ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608050017
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Monty S. Leitch
SOURCE: MONTY S. LEITCH
I HAVE a friend who arrives here for a weeklong visit, sometimes with two kids in tow, toting only one suitcase, and that not even full.
"Where's the rest of your bags?" I ask. "You want some help?" "This is it," she answers.
I don't know how she does it. It's as baffling to me as "backpacking through Europe." How could one possibly put everything one needed for a trip through Europe into one backpack? Even when I go to stay overnight at my sister's in Rockbridge County, I need at least one suitcase, one tote bag, my favorite pillow, and, oftentimes, a briefcase.
The problem is this: choices. I need choices. I need plenty of choices on hand to satisfy my whims. You can plan what you think you'll want to wear tomorrow, but how can you be sure that when tomorrow comes you'll really want to wear that chosen outfit after all? How can you know you won't wake up wanting to wear, just aching to wear, the very outfit you left at home in the back of your closet, because you thought to yourself, when you were packing, "Oh, I'll never want to wear that; I haven't worn that for six months, at least"?
How can you know? And how can you know ahead of time what, when it comes time to go to bed, you'll really want to read? Prose or poetry? And if it's prose, will you want a novel of great literary quality or some glib mystery concerning the antics of a certain tough-talking coroner? Just to be sure, you'd better take one of each.
Which is the same reason you'll want to take several pairs of shoes, along with matching stockings and/or socks; and the same reason you'd better make sure you have several pairs of earrings.
And none of these choices even begins to address the weather. Hot or cold? Damp or dry? Shouldn't you pack a pair of boots, hats and gloves, a bathing suit and beach towel, jeans, shorts, and maybe a couple of dressy skirts, just in case? You see what I'm getting at. Sometimes I fantasize about being the kind of person who stuffs toothbrush and fresh underwear in a paper bag, and splits. Sometimes I imagine being free-spirited enough to hit the road running.
But once or twice, I have been caught out on the road: stranded in a snowstorm, for instance, or forced by mechanical failure to sleep somewhere unfamiliar, unprepared and overnight. These outings have not been fun. My sense of adventure shrivels the minute I face the reality of wearing the same socks two days in a row.
Once, in fact, I did run away from home. Took my toothbrush and split. Got in my car and drove away headlong, without a destination. When I finally stopped, I discovered I had no money and mostly out-of-date credit cards. I discovered a toothbrush isn't worth much unless it's slathered first with toothpaste. I discovered that an anger-driven spirit of adventure peters out after dark.
Tonight, I'm going to visit a friend. I haven't seen her in a while, so I'm staying overnight. I've promised her, though, that I'll leave right after breakfast tomorrow, so she can have a full day to work. I'll take a change of clothes, two nightgowns (one for if the night is cool, one for if it's hot), wet-weather shoes, walking shoes, sandals, a couple of books, my pillow, shampoo, soap, medications, brush and comb, a hat (just in case), and probably a bottle of wine. I'd take my cat, too, if my friend didn't have a dog.
Monty S. Leitch is a Roanoke Times columnist.
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