Sbork, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper likes to stress that he–and Phyllis are no more than extreme examples of the natural world run amuck, and their activities are dictated by forces as naturally explainable as why a squirrel buries nuts, or a bird migrates; but there is a problem in applying such naturalistic reasoning to the travel plans calling for the keeper and Phyllis to go see mountains and glaciers. It comes down to “why,” and is the big question behind the immense travel industry that has millions of humans constantly wandering about the globe like so many scurrying ants.
Nothing relating to survival or evolution seems to be involved, so, why?
The keeper and Phyllis, like most travelers, long ago aged out of the grand natural motivation of reproduction of the species as reason for doing whatever, so, why?
Why are two apparent normal humans leaving the safety and comfort of their Vista West home in Madison for three weeks to ride trains and ships just to see glaciers and mountains?
The keeper doesn’t really know, and neither does Phyllis, but they are really looking forward to having an adventure together, and that seems to be the abiding natural aspect of the thing—that “together.”
