I'm a history buff; you should be one, too.

I am by no means an archaeologist, a historical sociologist or anthropologist. I am merely a meager, unpretentious history aficionado. I don't claim to have all or any of the answers. Nor do I even have an inkling of the correct questions. But two things which I am certain to be true are... the closer one looks at history, the less coherent it becomes; and history is doomed to repeat itself. These dilemmas intrigue me like eternal afterlife questions monopolize the fears of most of the secular world. I am consumed.

For the most part, we are the history we create it to be. Huh? Say what? Hear me out.

Heinrich Schliemann discovered the lost city of Troy. This is a commonly retold story that we accept as fact. Practically everyone does. Right? Not necessarily, I say. Heinrich Schliemann definitely discovered an ancient city in Asia Minor. This is a fact. But what city is it? Did Troy truly ever exist? There is really no evidence to substantiate this claim. Or was it merely a story from the imagination of a poet? Jeez, I write stories all the time. I even wrote a novel of 120,000 words and not one word of it true. So has Steven King. He's written something like 30 of them and I hope to all Hell none of his warped print is real. Do you see where I'm going here?

How about Arthur Evan's discovery of the Palace of King Minos. Travelers, archaeologists and tourists pilgrim to Knossos, on Crete, annually to take a look at this historical site. Yet, there is no concrete evidence that the structure all these people pay to see is King Minos' Palace or that the crumbled remains were even a palace at all. What's really funny (odd), there is no evidence that King Minos had anything to do with its construction or its habitation. And you wanna hear something really outrageous? King Minos, well...there may never have been a King Minos. There is certainly no proof he ever existed.

I know you are wondering, what do I know? Well, that's exactly what you should be wondering. I admittedly know very little and either does anyone else. The "knowledged" will not tell you so. Why mess with their own fame or own income or their own contribution to history? Think about it. If one "educated" scholar can get their own theory (opinion) published and read by enough other "educated" scholars who in turn can't discredit the theory (opinion). Eventually, over time after enough people educated or not reads this undiscredited opinion and then folks, tuh duh, we have "history". What makes this new history even better its our own history and we can paint it any color and give it any name. Molded, comfortable, roomy history, just the way we like it.

Now that you have listened to me banter for some time, you are probably wondering what does this have to do with travel and storytelling. To put it bluntly, everything. From a distance, or from the chapter headings of a textbook, history looks very tidy indeed. We were even forced to memorize it for tests. But on closer inspection, it all breaks down. In fourth grade I was taught that Columbus sailed west from Spain in search of a shorter route to China, all the while fearful that the world may really be flat. Several years later in tenth grade I read that Ptolemy, a 2nd Century Egyptian astronomer, proved mathematically that the world was a globe. That's some 1200 years earlier. Problem was, the Church preferred a different suit of invisible clothes. They liked the idea that the world was flat and Jerusalem was at the center. Much like the hole on a compact disk. Very convenient and comfy, like a terrycloth robe and slippers, huh? And conveniently, I wasn't taught that bit of info in school. I stumbled across something unusual while traveling with my dad overseas. I saw a relief etched into a wall of a very old building that resembled Earth. You know...the round one. Funny thing, it was etched almost a 500 years before Columbus. After my dad and I returned I raced to the public library and found the information about Ptolemy findings. How could this be? I was taught something wholly different. My father scoffed and said, "That is why you must step out. Truths are to be found, not told." I was pissed! My friggin' teachers lied to me! And at the time, I believed it was on purpose.

Travel is about experiences, finding truths and learning who you are, not what someone tells you. Sometimes one must leave to find themselves and uncover personal truths. And its never as convenient as the chapter headings of a textbook.

Let's uncover some truths together. Give me a buzz, text, Twitter or email. It is easiest to contact me at thetravelvalet@gmail.com.

Pick of the Day(16-5-0)...Texas