Road Not Taken

Daily writing prompt

Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.

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Paul wandered into my dorm room with a bored sigh. “Darryl,” he said. “I don’t FEEL like studying bloody chemistry.” He flopped on my bed. I turned my chair around from my desk to face him.

He lived across the hall and we had hit it off immediately even though I was a Senior and a few years older. He was from Brighton in the UK and had a pronounced English accent. I always thought everything from the UK was very cool, so I pumped him for details.

There was a pub just off campus, the Mad Monk’s Inn, that became our go-to spot. Over pints, he’d regale me with hilarious accounts of his schooling, travels, dating and various adventures both in the UK and on the continent.

At parties, he was an instant hit with the girls…a mini British Invasion in the 1980s. He had worked with me like a dialogue coach to teach me how to do a passable accent, so “the two guys from England” never found themselves lacking a date on Friday night.

He invited me to come to Brighton in May. My job was going to start in June, so we’d have about two weeks after exams to run around the UK. We started drafting up an itinerary.

Around that time, my brother called. He had done a lot of thinking and proposed a two-week brother-brother road trip through California…during the same time.

Oh, crap. 

I’m terrible at making decisions and for a week agonized over the fun of a trip to the UK vs a bonding time with my only brother in one of America’s most scenic states. I didn’t want to disappoint either Paul or my brother. It got down me dodging calls from the travel agent on whether or not to book the flight to Heathrow, gotta hurry, seats are almost gone.

I finally decided that as much as I would have loved to visit a place I had long dreamed about, the adventures I’d have with my brother would provide us with a lifetime of memories. Doug was always gonna be in my life. Paul, probably not. 

I think I made the right decision. We traversed Cali: From LA up the Pacific Coast Highway, towering redwoods, Big Sur, Monterey, San Francisco, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the Northern Cascades. We stayed in a range of places, from flophouses to a freezing tent in Yosemite, to a beautiful hotel perched on a cliff overlooking the town of Pismo Beach.

Our lives were just starting and we talked about our dreams, our ambitions, our fears. We talked out our differences and came to understand each other on a profoundly personal level. 

That trip was 40 years ago and we’re still rehashing it. We have numerous inside jokes that nobody else gets.

Two brothers, a rental car, a paper map and two weeks on the open road.

Doesn’t get much better than that.