| A Panama Experiment: Don't Talk To Strangers |
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| Written by Matt Landau | |
| Saturday, May 27 2006 | |
 It was pretty early in the morning, around 7, when I was lying there in bed. Achy. I was sprawled out full eagle, completely dressed with my shoelaces and stomach both still in knots. My whole body was feeling the throbbing effects of a long night of revelry, celebration, and carousing. The headache, the nausea, the embarrassment. My belt buckle had been unfastened but still remained loosely wound around my waist—a half-finished attempt to pass out with some dignity.
As I lay there that morning though, my thoughts were somehow clear and actually, somewhat profound. I had made this werewolf-like transformation from a reckless bar hopper to a philosophical mastermind all between the hours of three and seven AM. For some odd reason, I felt this bizarre scale of responsibility on my shoulders; this need to accomplish or prove something to myself in my life—or at least before lunchtime. My little quarter life crisis that morning lasted about fifteen minutes at which point I had come up with a plan. The inspiration for this little plan has come from a number of different people—none of whose names I'd like to disclose today. Admittedly, names that I have forgotten. These people though, in my defense, have been strangers: people who I did not know before and I still do not know now. People that in all probability, I will never meet again. That is perhaps my definition of a stranger. You may ask how these strangers, these people about whom I know so little, could have inspired me to write a book? (Don't worry, this is not really going to be a book—I just put that in there in case any publishers or talent scouts happen to read it.) Well, if you're a traveler you know that there've inevitably been times in your travels, times in your worldly wanderings wherever they happen to be, when you find yourself in a bind. Times when you don't have any money, times when you don't have any place to stay, times when you are lost, times when you cannot communicate because you don't speak a language and so on. Basically travel pickles. For me, whenever one of these pickles presents themselves, there is always—without fail and usually at a very dramatic and pivotal moment—a stranger who arrives to my aid and rescues me. The strangers that have saved me so many times have, in their act, reassured me that some humanity really does exist in our world. On this lovely hungover morning, I am using these strangers as my muse and as my inspiration. I have decided to set out on a journey of sorts. It won't be the kind of journey that takes years or the kind that involves time machines or swords. No, this will be a short little exploration—a journeylet—not all that different from the other trips I've been taking now for a while. For this journey though, I plan to not plan anything other than the date I am leaving and the date I am coming back: today and the day I am coming back. I figure a conveniently-geographic route would be up the Pacific coast towards Costa Rica, then over to the Caribbean and back down again—making a big coastal lasso. I am not in search of anything tangible so I will not be bringing back artifacts or babies as evidence. I am not all that savvy in the craft of strangery either, so I don't expect to make any earth-shattering discoveries. I am simply searching for an answer to my question: where can I find the nice people? Throughout my journey, I will be following up—documenting my findings and conclusions. I encourage you to contribute your own experiences by clicking “post a comment” and letting everyone know your story. I would also urge you to simply submit your feelings on the subject, the kindness of strangers. Wherever you are in the world, have a nice day. Oh, and if it's your birthday, happy birthday. I'd like to encourage the traveler in you to contribute any stories you have below in the comment section. If you've experienced this phenomenon: this stranger saving phenomenon, let us know... |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, May 17 2007 ) |
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