"...the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like the fabulous yellow candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes, 'Awww!'"
So as I decided to leave California, my entire family thought I was going insane. But the insanity was only the beginning. My life has been about experience so far. I gave my best in school. I gave my best at work. I gave my best as a daughter, but deep down, my experience in California halted, so I decided to travel to the places that I learn from school. Some people know of my plan, A LOT don't, but I would love to travel the world and meet interesting people that have life figured out. Like Carlos Melgar.
Carlos Melgar was the my first reason for moving to Honduras. He is my partner, lover, best friend, companion, every fucking word to describe a pair of close people, we are. He is also inspiration. He chose one day to come back to Honduras and avoid the crap that immigration deals with. As he told me this monumental news, I was thinking, "He must be crazy...I'M IN!" Carlos was the factor that allowed me the possibility of seeing myself in another world. For Jack Kerouac, that person was his friend, Neal Cassidy.
Neal Cassidy was the man that convinced Kerouac to take his travels across the US, going to Denver as their first stop. Kerouac is not the adventurous type, but he is the type willing to be influenced by the adventurous type. As his approach to travel, Kerouac decides that he is going across country hitch-hiking to Denver from New York. In those times, this was considered the "Beat Generation," the future hippies of America that were first beginning to leave their parents' beliefs in search of something new, creative, interesting, and simply different. It was either debauchery, and cross country trips, or the white picket fence and the three kids. So the children of the 50's and 60's chose the former of the two because the latter seemed "sane". Kerouac chooses to head out for the "traveling season" with $100 in his pocket on this trip to Denver, and eventually to San Francisco, the mecca of the beat generation. While he is on this quest, he discovers "mad people" throughout with their own stories and ideas. I must say my trip has been similar in many ways.
As I left California, I had better luck with money ($1000) to get my trip going to Honduras, but the location was something that was simply not working. My trip began in the small town of El Porvenir, in the province of Cortez. If anyone does not understand what I mean by El Porvenir, imaging the burning of sugar cane and the closest groceries store 45 minutes away.
It was like a movie when we first arrived. The city-slickers moving into the small town where they are not desired. I was wearing my red and beige dress and high heels. Carlos was wearing a dark blue collared shirt, jeans and a brown blazer. Besides the setting, the mosquitoes were unbelievable. Our roommates were cool though. We have some pretty awesome geckos. Well we get to the house we are suppose to stay in, and I can only describe it as a basic home. I mean, we had a bed, a dresser, a refrigerator, a stove top cooker, and a sink. Our bathroom was a shower with cold water coming from a pipe, and the toilet. It wasn't so bad since it was non-stop sweat from the humidity. We would also need to conserve water for it was on for 2 hours a day then shut off for the rest of the day (some people only had it once a week!). On a good note, we had an air conditioner, but it was connected to the two-switch electrical outlets. When I cooked, I would need to turn off the television or the power would go off.
I have to say that it is extremely difficult to live this life everyday for the rest of your life. I lived it for about two months before we moved on to our next destination. It was fun at times because we literally had nothing to do, which gave us time to think about what we wanted to do. But at the same time, we did not have jobs, we were staying in unwelcomed territory, and I was simply way in over my head. Carlos was amazing. he took it the best way he could, looking at it from a positive stand point. He made friends with one of the guys there, and he would go cow herding and cut people's grass for experience. I have to say that for someone who was living in Hollywood, that is pretty amazing.
The character Sal Paradise (Jack Kerouac) was also way in over his head on his journey to Denver. Just like Carlos and I, Sal researched the routes to Denver planning on the best way to travel to his first destination, Chicago. As he states, "And on the road map was one long red line called Route 6, that led from the tip of cape Cod clear to Ely, Nevada...I'll just stay on the 6 all this time." The unexpected events that follow are the reason for the awful travels that we choose to follow. Sal discusses, "Route 6 came over the river, wound around a traffic circle, and disappeared into the wilderness. Not only was there no traffic but the rain came down in buckets and I had no shelter." Both Kerouac and my travels took us to the middle of nowhere with overwhelmingly negative circumstances, completely off course from our plans; yet we experienced some amazing events at the same time that can't be learned or seen, but lived in order to understand it importance to you.
Both Kerouac and I were able to endure tough elements due to the fact that we are extremely interested the people who influence us to live our lives. The ones that are objective to your choices and who are probably living their honesty. I truly believe that Carlos is my Neal in that not only is he a mad genius, but also the inspiration needed to come to Honduras and start over in a place completely different from what he is, yet find positive qualities that allow you to grow and learn from life.
Thank you CJM.
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