Salt, Planes, and the Journey

In the course of five hours, I will travel above the rolling highways and weaving railroads of America; across its lush grasslands, rocky mountains and sandy deserts; I will travel from Philadelphia to San Diego, from work to play, by way of flight; yes, that revolutionary mode of transportation that, in this modern day of convenience has become ingrained in our lifestyle like the preservatives in our diet. You know, come to think of preservatives, I consume a lot of salt, too much actually. Growing up, my mother’s cuisine (by no fault of her own because she attempted to appease the fussy taste buds of 8 stubborn children) was always bland. My involuntary, survival response to such insipidness was salt. Imagine a Colorado avalanche landing on your plate of potatoes. Needless to say, salt became a dietary stable. Nowadays, couple the food dousing with the unconscious consumption of food preservatives, and I don’t even realize the amount of sodium I devour. I wouldn’t be surprised if a nutrition study revealed an unhealthy abundance of the compound NaCl in my body. But I guess not realizing how much sodium I intake, is a symptom of a far greater condition. The best way I can describe it is as a general condition of oblivious action. There are just so many things that I do, I see, and experience thoughtlessly. And in the absence of thought, I sometimes fail to appreciate the inherent value of each experience. Take for instance, this extraordinary idea of flight. It is simply amazing that as a human, wingless, being, I can fly high above the earth like the birds of the sky. I don't have wings, but I have been empowered to fly. It is a testament to the power of the human mind. We have been granted these powerful, imaginative, dreaming, yet action-oriented minds. And most astounding about these minds, is that they are infinitely enhanced through the sharing of ideas. The idea of human flight was born ages ago by ancient civilizations. The image of the ancient dream was shared between cultures and generations; shared with minds in different times, and with divergent perspectives. Enhanced by sharing, the idea evolved, from a mere sprinkle of the imagination into a materialistic reality - a machine for human flight, the airplane. A machine that, until today, I typically take for granted. In a few hours, I will take this machine to San Diego. The airplane will be my vehicle to embark on an athletic journey. And that journey is not a new one. Although, I doubt I would be condemned, if I termed it so. But in its essence, it simply is not new; it is the continuation of an old journey; it is my ever-evolving journey through life; and my choice of vehicle is not the machine of the sky; instead I have chosen to travel through life by way of sport; a simple, silly, sport called field hockey. And like the preservatives in my diet, for far too long I neglected to realize the impact of this silly sport on my life. Now though, I see it. I see how it has empowered me as a person to navigate the uncertain roads of life. I see it, I feel it, and most importantly, I want to share it. So this is the Athlete Way, as I see it, chronicling, the trials, tribulations and tom-foolery of a small-town field hockey player trying to make it in a big time sports world.