Its funny how airplanes end up in music.
In the song “The Letter” an airplane is required because there’s no time for a fast train. How would such a lyric be composed earlier – before Orville and Wilbur?
Being in a hurry emphasizes urgency. And few things can be as urgent as romance. The sweet and sour of romance is anticipation and urgency. Airplanes serve well as a metaphor for urgency. At the moment, I can’t quite come up with something for anticipation.
There are all kinds of songs about romantic urgency. A personal favorite is Radar Love. I used to hear that song in my head as I drove up the river road towards Sacramento in the wee hours.
The only song I can think of about anticipation is Carly Simon’s song of that name. It doesn’t get much air play any more – even on the oldies stations.
Instead of going faster, maybe we should be going “better.” Perhaps the key to an early arrival is avoiding unnecessary detours. Unnecessary pit stops. The scenic outlooks are forgivable.
Traveling “better” rather than “faster.” Simple. That’s so much more open ended. And it takes fewer options off the table.
One way to travel better is to avoid going to unnecessary places. Shifting the metaphor from traveling to living, this becomes really important. Especially as we grow older.
So many tasks can be aimed things that matter less and less.
Maybe this is why I have romantic notions of taking a bus across America. It’s not about how fast I get there any more. Its about what I see and who I meet along the way.
My great grandmother, Mary Baty, writes in her memoir about not being asked to return after her first year as a school teacher. She consoles the loss by taking a road trip across the country to Los Angeles. She mentions the therapeutic benefits of such a trip.
I think she knew something about “better.”