Same Ole, Same Ole

by Beau Burriola

David
David was a dreamer. He used to stare out over his Tampa apartment balcony when the sun set and wonder if it looked different every night from anywhere else. For three years, he'd gone to school here. Today, like every day for the last three years he followed the same routine: up at 7, gym by 8, school by 9, off to work at noon, school again at 4, home by six, study and sleep. Nothing changed… same old, same old. Is this what life is about?

"How long do I take the same ole, same ole, before I decide I need something else?" he thought to himself.

One night on that balcony, when it all finally seemed too settled and too stale, he made a miraculous decision. Within the week, he packed everything up on a rented U-Haul and headed west toward California.

How long does it take before someone decides that life is too stale and it's time for a change?

Roman
Pulling another Lucky Strike from the pack with his lips in one fluid motion, Roman lit, inhaled, and replaced the lighter in his pocket. He held the smoke in his lungs and exhaled slowly, deep in a smoker's thoughtful daze staring out to the crowded intersection.

Today after lunch, like every Saturday for the last six years, Roman leaned against the outside wall of Bartell's Drug Store in Burien smoking his noon cigarette. Is this what life is all about?

"How many years go by in the same ole, same ole way, before I experience something else?" he thought to himself.

The day after St. Patrick's Day the wall he used to lean on was empty. He'd put all his stuff in storage and flown to New York to start a new life in a place as far away as he could pick.

How many identical years have to pass before someone decides that it's time for new, different years?

Beau
I sat on a big wooden stump on Pier 54, watching ferries come and go across the sunlit Sound, regurgitating people in the same mesmerizing way they always do. I love this city. Seattle has given me so much.

Today, like so many of my days lately, I find myself thoughtfully listening to the universe. I can hear something familiar blowing in the wind. Change is coming.

When you love a place, how do you silence that part of yourself that wants to always be open to packing it all up and just driving toward the sunset? The world is so big, there are so many adventures, so many places, and so many things to see.

The world belongs to those with the courage to grab life by the balls. Sometimes when life gets to be too something - too stagnant, too routine, too identical, too short - when the days start to look too much one like another, a change is in order. For us dreamers, the same ole question comes up again and again…

Will this be the year I heed the call of the open road?

"A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages. " –Tennessee Williams