The Heart of Gold

SUNDOWNER WEST -- Salina, Kansas -- Before we had even bought this RV, Marley and I instantly knew what we would name it. We are not especially obsessive about naming vehicles, but this, this was different. An RV is something voyages are taken on, more vessel than car or truck. Like any good ship, it needed a name.

I will say upfront that we had considered, however briefly, the name "Rolling Turd" in honor of Robin William's RV in the movie of same name. But not for this ship. She's got much more class than that.

The name we had decided upon, almost without having to say it aloud: Heart of Gold. And, upon reflection, it seems to become only more and more appropriate.

For us, Heart of Gold is first the name of a spaceship in the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. Before the recent movie, Hitchhikers was a book, the first in a "four-part trilogy" as the publishers quipped. Hitchhikers is a wholly remarkable book, if for other reason than its singular piece of wisdom encouraging readers with the simple words "Don't Panic." On trips such as this, as we learned already, those are valuable words to remember.

But there are other reasons. And one of those reasons is the Heart of Gold. This interstellar ship takes Arthur Dent and his various companions on some truly remarkable journeys. And so there is that obvious connection. But the Heart of Gold is powered by what author Douglas Adams describes matter-of-factly as an "infinite improbability drive."

And this is where, upon aforementioned reflection, things get a little more poetic. Our marriage, some might say, is infinitely improbable -- that it happened at all and that it has survived into what can only be described as a state of amazing grace today. Marley and I both read the book shortly after it was published circa 1980 and it served as one of a few common threads upon which we originally wove our friendship 10 years later.

The life we began together, and the circuitous path we have taken since -- from Texas to California to DC to Sicily then Germany back to DC and now, strangest of all, in Ohio -- seems equally improbable. As does this trip scouting our next move in places West.

Of course, Douglas Adams was listening incessantly to Neil Young when he wrote Hitchhikers and found inspiration for the ship in Young's song by the same name. I've never been a huge fan of Young but listening to it again recently, I must say I've been captivated.

If you haven't heard it in awhile, here it is...



Neil seems to be singing about the journey we all take, the searching and yearning for the heart of gold in our family, friends, spouse, kids, God, savior and, ultimately, ourselves. Those are all worthy journeys.

And so here we are in Kansas, the place of my birth. The Heart of Gold is quiet now as I type, Marley and the kids breathing in the slow rhythm of sleep, the sounds of the night filtering in across the nearby lake. I feel blessed to have found hearts of gold even as we journey aboard her.