Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder

When I was a kid traveling by jet (one of the coolest things EVER for me) I was amazed to look at the adults around me. Most of them looked bored and had their noses buried in books or magazines, oblivious to the magical views around them.

"How can you do that?!!" I wanted to scream at them. "There's so much to look at out the window! Can't you save your book until tonight?" Right then, I promised myself I'd never never be one of them. Never pass up the opportunity to see magic in the world.

Dan and I went on a science trip that involved a raft trip down the entire length of the Grand Canyon. Yes, it involved some less-pleasant parts like standing watches all night to collect water samples, and we didn't get to travel at a leisurely pace, or stop for swimming or side hikes. It was still pretty darn spectacular. At one point on the trip, while we were floating downriver on the raft and gaping at the canyon walls, I looked at one of our colleagues, reading her paperback novel just as though she were on the subway. Huh? With all this magic around you? She explained that she'd done the trip so often that it was just boring routine for her. I'm reminded of my fourth-grade teacher, she of the many pungent proverbs. "Only boring people get bored," she'd remind us.

My childhood promise is one promise I've been able to keep. To this day, I take a window seat whenever possible. I spend most of the trip with my eyes glued to the window, and rarely read, watch the in-flight movie, or chat with my seatmates.

Here's the Monday morning commuter flight from St Croix to San Juan - and yeah, most of these folks just read their books; I took many photos like the one above.