Friday, December 16, 2016

Where are you from?

It is interesting how this simple question can mean so many different things. Usually when it is asked of us as travelers it means "Where will you go back to when this vacation is over?" "Where is your home?" The people asking this question don't expect to hear that our home is our boat and that we have no place in particular go when we are done with it. We are interested to see where it can take us.
Asking the question "Where are you from?" is akin to asking someone "How are you?". The questioner does not really want to hear that your gout is acting up or that you just lost your job. It is just a greeting. "Hi, how are you, where are you from?"

Where am I from? Do you mean where was I born, or do you mean where did I grow up? Are you interested in where I went to High School? Or College? Are you asking where my house is, because I don't have a house anymore- just a boat, which is quite mobile.


My boat says I am from Florence, Oregon. Why? Because that is where we were living when we bought the boat. Funny thing about boat registration in the US, I could have picked any place. I could have picked Lizard Lick, NC, or Boring, Oregon or Waterproof, Louisiana . Now that I am writing this I think that perhaps I should have picked one of these! That would be quite a conversation starter.

But we didn't.  

We picked Florence, and that is what we usually answer with when we are asked the question. (This is then followed by an explanation of where Florence is). 

While we have no plans to return to Florence, we did live there for 28 years- so, I suppose, for the purposes that most people are looking for, we are from Florence, Oregon. 

Where are you from?

We love to hear your comments.

Lee said...

I have a good friend (since about 50 years ago) who lives in Boring. It is. I am reading a book called Sextant by David Barrie, which is structured around his voyage from Maine to England in a 38 foot sloop (at one point he writes, "God, I wish I were home.") with a retired British naval captain (the owner) and the captain's 17 year old niece. But the book is mostly about the sextant, its invention, how it was used, and some the great voyagers who used it [Cook, Vancouver, Slocum (He mostly relied on DR), Shackelton, and a bunch of other English guys and some French guys who I never heard of]. Many pages devoted to Cape Horn and the waters around Tierra del Fuego -- pretty rough and miserable. Get a lot more experience before you head there.

Unknown said...

From CT but Florence is....or was when you were there, quite a nice place. I highly recommend it!