The Framed 1’s Life

I’m back in the USA.

And as I listen to "Knock a little harder" by Yoko Kanno, my mind’s transported back to my college days at Midland, MI. It’s been 3 years since I’ve last set foot here and all seems to be the same — from sleeping with my airbed to the same beige / natural colored motif of the apartments and houses; from the same fastfood chains, retail stores and brands that spot the entire continental US helping forge and create for it the monolithic culture that’s classic "Americana" to the same sound of the V8s and muscle cars that have set my guts in envious roar.

Yes, I’m back in America.

Just as my three memorable trips, through most of the states in the east coast with my
buddy Cooper and Marc in an 8 day, USD 500 per person, sleep-by-the-rest-area roadtrip
on the summer of 2003 from Michigan to Florida to New York then back
again to Michigan; from Michigan down to Arizona on
February of 2004, passing through most of the Midwest, touching New
Mexico and Texas in migration for a supposedly settled life; and lastly
my recent one, my 3 day drive from Arizona to the state of Washington, delayed by a major I-10 accident by a pick up truck losing control due to the wind, only to explode after causing a 4-hour traffic deadlock witnessed by angry drivers, I feel like my 2000 mile trek was but a beginning as I embark on a longer ride with Destiny.

Yes, I can once again feel that visceral hum beyond the automobiles I’ve driven in those long journeys — that of the fear and apprehension of the future. It’s like somehow half-expecting icy roads where I’ll be in danger of losing control to mountainous climbs when I can literally feel my engine gasping for oxygen as it slowly dies or going through the vast expanse of desert at night with but a few lights glimmering in the abyss or suddenly finding myself in a near-zero visibility hail / fog / snow / rain all of a sudden, its just one crazy ride.

However, amidst all the insanities on the road, there’s nothing like reaching your goal at the end. To the legendary explorers Lewis and Clark it was the sweet smell of the Pacific; for me, this would be like my sweet sigh of relief after finding exit 154B at Southcenter Blvd in Seattle, WA — that of rearing a family successfully to leave a legacy.

I won’t be arriving to that destination anytime soon (Kaiser’s still in the tummy, but I’ve got all the curious plans laid out in my mind for him), but I’m hoping when I’m damn 60 and have had made an influence in the progress of mankind, I’d be able to smile and hand my son the reins to his generation’s future and watch my wife beam with pride.

Now, that’s some legacy.