“Destination:
Oaxaca”
9/2/16, “A
Familiar Departure”
John F.
Kennedy International Airport, New York (JFK)
There are
two seemingly contradictory quotes about history repeating, one from a Spanish
Philosopher, the other from an English Professor. It is only fitting that these two quotes
would form the basis of my opening entry as I, the Travelling Philosopher
depart from New York to Mexico City to visit my friend, the professor. The quotes are, courtesy of George Santayana,
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and, courtesy
of C. S. Lewis, “Things never happen the same way twice.” Those quotes are not contradictory, even if
they may seem to be. In fact, the
interplay between those two concepts forms the theme for this entire
Travelogue: finding the familiar within the unfamiliar and experiencing the
unfamiliar within the familiar.
To
understand how this works out, we must introduce another philosopher, a
Scottish one, who famously said that the only way we can know that our experience is
valid is to assume that the future will resemble the past. It is this Humean concept, the future will
resemble the past, that ties it all together.
Resemble. That’s the key
word. The future is not a repeat of the
past, nor was Mr. Santayana claiming it was.
Professor Lewis clearly puts pay to that idea when he reminds us that
things never happen the same way twice, though, yes, clearly similar outcomes
will occur, but there will always be differences. That is experiencing the unfamiliar within
the familiar. Things never happen he
same way twice. That is why there is
always unfamiliar experiences to be had, no matter how familiar an adventure I
am undertaking.
However, it is the
second concept, Mr. Santayana’s quote, that allows me to find the familiar
within the familiar. In order for us to
repeat the mistakes of history (or, more general, repeat similar experiences),
the future must resemble the past. I can
take that Humean concept one step further, and quote what I wrote upon my
return from Iran, “Human beings are, for the most part, the same.” That’s what this is all about. Because the future resembles the past and
because all cultures resemble one another, I know, with absolute certainty,
that no matter where or when I travel, I am doomed to repeat some familiar
experiences, to always find the familiar within the unfamiliar. As Maya Angelou said, “We are more alike than
we are unalike.” On every continent and
throughout the islands scattered across the seven seas, though I have not yet
travelled to Australia or the South Pacific, I can affirm the veracity of that
quote. We absolutely are more alike than
we are unalike. Of that, there can be no
doubt.
Now, how does any of this relate
to my departure? How could any of this
be related to the fourth time I am flying on a Friday night from this very
terminal on Aeromexico Flight 401? Well,
while it is a familiar departure, it is the little things that always change
it. For starters, since I had bought
this ticket with miles, I had gotten a first class ticket for a very good deal,
instead of flying coach as I have each of the past three times. Instead of writing this entry from the gate,
as my astute readers will have noticed, I am writing it from the Air France
lounge. Instead of my three-time tour
guide Enrique waiting for me when I land (either at Benito Juarez or after the
connection), my friend Roberto will be meeting me at the car rental place.
Just one year ago this weekend, I was
preparing to fly to Guadalajara to meet Enrique for what would be our last trip
together. That was the trip during which
I would connect with Roberto, and when we would plan our future trip to the
Yucatan. During that trip, I flew direct
from NYC to Cancun, and we met there.
This trip, I will be meeting him at Benito Juarez, as we will do again
for our next trip next month. See, this
is a very familiar departure, but things never happen the same way twice, even
if it’s just the little things that change.
This trip is sure to allow me to find plenty of familiar things within
the unfamiliar, but I am just as sure that I will experience plenty of
unfamiliar within the familiar. It is
for that reason that I so enjoy my travels.
It’s not always just about checking a box off my list.
Alright, so Day 0 was quite an adventurous
Day 0. Since my flight was so late, I
didn’t need to pack before work or even wear my travelling suit to the
office I would be wearing the exact same
outfit (minus the Team USA hat) that I wore to Rio, but, for the day at the
office, I could wear regular summer Friday clothes. I had class from 12:45 PM to 2 PM, and my
manager had told me that, due to the early office close, I didn’t need to come
back after class. I would only have
about three hours in the office, but that was plenty of time to take care of
everything I needed to do before I left.
It seemed like half the city was on vacation this week. I know that I certainly had some great trips
during this week growing up. I left the
office a little past noon, and I stopped at the cigar shop to pick up a cigar
for the ride to class. I had eaten three
Oreo cookies on my way out of the office, the only food I had eaten all day,
and that seemed to satiate my appetite.
My brilliant plan was to bike from the midtown cigar shop to class,
leave my cigar outside, go to class, grab my cigar, bike from class the five or
six miles to the downtown cigar shop, hang out with my friend Raymond there,
then bike back to my apartment, pack, change into my travelling suite, walk up
to the bus, and take the bus to the airport.
This plan was, for multiple reasons, less than brilliant. For starters, my suit (along with my shirt)
was at the cleaners, which was in the Chrysler Building, and they closed at 3
PM. The first four parts of the plan
were still good, but, part five was a no go.
I would need to leave my cigar at the midtown cigar shop, dock my bike,
pick up my suit, retrieve my cigar, then bike back to my apartment, before
continuing to the downtown shop.
However, if I was going to go to my apartment first, especially since I’d
be done with my cigar by then, due to the readjusted plan, I figured I might as
well pack and change into my suit and take a taxi downtown with the cigar shop,
which would give me more time with Raymond, then take a taxi to the airport
from downtown. That plan didn’t work
either. When I got there, one of the workers
wanted to ride the bike, so I left it with him and told him to just bring it
back before 2:45 PM, when the time would run out. I would then go to pick up the suit at the
cleaners while I left the cigar at the shop.
Then, I would bike with the suit to my apartment. This plan did not work, either. After I got my suit, he was still waiting for
his relief to come back from lunch so that he could leave the shop. I told him that I couldn’t wait any longer
and started with the bike and my suit.
Well, I could not properly hold my suit and bike at the same time. Everything came undone.
As I was readjusting the clothes on the
hangars, the manager of the shop walked by and grabbed my hat. He could serve as relief for the worker who
wanted to ride the bike. Okay. I headed back to the shop. I then realized that there was a much simpler
plan. I would back to my apartment with
the clothes on the hangars, so I asked one of the customers to tell the worker
to just return the bike himself when he brought it back. That was a good plan, at last. I got to my apartment and packed. I asked my friend what the plan was, hoping
that I could now just take a taxi with my suitcase so that we could hang out
for a couple of hours after the downtown shop closed. That was not to be. He had a date right after work. He wanted me to join them for a round, but I
would still have plenty of time to go back to apartment. Instead of changing into my travelling suit,
I changed into casual clothes. I grabbed
a sandwich and picked out a cigar for the bike ride down town.
It would be about a four or five-mile bike
ride. I lit up the cigar after lunch and
grabbed the bike. I was about two blocks
from the shop when my bike lost traction, and it slid out from under me. It was the worst bike accident I had ever
had. My ribs and kneecap were badly
bruised. I was scratched at my neck, my
chest, and my ankles. The knee was the
worst. I was in excruciating pain every
time I bent my knee. I biked the two
blocks to the shop, docked the bike, and limped inside. I was having trouble walking. I know the workers there almost as well as I
know the workers at midtown. In fact,
some of the regulars know me, even though I’ve never met them, since Raymond
mentioned me with such frequency when discussing our trip to Rio.
I picked out some cigars for the trip, and
Raymond also gave me a hand-rolled cigar from the special event they were
having. It was a Trump-sized cigar to be
sure. It was now 4:30 PM. The shop would close at 7 PM. I figured the cigar would last the whole
time. It did. I hung out upstairs with the workers for a
bit before heading downstairs to work on some trip planning and to meet some of
the regulars. After the shop closed,
Raymond and I headed out to await his date.
She met us around 7:30 PM.
We
headed to Stone Street to grab a round of drinks, along with some onion rings
and fries. That would, I suppose, be my
dinner, the Oreo cookies being my breakfast at noon and the sandwich being my
lunch at 3:30 PM. After the first round
and another cigar, I took a taxi to my apartment. It was very painful to walk, any misstep
would cause a shattering pain to shoot up and down my leg. I changed at my apartment and then took
another taxi to the airport. There was
no traffic, and it was a quick drive.
Having my first class ticket, all of the service was expedited, and it
was around 10 PM when I got to the Air France lounge, where I fixed myself a martini
and a sparkling orange juice, along with a piece of cake. I then set down and proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close so that I can get some more delicacies and
publish this entry before I head to the gate.
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