Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Introduction
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
—William James
I
wasn't sure if it was the screaming that woke me up, or the rather large man standing
above me, but either way, I was awake. In that moment I realized my decision to sleep on
the mean streets of Pittsburgh might not have been the wisest. But often my worst decisions
had led to my greatest experiences. It was by saying yes to adventures (especially the crazy
ones) that I found myself in those blood-pumping, soul-expanding moments of life.
I looked around the dirty, gum-stained sidewalk on which I had been invited to sleep.
Tony, my new friend and host, was also now awake, as Richard, the man pacing between our
makeshift beds, yelled at no one in particular, “I don't feel safe here!”
I had just arrived in Pittsburgh that afternoon. I had nothing in my pocket and was relying
solely on the kindness of strangers for food, shelter, and gas to make it across the world.
That's right,
the world
. After looking for a place to stay all day, I had headed over to a loc-
al park, the kind where old men play chess while younger men deal drugs. But Tony was
neither. He was just a good man who had fallen on hard times. When I asked him if I could
stay with him that night, he had responded with a sad smile, “You could if I wasn't home-
less.”
And that's how I woke up from sleeping on the streets, in the rain, with a man standing
above my bed, screaming that he didn't feel safe. He wasn't alone. I pulled up my ratty
blanket to fight the chill—cold and tired and, well, let's face it, a little more than mildly
scared. You might as well have frozen a camera on my face and heard my inner voice
scream: “Why on earth am I doing this?”
Which I must admit wasn't a bad question. The truth was I was having an existential
crisis. It wasn't my first. In fact, it wasn't even my second. I tend to get existential crises as
often as other people file their taxes. About once a year I seem to be struck with the feeling
