So Long, Easy Rider

 He liked long drives a lot. Out on the road, with the top rolled back and cruise control keeping the car smooth. He was what Baez called Dylan in Diamonds and Rust- the original vagabond. Most at ease on highways- places he called home.

 But a few months back he had called a different place home. His home had a body, it had a voice He had wanted that home. Maybe it was the loneliness that made him seek out that home again and again. He felt like the un named boxer in Simon and Garfunkel’s song when he was at that home, lonesome and the New York city winters cutting into him, wishing he could go to the home of his youth. He had tried to find that home wherever he went and sometimes he succeeded. But it was always temporary and before long he was travelling on. I do not mean to imply that he did not have friends. He did and they cared for him. He felt at home with most of them, but the home he sought eluded him, always on his cusp and never his.

 He took to many hobbies- writing, reading like a man possessed, ordering and buying books like anything. His family thought he had a bad attitude so he kept away from them. However, his other family, the people he had met on his travels, they told him it was a pleasure being in his company and they introduced him to other people like himself.

 But still, home eluded him. Until he made his peace and realised that he liked being on his own. He liked the freedom of choosing his company, of having nobody tell him what to wear, what to eat and how to work out. And this was one freedom he hesitated to give up. Such freedom was magical and allowed him to sate his wanderlust. He started to look for photos and updated his camera with two new photos each day. He found a coven of readers and he chatted with them. He made friends who fuelled his creative side and gave him the courage to experiment and to express himself.

 And tonight, is like the other nights. He is on the highway, his favourite Uriah Heep song is playing and he’s on his way. He does not know where, but he’s on his way. I do not know if he will find home, but I do know he will not stop looking.

 “So long easy rider

I know I’ll miss you for a while

But sooner or later

I know that I’ll forget you”

The Bilge Master