The Bumbling Explorer Strikes Back!
Heather has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Moravian College and has been freelance writing for more than 12 years.
Taking a chance by answering the call of an adventurer's nature
Stepping out of the confines of a cozy two bedroom condo
Into the unknown jungle of reality and not what's on television
Suddenly, venturing into completely foreign territory
Where no one speaks remotely the same language
Or one of the three local tribal dialects
And a translator cannot be found for miles
Not even the national currency is the right one
Unfortunately, the country's version of a Mac machine
Only spits out the currency that belonged to the wrong nation
Won't accept what you have in your weathered brown billfold
Stumbling into chaos and oncoming Rickshaw traffic
Turning into a long lost relative of Mr. Magoo instead of Indiana Jones
Initial confidence faded once the trademark fedora finally vanished
Spiders and rattlesnakes appeared in its unexpected place
Legs trembling from hypothermia and utter fright
Feet burning a hole in the ground to escape the Temple of Doom
Unable to locate familiar comforts of home or even a hotel
Dad's Dutch Apple Pie recipe or Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
Have been eaten by the rest of the family at dinner
Stuck at a train station in a town smaller than Mayberry
One that made Andy Taylor's fictional town look like Manhattan
A metropolis only a tiny dot on the radar of Rand McNally's universe
A map that gets destroyed in the raging currents of the Amazon
Traveling on nothing but naivety, instinct and Snickers bars
Wondering why it was considered a good idea to do this trip
Was it the cross things off the proverbial bucket list?
Taking a chance or a dare for that matter?
Ready for the comfort zone level of a fine sunken in green sofa
Royal Blue flannel sheets to soften the blow of the mundane
Tired of playing Dora the Explorer and ready to be invisible to bugs
Searching for the departure date to return home
In the meantime, waiting for the next train to arrive at the station
Should be arriving between now and 48 hours later
Only time will tell which occurs first.
Comments
Mark Tulin from Ventura, California on March 29, 2018:
Humor mixed in with frustration. Enjoyed it.