Post to the Host
Host Garrison Keillor answers your questions about life, love, writing, authors, and of course, A Prairie Home Companion.
Weariness
September 1, 2003 |
Dear Garrison,
I'm 28 and have been working with computers since college, but I want to get out. I don't have a passion for the field anymore, and the economy isn't helping. It seems like corporate America is so full of greed and mismanagement nowadays. Sometimes I think of just moving out West and becoming a writer, or even a forest ranger, and get away from the rat race (and New Jersey) and start anew. Your stories depict the kind of simple life that I yearn for. Any advice?
Weary in Piscataway
Dear Weary,
A 28-year-old single guy should not accept weariness as a way of life. Quit the job that's grinding you down and tie up loose ends and put your stuff in storage and get in your car and head west. Don't make plans about becoming a writer or a forest ranger. Just give yourself a big experience of freedom and exploring this great nation. You can do this when you're 28. Wend your way slowly, stopping to visit anybody you know on the way, and if you don't rush, if you meander and stop whenever something catches your eye, by the time you reach the Pacific you'll know more than you do now—about yourself, about what you should do, about a lot of things. And then maybe I'll write you and ask for advice. I'm 61 and have been working in radio since college and I don't know if I have enough passion for it anymore. When you get to California, send me a note about what I should do. —GK
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