SEPTEMBER 23rd - Go Back to the Start



On this day in 1806, Lewis and Clark safely returned to St. Louis after their near two-year expedition of discovery into the the West of the still very young United States. That’s quite a long trip. The longest trip I was ever a part of was in college when a hippie took my legs out in an Ultimate Frisbee game from at least fifty yards away. I’d also imagine the expedition was probably pretty damn dangerous. Especially without 21st accoutrements like GPS. Would the Garmin Lady have been easier to deal with than Sacagawea? I’m fairly certain it would have been recalculating the whole trip. Recalculating. Recalculating. The trip, incidentally, was commissioned by none other than President Thomas Jefferson, making this the seemingly perfect time talk about whether TJ was impressed with Lewis and Clark’s return, but again--zagging instead of zigging. The return often gets overlooked, doesn’t it? I mean I get that there’s the whole "it’s not the destination, it’s the journey" cliché, but honestly the destination and the journey lose a bit-o-shine if the participants don’t make the return. Like let’s say Lewis was mauled by a mountain lion and Clark died of dysentery on their way back from the Pacific. History would probably remember them a little differently, don’t you think? You probably wouldn’t learn about them in middle school--unless it was to reiterate that mountain lions are dangerous and that you should probably boil dirty water before you drink it. And if that isn't enough for those of you more moral-focused readers, just remember that sometimes you need to make it back to the start to understand the significance of the journey.

This day has been Marked.

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