Oh, the places I have gone.

Some people never stray far from their place of birth.  Some people travel the world.  In my life, I am somewhere in between.

Some people work for the same company for 50 to 60 years.  On my desk, I had taped a newspaper clipping from probably 30 years ago. This was a short paragraph announcing the death of a waitress, a woman who had worked at the same lunch buffet for 50 years.  This lady's life has stuck with me for all these years. I know no details, just that she worked and stayed at the same place for over 50 years.  I am impressed by her perseverance.   

I have worked for at least 20 different companies in my career.  I am not content to stay in one place. I think I looked for good management and perfection in my work.  I discovered that perfection is hard to find when you work for humans.  We are imperfect. We all make mistakes. I would roam from job to job, never really knowing what I was looking for.  Am I unstable?

From an early age, I had wanderlust.  I love to travel.  I have been to all four corners of this great country.  Well, I have touched all four corners.  Oh, the places I have gone. 

I have been to New England, in Buffalo, New York. We traveled to Toronto, Canada, to see the CN Tower. I have traveled to Utica and Rochester, New York. I have been to Assateague Island National Park in Maryland, driven into Delaware, and touched the cold Atlantic Ocean. I have been to Philadelphia and toured the historical Independence Hall. 

I have been to Florida (Panama City) and touched the warm waters of the Gulf.  I lived in New Orleans for ten years while growing up.  

I was born in California, left for twelve years, and went back before I turned twenty.  In San Diego, where I lived off and on for 30+ years, we ventured across the border to Mexico.  I ventured downtown in Tijuana. 

I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean. I hiked in the forest mountains of the High Sierra. I seem to have found my purpose, my raison d'etre.  I am a poet, a writer, an observer of life.  I try to find purpose.  I refer back to the poem I posted on this site.  Grounded  (https://ponderingdave.blogspot.com/2025/05/grounded.html), and it kind of explains my current mental state. I am looking for meaning. I think this blog is that pursuit.  

I am looking for something to leave behind for my kids and grandkids.  Something that says, "I was here. I meant something. I did something."