit into the same paradigm. This proved to be a problem. Do travelers, unlike tourists, keep their right foot in a little longer and shake it all about? Do travelers actually go so far as to do the hokey pokey and turn themselves around—thus gaining a more authentic experience? Is that what it's all about?"

Finally, Potts is forced to conclude that "the hokey pokey—whether done well or poorly—is still just the hokey pokey. Or, to put it another way: Regardless of one's budget, itinerary, and choice of luggage, the act of travel is still, in its essence, a consumer experience. Do we travel so that we can arrive where we started and know the place for the first time—or do we travel so that we can arrive where we started having earned the right to take T.S. Eliot out of context?"

Though this collection poses more questions than it answers—much like trips, I suppose—I've found it pretty inspiring, and intend to use it as the official fount of dispatch-opening quotes for this series. Look for them at the top of the page.

In politics, you may have noticed that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill is up for debate in the Senate. You might have also noticed (unless you've been heavily sedated for twenty-five years) that our politicians are overwhelmingly bought and paid for by the people and organizations that can afford to buy and pay for them. If this makes you, as it does me, politically nauseous, I suggest writing your Senator to express that feeling. You can get the e-mail address for your Senators in just a click or two from http://www.senate.gov/. You might craft a letter that looks a little like mine:

Dear Senator Such'n'Thus,

I'm writing to urge you to support the McCain-Feingold bill,
which I believe is essential to restoring the political health
of our republic. Let's put a stop to the buying and selling
of legislators and legislation.

Sincerely and with thanks,
Michael Fuchs

When not politically agitating, I fear I've been making too much noise in the workplace about my coming sabbatical. I'm getting a lot of "Oh, it's Mr. Taking-Two-Months-Off-To-Gallavant-Around-Eeeuurope." Actually, I'm really only a One-Month-To-Gallavant-Around-Europe kind of guy. The remainder of my time off is to see my 80-year old plus grandparents, go to my sister's college graduation, meet my godson, and otherwise attend to parts of my life that have suffered neglect at the hands of career. But you can't tell people anything, once they get this stuff in their heads. Ah, well; my own fault.

Sincerely and with thanks,
Michael