The Reader Travels

My friend Wade over at Vagabond Journey wrote recently about a formula for making a living on the road. One of the elements for success is a gregarious personality. If you can talk to people, if you’re approachable, you can go far.

In Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell gives us a picture of life on the streets, and in his world, we see the same kind of thing. His Russian friend in Paris could talk himself into or out of anything. His crippled street artist friend in London had great stories to share and made a relatively stable living, despite his malady.

And then there’s Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer sees him whoring his way around Paris on his charm and wit. Every day is a quest for the next meal, the next lay, and the next couch to crash on.

I admit, I’ve never been one to give out charity for charity’s sake. My heart doesn’t bleed; I don’t buy into the guilt; and I’m always aware of what’s in it for me when I share. Call me selfish, but I don’t really believe anyone can be a pure altruist. I’m just aware of my own motivations.

All I’m saying is if I buy a friend a meal, I usually expect him to pay me with good conversation.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 15th, 2011 at 8:19 am and is filed under food travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.