To define is to limit.: and her wings won't spread to let her fly south... runaway, she's a runaway

Friday, June 5, 2009

and her wings won't spread to let her fly south... runaway, she's a runaway

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. -alexander supertramp

a few years ago, a friend of mine told me that i had to read into the wild. she had had to read it back in highschool and thought that it was amazing. so, although i'm generally not much of a nonfiction reader, i went out and bought a copy. i just got around to watching the movie adaptation of the book which was made back in 2007. if any of you have not read the book/watched the movie, go do it. the book is pretty short, but people have found it hard to get through. the movie was kind of long, but beautifully shot, well-directed, and has some good actors. do either, do both.

both tell the story of christopher mccandless aka alex supertramp, who you should definitely read more about. shortly after graduating from emory university, he gave away his life savings to charity, abandoned all his possessions, cut off contact with his family, and began a two year hike which ended up in the alaskan wilderness. he lived off the land in alaska for nearly four months, armed with less than the essentials as he refused to have a compass or map, although he did find a bus to be used as a shelter. at one point, he decided to go back home, but a river that was crossed during the winter seeemed impassable after the snow melt. because he knew nothing of the area, he didnt know that there was a tram to get him across not far from where he was. he was forced to stay in alaska. his body was found weeks after he had died by moose hunters.

some have a very romanticized view of his story, while others view it as a testament to the stupidity that some people suffer from. i have to say that i fall into the first group. i love the idea of running away, not necessarily out of anger or rebellion, but out of sheer desire for absolute freedom. freedom from the constraints and materialism of society. depending solely on your own survival instincts. working when you have to work, not to save up a bunch of money. having a new experience every single day. pushing yourself. testing your strength. discovering yourself. meeting people with values that go beyond the power of a paycheck.

although i don't think i would be able to go at it completely blindsighted, i can see why he would. the whole experience would be amazing regardless. it brings to mind that quote from stardust i wrote in an earlier post... alex was from behind himself, and going ahead of him. like i said before, that whole concept holds unimaginable allure for me. i would love to run away like that. not running away from anything. not running towards anything. running for the sake of running, for the pure desire to try something new, for freedom.