Roadtrip Musings: An Equal
I recently sojourned to the Grand Canyon, a "bucket list" task that I'm glad to have completed while gas prices still allow for frivolous travel. On the journey, I re-read my favorite roadtrip book Through Painted Deserts by Don Miller. I've written about this book once before, as Miller's conclusion about friendship is the namesake of this blog.
I am drawn to this book in the same way I gravitate towards personal-quest type movies (e.g., The Way, Elizabethtown, One Week, and Motorcycle Diaries). I adore books, films, and people who travel and in doing so take a hard look at themselves and the lives they lead.

Near the end of his book about traveling the open road Miller writes,
"We're going to be best friends, you realize that, Paul said. I hadn't realized it, to be honest. Paul is a better guy that I, better looking, more athletic, smarter. I didn't know whether he thought of me that way, you know, but apparently he did. It's great when somebody who is better than you in all those ways that don't matter but always matter lets you be an equal" (pg. 248).As we sped our way across New Mexico and Texas, it was this Miller quote that stuck with me. With each new state and changing scenery, I saw how Chassity was better than me. While I failed to exhibit patience or understanding in moments that required it, Chassity rose to the occasion. She laughed through awkward pauses, remarked on all things Navajo, and lightened the mood each time the sedan grew gloomy.
It is great when someone who is better than you lets you be an equal.
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