Upon wandering a persons eyes are open to things around them they may never have noticed before. ***Note to self*** Stop and take pictures/videos of these things, because later when you come to write, you will have lost some of those thoughts.
It is amazing how much more beautiful the world appears as I am purposefully paying attention to something other than a specific job task or my cell phone. Driving Highway 20 from Waterloo, IA to Sioux City, IA there is a bridge that when you look over either side as you drive across all you see are beautiful lush green tree tops. Somewhere, some distance, below you is the Iowa River. This is my third time over this bridge in the last year. Next time I will find a way to go below the bridge and discover what trolls or treasure I might find hidden there. The beauty from above may merely shadow the even greater beauty within.
Six hours later I arrived in Sioux Falls, SD I stopped off at the motel I am staying at during this conference. It was before check in time, but I figured I would see if I could check in before heading down the street to the Convention Center. The attendant at the front desk had this odd expression on her face as she pulls up my room number. I inquired as to if everything was okay and ensured her I could return later if she was not ready to check me in. Her response was a treasure of insight into hotel life.
She tells me that the guest who was in the room prior to me had decided he was in need of the towel bar, he had taken the bar home with him. As she tells me this she stutters, realizing how unusual this may sound. We then discussed the potential for the headline “Motel guest beats associate to death with towel bar.” It got a good laugh and also free Wi-Fi.
I proceeded on to the Convention Center to set up my vendor booth. I am in Sioux Falls to attend a conference and share more about TR with potential members and community leaders from eight different states. I have done a few conferences before and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Today was a slow start day. Once there I got turned around and did things backward. To the same end as if I had done them forwards. The great thing about Wandering is that it matters less what order I do things in, or how often I miss-step. I am taking the time to correct those steps and so there is no need to be perfect when I have more time to make mistakes.
While wandering, a wanderer will learn a lot about themselves. I learned that I don’t have much to talk to firemen about… or maybe I’m just tired from my drive. I however do not understand what hose goes where or which nozzle to turn. And no, that’s not a metaphor! I however was up very early today and am probably slightly dehydrated. WANDERERS… Don’t forget to Hydrate! Wandering can be exhausting!
No matter what happens in the day of a wanderer it is ordinary. Occasionally it is ExtraOrdinary. The reality of life is that there is a pretty high chance tomorrow I may learn how to talk to firemen and figure out which hose goes to which nozzle.
But the day is not done, after dinner I returned to the Motel to finally enter my room. In selecting the hotel I selected I was working at ensuring the most cost effective trip possible in order to save TR as much money as I could on this trip. Remind me to be not quite so charitable next time. I don’t believe I’ve stayed at one of these Motel’s since I was a kid and the room unfortunately smells of smoke and the A/C is not very effective.
Interestingly enough this Motel has not been updated since I was a child at least. The room houses the same comforters I recall from childhood with the fuzzy Phillips screen box TV. The bathroom sports a “Beam me up Scotty” shower, a round tube in the corner. It reminds me of my parents shower, when we lived in West Union. Yes, I surely think this space will do just fine.
In general a wanderer cannot be picky. This is part of the journey. There is no reason to place myself in unbearable situations, but when one is wandering and lost and looking, we must expect uncomfortable situations. Despite the smell and it being a little hot I find that I have a bed to sleep in, and will get a shower tonight. I may not have a towel bar, but I do have my handy dandy anti-rape knife from Afghanistan… a story for another time. Though I am relatively sure I will not need neither a knife or a towel bar during my stay.
Signing off from Sioux Falls, SD.