Day 336. The Wanderer

Anybody here old enough to remember the singer, Dion, from the American vocal group, Dion and the Belmonts? Their hit single, “Teenager in Love”, is considered one of the greatest songs in Rock and Roll history. And their biggest hit, “Where or When”, which they performed on American Bandstand, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

But the one that came immediately to mind when I read yesterday’s WordPress Daily Prompt, came later, once Dion left the group for a solo career.

The ‘prompt‘? “If you could live a nomadic life, would you? Where would you go? How would you decide? What would life be like without a home base”?

Care to guess the name of the song?

Come on, you know you know it. Think. Okay, okay. Here’s a hint. I’ll give you the first line:

“Oh well, I’m the type of guy who will never settle down” …

Sound familiar? Is it coming back to you? Am I really gonna have to spell it out for you? Really? Are you sure? You’re gonna be upset when I tell you. Because you know this song. I know you do. Oh well … here goes … this is the chorus …

“They call me the wanderer

Yeah, the wanderer

I roam around around, around” …

See? I told you. You know it.

And you can understand why I thought of it, the minute I read the ‘prompt’, can’t you? Honest to God, I could see him in front of me. I could hear him singing it. I still can. It’s gonna be stuck in my mind for weeks. I just feel it in my bones.

Yeah, so I’m sitting here, right now, writing this story, with the damn song playing over and over and over again in my head. I’m hoping it will go away once I get caught up in where I might go. If it doesn’t I just might have to start banging my head against the wall.

So enough about the song, already.

So where would I go?

Not as easy a question to answer as you might think. Because living the life of a nomad is a lot different than taking a trip. Even a long trip. Nomads just keep wandering. Nomads are always on the move. They do not ‘settle’ anywhere.

Right away that presents challenges for me.

How could I bring my cats? I couldn’t. Just not possible. And there’s no way I’d leave them behind. I’d really have to travel light. Like with a back pack. When you are constantly on the go, you cannot be schlepping multiple pieces of luggage with you.

All my skin care lotions and potions and creams and scrubs and moisturizers would have to be left behind. So would most of my make-up. And my shampoos and conditioners and styling gels. How the hell would I cope with all the changes of season? I’d be roaming around in the heat of the summer, in the cold of the winter and everything in between. I’d need one pair of boots and shoes and sandals, at the very least.

Socks. Underwear. A few T-shirts and sweaters. Short sleeves and long. Shorts and pants. At least one hat, one scarf and one pair of gloves. And a coat. And a rain coat. A traveling umbrella? What do you think? Yes? No? Vitamins! How do you not take vitamins?

What about my computer? How can I go anywhere without my computer? I’m a writer, after all. Which means I’d need my power cord and a Universal adapter.

That’s the bare minimum, don’t you think? If I was going on a regular holiday trust me, I’d be taking a lot more. So now let’s make an assumption.

Let’s assume I’d be willing to travel this light. Where am I going?

Well, to my way of thinking, nomads don’t exactly have itineraries. They wander. They don’t plan. Make reservations. Buy tickets. Rent cars. They start somewhere, stay awhile and keep moving.

In which case, I will fly to Amsterdam. I can visit with my cousin and get my bearings. And seeing as how it’s considered a gateway to Europe, I figure it’s the perfect place to start. And then, who knows? Wherever I feel like going, I guess.

Is it beginning to feel a bit aimless to you? Yeah, to me too.