Post by idlewild on May 9, 2013 12:32:18 GMT -5
The first time I hitchhiked was in Villefranche de Conflent, a small town situated in the south of France that lies close to the border of Spain. The only train out of that town was suspiciously cancelled and there I was contemplating if I should spend the night under the stars near the train station, or to walk as much as I could to get to Perpignan where my night train to Paris awaits.
I had walked for a good twenty five minutes along the skirts of a long and winding road, 440m above sea level before thinking what the heck - let’s just put my thumb out and see what happens. So I did, and within five seconds, not one but two cars stopped. This is not a story of how I ended up in a car with two Frenchmen, however (that is definitely a tale to tell over drinks). This is a story of who inspired me to be brave enough to find my own means to arrive at a destination.
I was recently reminded of him because the corner of my eye caught a tote that I kept small knick-knacks I have unintentionally gathered from my travels. Faded receipts, stamped ticket stubs, notes left by friends on my bedside, not-so-nice notes left by strangers on my bedside, recipes written on napkins, half torn maps etc. As with all fond memories of my questionable decision of setting out on a journey alone, a name would pop up in mind.
Taylor. What would Taylor be up to right now?
Taylor shared his travel stories and convinced me that I was brave enough to solo travel. To think that we've known each other since March 2003 (through thick and thin of Simon and Konstantine), that is honestly a little baffling. We are of the same ripe young age and we've been corresponding for almost a decade now - the first being a PM through the old LHF Forums. In 2007, he was the one that told me the best pies to have are in Arrowtown, New Zealand (I can vouch for that). The final email I received from Taylor was in January 2013.
Taylor regretfully passed away while doing the one thing he loved best. Hitchhiking.
I have never had the privilege of meeting Taylor in person, but we came really close to do just that two Decembers ago when he was down in Singapore for his best mate’s wedding. The plan we worked out for ages sadly did not fall through when I received a text from him the morning he was supposed to arrive (trouble at the embassy). No Taylor at my doorstep. No problem, we were convinced we would still meet
some day, preferably at a Lifehouse concert.
It was not from Couchsurfing that I knew Taylor (I will leave all the amazing CS stories to be shared in that community, and there are manymanymany), it was honestly the fact that we both loved Lifehouse
(his highschool yearbook quote is a Jason Wade quote lol dork <3 ). I cannot begin to define what sort of friendship we had, it was always a comfort to return from the road, to come home from work to his wonderful adventurous emails, to vent in words about the frustrations that we face, and to question each other questions that we never knew the answers to. I asked him once about the definition of happiness. He wrote to me:
"Happiness for me is having the freedom to chase your dreams :>"
I regret that I kept him waiting for my answer.
Let me just spell it out now, that my definition of happiness is when a person is at complete peace.
So rest in peace, Taylor. May you reign in absolute freedom to carry on dreaming.
I had walked for a good twenty five minutes along the skirts of a long and winding road, 440m above sea level before thinking what the heck - let’s just put my thumb out and see what happens. So I did, and within five seconds, not one but two cars stopped. This is not a story of how I ended up in a car with two Frenchmen, however (that is definitely a tale to tell over drinks). This is a story of who inspired me to be brave enough to find my own means to arrive at a destination.
I was recently reminded of him because the corner of my eye caught a tote that I kept small knick-knacks I have unintentionally gathered from my travels. Faded receipts, stamped ticket stubs, notes left by friends on my bedside, not-so-nice notes left by strangers on my bedside, recipes written on napkins, half torn maps etc. As with all fond memories of my questionable decision of setting out on a journey alone, a name would pop up in mind.
Taylor. What would Taylor be up to right now?
Taylor shared his travel stories and convinced me that I was brave enough to solo travel. To think that we've known each other since March 2003 (through thick and thin of Simon and Konstantine), that is honestly a little baffling. We are of the same ripe young age and we've been corresponding for almost a decade now - the first being a PM through the old LHF Forums. In 2007, he was the one that told me the best pies to have are in Arrowtown, New Zealand (I can vouch for that). The final email I received from Taylor was in January 2013.
Taylor regretfully passed away while doing the one thing he loved best. Hitchhiking.
I have never had the privilege of meeting Taylor in person, but we came really close to do just that two Decembers ago when he was down in Singapore for his best mate’s wedding. The plan we worked out for ages sadly did not fall through when I received a text from him the morning he was supposed to arrive (trouble at the embassy). No Taylor at my doorstep. No problem, we were convinced we would still meet
some day, preferably at a Lifehouse concert.
It was not from Couchsurfing that I knew Taylor (I will leave all the amazing CS stories to be shared in that community, and there are manymanymany), it was honestly the fact that we both loved Lifehouse
(his highschool yearbook quote is a Jason Wade quote lol dork <3 ). I cannot begin to define what sort of friendship we had, it was always a comfort to return from the road, to come home from work to his wonderful adventurous emails, to vent in words about the frustrations that we face, and to question each other questions that we never knew the answers to. I asked him once about the definition of happiness. He wrote to me:
"Happiness for me is having the freedom to chase your dreams :>"
I regret that I kept him waiting for my answer.
Let me just spell it out now, that my definition of happiness is when a person is at complete peace.
So rest in peace, Taylor. May you reign in absolute freedom to carry on dreaming.
Honestly still feeling a little numb that we've lost another great friend and fan in the Lifehouse community. He went by smooth_talker in the LHF forums and is a complete sap over Joshua (he was convinced he would play it for his wedding reception). Taylor was hit by a car in Central Africa.
