Guest Post: Mr. Bloomsbury

Having received frequent praise for the standard of writing Mrs. B has set, it is with fear and trepidation that I take the reins for this installment of the Bloombury's blog.

 

Since you know us, you will not be surprised to find this entry lacking in terms of written and photographic content. In fact, the only surprise to you here may be that I'm writing this at all.

 

Aside from the purpose of maintaining communications and reporting goings-on, the Bloomsburys is, at heart, a travel blog.

 

As such, this entry is on topic.

 

I am a fan of traveling and, while there are many reasons, the root of my interest (like nearly all of my interests) is that travel is a medium for engaging the world at life-size scale.

 

For the past several years, travel has been a work requirement for me. The range of destinations has been extreme; from tense and dangerous places to quiet and serene places.  I cannot say that I’ve enjoyed all of it, but I will say that I’ve found likeable (if not attractive) qualities of nearly all the places I’ve been.

 

Today, I'm writing this from somewhere in between, alone on a train rumbling across a surprisingly picturesque plain.

 

The train is hot, a still kind of hot, enabled by nonfunctioning windows and a late afternoon sky without clouds.

 

After having spent a winter split between Europe and the U.S. Pacific Coast, I am not well adjusted to the heat and can't readily remember the last time I broke a sweat just sitting still.

 

This ride of a few hours passes through a variety of landscapes including some agrarian settings that appear to be stuck in time from a century ago. In fact, when sorting my ticket as best I could with the station agent, I took pause to notice that handwriting and rubber stamps were still very much a part of the ticketing process. This process was not made easier by my working vocabulary of 6 words in the local language.  While my youngest child would credit me with speaking a number of languages, “Alabamian, British, American, and German," the reality is that I speak very little of any language outside of English.

 

Perhaps it was that moment at the ticket counter that reminded me of these things:

 

1) I was planning to provide a Bloomsburys blog entry.

 

2) As someone convinced they were born far after their time, travel is a way to connect with aspects of the "past."

 

3) The past few years I've travelled a lot of miles, and Mrs. B has done more than most can imagine keeping the ship afloat at home while I'm away (which is slightly more than she does to that end while I'm home).

 

4) Traveling is still one of my favorite things to do.  I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to go many places for a variety of purposes and to often do so with fantastic companions.

 

I will now turn the reins back over to Mrs. B's more capable hands.

 

I know she likes to hear from folks who read this, so let her know what it is that makes you like to travel or what it is that makes you dislike traveling.