a new year, a new blog

Time to get ready for a certain-to-be-amazing year in Tanzania. I’m going to start sharing with you the music that I’m listening to as I write the blog and I hope you will listen to the music while you read it. The sounds capture the mood so much more accurately. So, turn this wonderful song on:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or4nFSkc-KA

I’m in another airport, after another slew of I-don’t-know-when-we’ll-see-each-other-next-time-goodbyes. Airports have become the loneliest place for me; they are always prefaced with bittersweet goodbyes, followed by a sigh and a look behind to give one last smile to whoever is bidding me farewell, then a push past the point of no return- the invisible border crossing through metal detectors and pat-downs into a bright iridescent land of useless items for sale and colorful strangers, each on his or her own journey and at the same time flowing together like a great migration—we’re safer when we move as a herd, going to no one really knows where. And as I sit by myself in these different colored but always uncomfortable plastic chairs, sticky with food and drinks from previous voyagers, I relive recent amazing moments that are still so alive, hugs that are still warm, yet turning into grey memories from a distant life far outside these airport windows. It’s my natural resistance to change, I know.

Whenever I’m in an airport by myself, which I seem to be most of these days, I watch the people passing by, searching for someone else who might be bored and a little lonely and I think of imaginary scenarios where I go up to him or her, strike up a conversation, and we discover that we have the same love of music, books, have been to the same places and even know some of the same people around the world. But, the passerby usually continues on without noticing my gaze. What I’m seeking is someone to travel with me, to confirm that the part life I just experienced wasn’t just a dream. And yet, I smile as I write this, because of course I know … you all are traveling with me. What would I do without the memories, laughs, stories, and gossip from all of my friends and family? Well, I would be a lot more bored in airports, that’s certain. So, here we go to another land, and more memories to miss someday.