Photo credit:  Nicolas Esposito

“And this was really the way that my whole road experience began, and the things that were to come are too fantastic not to tell.”  – Jack Kerouac

When I was young, I had some of the best times of my life on our summer vacations. My dad, mom, brother and I packed into our family car—hitting the open road.

I remember the billboards we’d see for miles—advertising ghost towns, caves, souvenirs, alligators, the world’s largest something or other—places and things offering adventure—only 107 miles ahead! Our parents would tell us that these were “tourist traps”—and their only purpose was to take our cash. This didn’t mean we wouldn’t stop at some of these places—just that we’d be careful about how we spent our time and money.

Looking back now, I realize that this was great advice on how to live.

It’s not life that traps us, it’s the human made pitfalls that lead to our biggest problems. Unhealthy food, prescription drugs, alcohol and credit cards promise one thing—but ultimately make us slaves to a system that holds on to us until the end of the road.

This is something that many of us learn the hard way—when it’s too late and we’re already sucked in by marketing and bad choices—real traps of poor health, debt and addiction—created by humans for humans.

But life is forgiving—these things can be overcome. If we make a wrong turn, we can always take action to get ourselves back on the road—back to our fantastic journey.

So enjoy the trip, but think about how you spend your time and money.

“Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.”
– John Steinbeck

If daisies

Are your

Favorite flower

Keep pushin’ up those

Miles-per-hour