Australian Aborigines have a rite of passage called walkabout, during which teenagers walk through the wilderness following "songlines" from the ancestors. Although hardly a teenager any more, my Dad just embarked on a walkabout of his own. He closed up his Northern Michigan home and has decamped to Sydney for three months all on his own, without a companion or really much of a plan. He has rented apartments here and there, so his trip is not entirely without structure. However, he has no master plan and will go where (and when) his fancy dictates. He has been to the zoo, he has gone out to check out interesting neighborhoods, and he has ridden the ferry to see what might look interesting. Yesterday, he went to lunch with some new found friends. My guess is that he will ultimately make it to the Great Barrier reef.
Why did he do this? Well, he has always wanted to go to Australia, but responsibilities (jobs, kids, etc.) always got in the way. Now that he is completely retired, he is for the first time in over 50 years free to wander. So, he is wandering. My brother used to call trips like this a "scamper." That pretty much sums up what my Dad is doing. I am enjoying living his carefree scamper vicariously.
As I read his dispatches and look at his pictures, I wonder what I would do with a completely unstructured life. What would you do?
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