One Ticket To Anywhere Please.

I have never more than today, I think, needed to get away from it all. Maybe go to the beach or take my dogs on a nice long day hike to a lake or something.

Being near the water is supposed to be "calming"; apparently you can "breathe" your problems out across the ocean.

I keep wanting to try this, but before I could even get the first breath out, I always think, "Someone is going to be breathing this in. These problems have to end up somewhere." I envision some poor guy on the coast of Japan, trying to relax, and suddenly he's got my problems. He doesn't need that. He's walking around going, "Gee I got to call my Carol and thank her for the card she sent--I don't even know who she is."

And my next thought is, "Forget about that--what about his problems? I don't want them washing back to me." We could each potentially be walking around with problems neither of us are prepared to handle. Suddenly this whole breathing and relaxing thing is not all it's cracked up to be.

It's not easy to ever truly "get away from it all," because like they say, "Wherever you go, there you are." (Again, I couldn't tell you who They are, but trust me, they said it.)

I mean I love to go for walks in the mountains, but I always feel like I kinda look wrong. Like people can tell I'm faking it. I've been hiking happily and had people stop me, presuming my car broke down. Geesh.

I'm not sure what the actual difference is between "hiking" and "walking." Is it speed? Intent? It may be related to the type of pants you are wearing. Shorts that come close to the knees can turn "walking" into "hiking" like that.

Also to be considered is What You Look At. If you are just going from point A to point B, it's "walking," But if you stop and point at a tree, it's "hiking." Even a simple, "Oh look, some kind of bird!" Automatically makes you a "hiker." So if that's not what you had in mind, for God's sake be careful what you point at.