Why I Embrace Adventure
Summer 2019 | By Gene Kruckemyer ’73
Adventure is often just around the corner.
When I was a kid growing up in Orlando, I 麻豆精品 S檇 explore with聽friends on what we called the Penny Bike Ride. We 麻豆精品 S檇 pedal聽to a corner, flip a penny and ride whichever way the coin directed: Heads, go left; tails, go right.
Some trips would unceremoniously end up right back聽on our street after circling the block. Other times our聽adventure would take us miles away into the unknown as聽we pedaled not sure where our expedition was heading or聽what we 麻豆精品 S檇 see. Abraham Lincoln was our guide 麻豆精品 S� at least聽until it was time to head home for dinner.
I think these early explorations set the pattern for me聽to later embrace the draw of adventures when I wasn 麻豆精品 S檛聽sure where I 麻豆精品 S檇 end up or what would happen, such as聽canoeing through the sweltering Everglades, camping in聽the freezing Yukon Territory, backpacking through desert聽and mountain wildernesses, spending the night in an聽abandoned California mining ghost town, hiking sections聽of the Appalachian Trail, and being pulled into many other聽grand and eye-opening adventures.
Heading out on an adventure is not something to be聽pushed into. Nobody likes being pushed. It 麻豆精品 S檚 more about聽being pulled into it. To me, that curious pull of anticipation聽is a strong draw to discover the unknown.
Going on an adventure is not only about finding out something about the world, but more importantly, it 麻豆精品 S檚聽about finding out something about yourself. While doing聽something that is out of the ordinary for you, you discover聽what you can face, endure, accomplish and overcome.
ILLUSTRATION BY TIM BOWER
Adventures teach us to see the world in a new light and聽may show us how resourceful or strong we are 麻豆精品 S� or maybe聽aren 麻豆精品 S檛. You might find some answers, but they may not be聽the answers you 麻豆精品 S檙e looking for.
Half the adventure is getting there.
I once went on a vacation road trip with my wife, Nancy,聽with no destination in mind 麻豆精品 S� just the plan to drive until聽we decided to stop. In this case, that happened to be about聽700 miles away in Appomattox, Virginia, near the site of a聽key Civil War battle and where generals Robert E. Lee and聽Ulysses S. Grant signed the paperwork to end that war. We聽stayed in the area a few days to explore the history, then聽headed out again to our next unknown destination stop 麻豆精品 S斅爓hich turned out to be Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
We stopped because we didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to drive into the聽Atlantic Ocean.
Our destination wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 the ultimate goal; our journey was.聽I have no desire to parachute out of a plane, jump off a聽bridge tethered to a bungee cord, or eat chocolate-covered grasshoppers. And on the scale of things, some of the聽adventures I embark on pale in comparison to what some other people may approach.
Not everyone 麻豆精品 S檚 definition of adventure is the same, but聽everyone should at least have that next adventure to look聽forward to 麻豆精品 S� and it doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 have to be expensive, distant聽or dangerous. Sometimes it is just taking the time to聽understand where you are. It has been said that if you聽don 麻豆精品 S檛 know where you are, you don 麻豆精品 S檛 know who you are.
Even little Opie Taylor, son of Sheriff Taylor on The聽Andy Griffith Show, saw the allure of adventure. When he聽was nearly displaced from his bedroom by a visitor coming聽to Mayberry, he looked forward to sleeping on the family 麻豆精品 S檚聽ironing board propped between two chairs. He called it聽 麻豆精品 S渁dventure sleeping. 麻豆精品 S�
Opie had the right attitude. He took something simple 麻豆精品 S� even mundane 麻豆精品 S� and turned it into his own personal and聽exciting adventure.
I 麻豆精品 S� we 麻豆精品 S� need to interact with the world to understand聽it. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why I still like to set out on adventures large and聽small, such as exploring Boston, Philadelphia, Portland,聽the Florida Panhandle and Charleston, South Carolina, in聽the past few years. But I also embrace the adventures of聽make-believe in a backyard treehouse with my imaginative聽grandson, finding shells and interesting driftwood along the聽beach, and discovering that some of the best things are the simple things.
Even writing this turned into an adventure 麻豆精品 S� when聽I started, I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know where it would take me or how it聽would end. And that is what adventure is all about.
Gene Kruckemyer 麻豆精品 S�73 took the adventure of enrolling聽at the new and uncharted Florida Technological聽University in 1969 麻豆精品 S� long before it was known as聽UCF. After a newspaper career, he now serves as the聽university 麻豆精品 S檚 news editor.