Thirty years ago this October, we were introduced by colleagues at a Burbank, California, watering hole named Dalts (long since closed). In those first awkward attempts at conversation, Ben brought up that he'd just finished reading this book. Glinda politely egged Ben onward, and within an hour we were both hooked—on Crichton's writing, on travel, and on each other.
The book traces Crichton's path from Harvard Medical School to a lifetime of wandering all over the planet and writing about it. But the chapter that caught our attention centered on the Hopi Indian notion of aura. We each have one of these auras—in all the colors of the rainbow, depending on health, mood, and attitude—even though few make the effort required to see, much less tend to it.
The point being, that travel is truly a state of mind, rather than the sum total of miles flown or rivers crossed and mountains climbed. It's an open, inquiring—even modest—approach to the planet and the communities that populate it. Which is why you can journey around the world, or through your home town, or into the depths of your soul, and it's all travel.
And let us know what you’re thinking. We’ll respond to any and all comments.