My friend who prefers to be referred to by her 'superheroine' title -- Wander Woman -- is one of the most voracious travellers I have known. A year cannot go by without her itchy hammertoed feet scuttling off into some exotic corner of the world or going on an international shopping rampage or to just return to her self-proclaimed primordial roots which is Paris (which to me is ridiculous because her totally Oriental looks belie her blood ties to the French). She is totally depressed if she checks "1-2" on those travel surveys that ask how many times that year you have travelled. How does one get to be like that? When did Wander Woman start wanting to wander?
The answer lies in a childhood passion. Wander Woman was a philatelist I have discovered. A passion of hers that has long since died after new passions have taken over. A few days ago, after finally finding the time to sort out her enormous travel guide collection, she stumbles upon her old stamp books. She brought it to me the other day with a pride that only a true collector can understand.
I totally get it. After all, in my youth, I had been a numismatist myself. And I think this love for travel is shared by all collectors.
Looking over her books, I saw how wonderful stamps could be. Colorful and artistic, each country with a character of its own. Kind of like an international beauty pageant but with a more quiet intelligence about it. When you see how different and colorful one country is from another, one's curiosity is totally ignited and you feel an ache to go out there and take a look at that place for yourself. And that is why Wander Woman wanders with impunity.
I can't wait to get my next postcard from Wander Woman. Oh yeah, I, by the way, am a postcard collector :)
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Unfortunately wander woman will have to go back in the womb because she just realized she has been preempted by ten thousand other wannabes who have beaten her to the draw. But she will be back with a vengeance and a much better name.
I was a philatelist but got tired fighting my brothers over stamps my mom brought home. Alas! there are other battles worth fighting with my siblings--like who gets to sit by the car window or who gets the fat off the bangus. But you're right, my wanderlust may have been awakened back when i was a philatelist. It has hardened the callouses and thickened the soles of them hammertoed feet--and i haven't stopped walking the world till now.
From a coulda-been wander woman to a has-been wonder junkie--i didn't know your kind could write. This must be what they meant by evolution.
Congratulations! Until my blog beats yours...
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