It was a great trip – my “whirlwind tour of the Midwest.” There were great stops along the way, and lots of visits with family and friends.
Of blog-worthy note, I saw Into the Wild in Tacoma. It’s a beautiful film. I don’t know about the rest of the viewers, but the four of us who went there together left with tears in our eyes.
I’d forgotten an important part of the McCandless story as told by Krakauer. McCandless set off to find himself, to differentiate himself from his peers. Along the way, he met other staunch individualists, each struggling with the tension between aloneness and belonging. Before he died, he realized he wanted the companionship he had so staunchly rejected.
Several months ago, I was researching a travel article at a beautiful resort on Prince of Wales Island. The manager, a warm and wise fellow, explained his simple philosophy. “People just want to be treated like they matter.” That pretty much sums it all up.