Home and Road

Having now left the United States 4 weeks ago and now very deep into the book On the Road, I thought I might have a go at discussing a topic which would interest anyone, but is of special excitement to a Geographer. Again, I must nod to a professor of cultural geography, Edmunds Bunkse for introducing me to this concept.

The concept of home and road is one which many of us, either in travel, in situ, or in writing, experience almost daily. We are subject to it because both are our realities as humans. The home and the road are two situations and two sets of feelings and landscapes. However, there are really three possibilities. The third being that the road is the home, but more on that later.

The dichotomy of home and road leaves most undeniably yearning for the other at some point during their situation. Just think- when one is at home, they are bound to routine and similar landscapes and similar climates and, most of all, similar people. There is food, shelter, and familiarity where one has a home. It leads to feelings of comfort and security, but these are not always the most important aspects to humans.

We have other desires which begin to boil to the surface when one is at home. They are feelings of desire for adventure, new places and new people. A need to break away from routine and learn new things about the world and about ourselves. This leads us to the road. The road is the place for adventure and exploration of landscapes and self. This excitement and opportunity to grow draws us away from the home. The person on the road, although they appreciate their situation because it is outside of routine, also finds the unfamiliarity may eventually become too great. The road does not provide comfort and security as does the home. So, those on the road, though they may be envied, experience pangs of ¨home sickness¨which is really just a desire for comfort and security.

Such is the dichotomy of what some geographers consider undeniable human nature. However, there is the third possibility looming, in which the unusual individual finds themselves only at ¨home¨on the road! The charactersitics which define home for many of us are equivalent to the road for this certain group. They are forever bound to the road or they will never be at home. It can be a lonely and difficult existence, one learned early in life and then never shaken.

Such musings often roll over me as I roll through the Spanish hills on my bike, on the road. Fortunately, I have loving and caring homes that I know I can return to. For now, the feeling of security and comfort be damned, I am in Europe again.