An elderly lady was being interviewed on the BBC. She had never been further than twenty miles from the place she was born. The interviewer asked if she regretted not traveling. She answered crisply, "Why would I travel; I'm already here"?
People who like to travel likely think the lady's statement pitifully parochial. Doesn't she realize how travel expands the mind with new vistas, new ways of-being, and all the refreshing experience of getting outside your accustomed place. Every travelogue video and travel brochure will confirm the glories of getting away to distant places.
I'm not so sure.
Back in the late sixties I thought I might like to move to Denver. You know, the wild west, the mountains, maybe even a little of the old-time cowboy life.
I subscribed to a Denver newspaper to get some idea of what to expect. The paper was more concerned with urban events than Colorado culture. It was disappointing.
My friend, who was teaching at a Boulder university, said I should come out for a visit.
I drove from Cleveland, Ohio to Boulder, Colorado. The land past the Mississippi was mostly flat. Miles, and miles, and miles, went by with relentless monotony.
Some fifty miles from Denver I saw a looming blue-gray something-or-other that stretched from horizon to horizon.
I thought it was a thunderstorm.
It was the Rocky Mountains.
Ah! This was more like it.
As I pulled into Boulder I drove past familiar fast-food outlets: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and all the rest. The rest of Boulder looked like every other college town I'd ever been in. I'd expected a rarified place very different from Cleveland instead I found a Rocky Mountain version of Cleveland. The mountain backdrop was different, everything else was the same.
Little in travel has changed since then, in fact, it has become more the same.
The world past WWII is increasingly similar. Travel doesn't hold the exotic allure it had in times past. Some find the cultural conformity comforting. I find it boring. When only the landscape changes so does the value of travel. It's not pointless, but it is less interesting.
I'm content to do all my traveling through Google Earth. It's convenient, informative, and hassle-free. I'm happy enough to skip the travail of travel, but then I've always preferred vicarious experience over direct experience. It's cost-free and never hurts.
Most will disagree. To them I say, "Bon voyage".
Why would I travel; I'm already here.