Airport Reflections

This should be the closing post of the Kenyan trip blog, but electronics and fatigue have prevented me from posting until now.  I will eventually report on the daily events, but now I'm seated in the United Club in Denver awaiting my final flight home and reflecting on the quote given on the home page of this blog:  "Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in this world."  Everyone here (including me) are occupied with their screens...cell phones, laptops, tablets.  Even in the African bush we were occupied with our screens -- cell phones and camera view screens.

Watching the game on the African veldt, I wondered what they were thinking.  It seems to be four things which occupy their thoughts:  1) where is the food?  2) how do I get it to my mouth? 3) are there predators near? 4) what is my nearest escape route?  Somewhere in the mists of time human being developed the capacity for language and began to reflect on other important things...like, where is the bar? where can I recharge my electronics? when does my next pay check arrive? will it be enough to cover my bills? why does that person have more than me? why did I not get enough "likes" on my FB page?  where's the food?  where's the bar?

I've told people that a trip to Africa can change their lives, but I've always had trouble explaining why I thought so.  I still can't explain it, but it has something to do with accepting the mysteries of life without question, its beauty and its harshness.  Maybe language has prevented that process.  Now...where's the food? where's the bar? Like Scarlett, I'll think about it tomorrow.