Gina Rose, Explorer

May 20th, 2008,  a Tuesday

Today I am thinking about exploration.  It's funny how one word can take you so many places.  And as you think about that one word a lot, and stare at it on the page, it starts to look like Greek.  Like you've never seen it before in your life.  But then it comes back into focus.  So let's go exploring.

You have to give a nod to the original explorers if you are going to explore the word explore (there it goes looking funny and unrecognizable again).  There were lots of them so I picked just one to get an idea of what it may have been like to be an explorer.  I chose Daniel Boone, born in Pennsylvania in 1734, a frontiersman and folk hero who explored the Kentucky wilderness.  His oldest son James was killed by the Indians (Native Americans today).  Daniel was captured by the Shawnees in 1778 but somehow managed to escape and brought Abraham Lincoln's grandparents to settle in Kentucky.  The Indians later killed Daniel's brother and another son.  He wrote a book, Adventures, a highly acclaimed memoir.  And, of course, there was the television show, Daniel Boone, starring Fess Parker which aired from 1964-70 which is how America got to know him.  Until then we didn't know he had an eye like an eagle and was tall as a mountain or that if he frowned at a river in July, all the water would freeze.  But not to worry because when he smiled, it would thaw.  He was brave and fearless, a do-er, a dream-come-true-er.  If you don't believe me, it's all there in the show's theme song.  As Kentucky casts its votes in the Democratic primary today, it's good to think about Daniel. 

And while we are talking about politics, there is the presidential exploratory committee that potential candidates have to file in order to begin accepting political donations legally.  Barack filed his on January 17th, 2007.  I would say he is exploring new frontiers in his own way so we can probably call him an explorer, too.

And then there was space exploration.  John F. Kennedy was determined to put a man on the moon.  That was just as dangerous as fighting the Indians only more expensive.  A new kind of exploration at the time.  Now we barely hear about it when the space shuttle takes off or lands as long as everything goes ok which it usually does now.  I wonder if anyone ever took a teddy bear along on the space shuttle.  (I'm not volunteering.)

And we shouldn't forget Internet Explorer, a modern version of exploration.  For this we owe Thomas Reardon who figured it out in 1994 and later Benjamin Slivka.  (What would Daniel say if he knew that 21st century exploration was in cyberspace at the comfort of your own desk.  Or that you could find his show on DVD through a website named after him!).  Imagine my surprise when I went on to the home page of IE (yeah, that's what I call it) and found a campaign to reduce your "carbon footprint" and plant a virtual tree and watch it grow with the help of regular email reminders.  (I am personally going to do everything in my energetic power to avoid letting the spirit of Daniel Boone know that trees are not always planted in the ground in 2008, and exist only in a virtual reality.  His theme song said he was tough as a mighty oak tree so I'm thinking he wouldn't take it all that well.)

I have a friend who is exploring herself right now as stated in the definition "to look closely, scrutinize or examine".  Now that can take a lot of courage.  You may not find a tribe of Indians in there but the things that need exploring can be mighty scary.  As in all exploration, the risks are great but the rewards are greater.  And as you explore, you leave what you have already conquered behind you so you can forge ahead into the clearing where this is much light. 

I like the idea of exploring options, opportunities and possibilities.  It sounds hopeful and exciting.  The one thing all explorers seem to have in common is that they are believers.  Now haven't I been telling you all along that it pays to be a believer, like me?  Someone's gotta believe.  It may as well be you.  And us.  (Oh, my gosh.  That made me think of the UBS commercial.  Damn.)

GR