Day Dreamer

Binoculars. Stuffable down pillow. Memory card for digital camera. Headlamp. Bug dope. Tracfone minutes.

All day long, lists of what to pack and what to take care of before I leave ring through my mind.

Pay phone bill. Find ISP dial-up numbers for Alaska. Pack Chinese medicine first aid kit. Yoga mat? Copies of Lost Crossings. Weed whack.

“You are not allowed to move to Alaska,” my mother tells me. She is smiling when she says it. I know that she means I am only allowed to move there if it makes me happier than any place else and if I make enough money while living there to fly back home often.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her, but I’m smiling too.

Extra batteries. Battery charger. Universal Life Church Reverend ID Card for the wedding I am officiating on the way to Alaska (yes, it’s true). Stamps. Journal.

Favorite pens. Andrew Bird stuffed animal (just kidding). Books by Scott Russell Sanders. Business cards. Hiking boots. Liner socks. Maps.