Why

“Why?”

Good question. Everything has a reason.

Nice fundraiser for a worthwhile cause. I was doing my part in helping ensure that the organizer wasn’t criticized for ordering too much food.

I looked up from the buffet table and there was Jim. “Can I talk with you a second?”

Uh oh. Maybe the chocolate mousse wasn’t intended just for me. “Sure.”

"We didn’t get your RSVP for the council presentation. I was hoping you’d help out with that.”

"I’d like to, but I’ll be out of town.”

“Vacation?”

“Kind of.”

“Can you reschedule it?”

“Not really. It’s a kayak trip and I’m leading the group. Meaning, it’s a question of twenty schedules, not just mine.”

“What do you do on those things?”

“It varies. In this case, the short version is drive to Georgia, paddle out to an island, camp, and paddle back. Drive up to South Carolina and repeat.”

“What’s on the islands?”

“Wild horses, gators and stuff. Mostly birds, sand and shells.”

“How long does it take you to get to one of those islands?”

“Between three and four hours of paddling.”

“So, you drive all the way down to Georgia, paddle out to the middle of the ocean to sleep in sand on an island that has nothing on it?”

“If you oversimplify anything it sounds silly. You go to Hilton Head to whack a ball, chase it and whack it again.”

“Fair enough, but let me ask you. Why?”

“Two reasons. The first is I’ll be changed for doing the trip.”

“Can’t you just paddle the Ohio River or something?”

“Couldn’t you just play Terrace Park? I do paddle the Ohio, but that doesn’t make you grow much. It’s fun, not a metamorphosis. Two different things. If you always do the same things, you’ll always be the same.”

“Whatever. What’s the other reason you do it?”

“I don’t know, yet.”

“You don’t know, yet?”

“That’s why you do trips like this. You don’t know what it is you don’t know. When you go, you discover the reason and then you know why you went.”

“Go back to shoveling up the mousse.”

I did. With good reason.