peripatetic
[per-uh-puh-tet-ik]
1. walking or traveling about; itinerant.
2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.
3. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Aristotelian school of philosophy.
4. a person who walks or travels about.
5. (initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.
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The gentle rain falling outside wasn’t nearly loud enough to
drown out the knocking on the front door.
Mary and Ryan looked at each other, the question on both of their minds
not needing to be spoken. Neither of
them was expecting company, and there wouldn’t be any deliveries to late in the
evening. Without a word, Ryan went to
open the door.
“Hello,
sir.” Said the strange, young man. “I’m a traveler, and was wondering if you’d
let me come in out of the rain. Maybe
even stay the night. Don’t worry, I’ll
be out of your hair by morning, I promise.”
“Uh...” Ryan said.
He wasn’t quite sure what to think of that.
The man
looked to be in his late twenties or so, and had on slightly worn clothes and a
large backpack. He didn’t seem like a
bad person, but that didn’t mean much.
Still, he couldn’t in good conscious let someone stay out in the rain,
even if it wasn’t a terribly bad one.
“Thank
you so much.” The man when Ryan invited
him in. He walked into the couple’s
house and looked around for a bit before saying anything else. “Very nice home you two have here.”
“Uh,
thanks?” Mary replied, not quite sure
what to think.
“Oh,
where are my manners.” The stranger said
suddenly. “I’m Nick. Nice to meet you both.”
Ryan
and Mary hesitantly introduced themselves.
Conversation was hesitant after that.
Nick seemed quite willing to have a conversation, but the two of them
were not nearly as eager. It wasn’t
until Nick’s stomach gave its thoughts that the small talk stopped.
“Well,
that was embarrassing.” Nick said with a
hearty laugh.
“No,
no. It’s fine.” Mary said. “It is close to dinner now, after all. Hang on, I’ll go get it all ready.” Nick stood up quickly.
“Hang
on, let me take care of it. Just tell me
where to kitchen is and I’ll take care of everything.”
“Uh,
you can cook?” Ryan asked.
“More
or less. I’m no pro, but I know my way
around a frying pan.”
When
Nick was pointed to the kitchen, the sounds of rummaging and exploring soon came
from the room. He would ask an occasional
question about something’s location, but other than that he didn’t say much
else. Mary tried to go in and do
something, but she was quickly booted out, with Nick claiming that he worked
best without prying eyes.
When he
was finished, he was guided to the kitchen and laid three bowls of something in
front of each of them. Neither Ryan nor
Mary could tell immediately what it was.
All that they could tell was that it was some kind of meat and
vegetables. Even knowing what they had
in stock didn’t help as much as it should have.
“Well,
dig in.” Nick said, happily taking a
forkful of the mystery dish.
Ryan tentatively
speared one of the chunks of meat and ate it.
To his surprise, it actually tasted quite nice. When Mary saw his positive reaction, she
joined in the meal as well. Once food
was being eaten, conversation came much quicker and less hesitantly for the
small group. Mary even went as far as to
ask for the recipe.
“So,
Nick, tell us about yourself? Why’d you
come knocking on our door?” Ryan asked between
bites.
“Well,
I’m something of a wanderer. I simply go
wherever my feet take me, as the saying goes.
And it just so happens that I was nearby when the rain started. I asked at a few other places, but well, you
can imagine how that went.”
“I bet.” Mary said.
“So do you walk, drive? What?”
“I
walk. And I don’t have any place to go,
really. I’m just seeing the sights,
taking it all in. You know, traveling
for traveling’s sake.”
“That’s
unusual in this day and age. Why do all
that?” Ryan asked.
“It
wasn’t exactly my plan. See, at first I
was doing the nine-to-five slog like everyone else. Went though a few jobs trying to find the
right one and never did. So I gave it
all up. I gathered a few things, took
out what money I had set out.”
“A few
things?”
“Mostly
clothes, a small tent, a nice multi-tool, and my recording things. That’s a camera and a sweet little e-notebook
thing. Here, I’ll show you.”
Nick
scrambled for his backpack, returning a few minutes later with the
devices. He held a small digital camera
and a tablet.
“One’s
for recording sights and sounds, the other’s for thoughts and experiences.” Nick said.
“It’s great having these along.
Without them I don’t think I’d be able to keep walking like I do.”
“I didn’t
think you’d be so high tech.” Ryan said.
“Most
don’t. But yeah, these are so much
better for me than film and paper. With
those I’d need a much bigger suitcase for all the pictures I take and notebooks
I’d fill. With these I just need a few
SIM cards and I’m good. I’m on my third
for the camera and second for the notepad.
Plus, with these I can take videos and still shots. Can’t do that with an old school camera.”
“True.” Ryan said.
“So, how long do you stay places?”
“Usually
I stay in any given town about a week.
Enough to take a few odd jobs for some spending cash and to take in the
local flavor. Most of the time I find a
good cheap motel, or camp out if the weather’s nice. But for private residences like this one, a
day at most. Don’t worry, I won’t be
overstaying my welcome.” Both Ryan and
Mary were glad to hear that. He seemed
nice enough, but that didn’t mean they wanted a long term squatter.
“So,
what kinds of things have you seen? Any
good stories?” Mary asked.
“Lots
of things and many stories. Trust me, if
I go into any detail, we’ll be here a very long time.”
“Well,
how about just one then?”
“Well,
I suppose one wouldn’t hurt.”
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Did you know that ancient Greeks would always accept visitors, no matter who it was? The thought was that you should be good to travelers because you never knew who was a god in disguise. That's also why in all those old Greek stories, people are always being let into other peoples houses and then given gifts. Weird by our standards, but perfectly normal for them. Amazing how times change, isn't it?
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