Airplanes, Roller Coasters, and Cruise Ships….Thoughts on Childhood
A few months ago, I sat down to find some portable cell phone chargers that we could sell as a fundraiser for DECA. I found myself up on alibaba.com.
Before long, I got distracted (something that occurs quite commonly with me). I moved from looking at portable cell phone chargers to looking at used Boeing 747’s for sale (that is the power of the internet folks). All of a sudden, I felt a sense of giddiness which I hadn’t experienced in a while (I last experienced that same feeling when I found myself in moon jump). Looking at the cost, I found that a working jumbo jet would cost much less than even a basic home in the city where I live. Instantly I began to think about the idea of having a plane as a home; not as a practical matter, but as a mental engineering feat.
Soon enough I found myself in an endless cycle trying to find some of the craziest things that I could purchase on the internet. This included roller coasters and cruise ships which could be bought with the click of a button.
In that moment (and in the following days where I spent much time thinking about this), everything seemed possible once again. These childhood fantasies of having a plane/living in it or having a roller coaster in your backyard now seem within reach (at least to my adult self). But my mind kept on wandering back to the idea of living in a plane.
Regardless of it’s impracticality it could be done. Of course there are many logistical challenges that I have yet to even consider, but I spent the next hour frantically reading up on every aspect of turning a jumbo jet into a home. I had a passion to learn more that I have not quite felt in years. It was a state of bliss where I lost track of time.
I talk about this experience because it disproves a commonly held belief. It disproves the idea that more information is always better. But to quote George Orwell out of context, sometimes “ignorance is bliss.” Having just enough knowledge allows us to dream. It allows us to distort reality and see things differently. It allows us to ask questions that others would never dream of.
As kids we cannot wait to grow up so that we can do the things we want to do and as adults we wish were kids again so we could be ignorant.
What this random jaunt on alibaba.com reminded me is that every once in a while it is important to ignore reality for a bit and simply dream.
P.S. To all those who have entertained this idea in the days after I had, regardless of it’s impracticality, thank you.
