Liquidating allegiance

For the last…I can’t remember how many years, I’ve been faced with the proposition of leaving this island I love and migrating to the land of milk and honey. This all thanks to family who have toiled and slaved to get me what all had agreed would be a better life. However, with all that has been done and all that’s being said, I have for the last…I can’t remember how many years, refused to pack up my little bundle and head up north. I’m at the point in my life where I have carved a comfortable lifestyle with very modest means. I don’t doubt for a moment that riches and fame await me if I were to ever make the move, but it seems that over time my priorities in life have changed. My comfort is no longer defined by accumulated wealth and my happiness not measured by the power I’ve accrued. In some sense, I’ve reached a level of contentment with things as they are, and have acknowledged that this is a function of my mind, not of my environment.

How different would my life have been were I given this choice back in my Disney years. Back when foreign travel was, at best, something I did vicariously through my well off friends. Back then I would have given my left testicle (or right, I’m not partial) for the chance to come back from my holidays with stories from far away lands, but my humble upbringings didn’t allow it. I don’t know if it’s those lost opportunities that have made me cold and uncaring, or if I have just grown to accept and appreciate the beauty of what surrounds me. Perhaps it’s a little of both. Standing in the middle of Times Square, my mind goes back 20 years. I think about how profoundly the sights and sounds would impact me then, whereas now thy are nothing more than a distraction and mild irritant.

Many still await my inevitable move. In their heads no one of sound mind would pass on the opportunities that I’ve been presented. The truth is, they’re probably right. I’d love to say that my patriotic stance is a lifelong blood oath that will see my corpse buried in Portland without knowing the feel of foreign soil between my toes. Unfortunately I can’t make that pledge. The here and now is all that I control and while I don’t see my mind being changed any time soon, nothing is etched in stone. I travel like clockwork every six months to ensure I keep my paperwork in tact. That alone is an indication that I’m not willing to close any doors. I do like the fact that I can get size 12 slip on Allstars from every other store, whereas here i just can’t seem to find them. I also like the fact that there are, as many have said and proven, opportunities abound. Where else can you make a living as a Fortune Cookie Writer?

Notwithstanding, I’m in love with this land of mine. With crime running rampant, societal morals and ethics at an all time low and corruption permeating all facets of life, I still can’t think of another place I’d want to live. I’ll hold firm for as long as I can and then some.

Closing remark: Doctoral studies will actually have me in the US for the next half a decade. I’ll still be here in spirit though.