Au revoir

written by Tom Damoth | Uncategorized

February 3, 2023

For months I have been busy downsizing, packing, making travel plans, and spending time with family and friends. I will be traveling for a while with only a vague idea of where I am going. 

I haven’t wanted to say “good by” to anyone… because good by seems so final. So, for several days, I thought about how to better express my feelings. That’s when, on a bright January morning while still half asleep, au revoir popped to mind.

It’s the perfect expression for this point of my life. Au revoir/ until we meet again. Leave it to the French to truly express feelings of the heart.

As with all new adventures, I have more questions than answers:

  • Will I gravel bike along the coast of Wales and experience the English Countryside?
  • Then there's my promise to Janes - to visit Florence and Michelangelo's David.
  • I have this burning ambition to walk barefoot through the fields of Alsace-Lorraine, the land of my ancestors.
  • Will I sit on that ancient stone wall above Lesbos Lagoon and contemplate Aristotle and the dawn of science?

The aspirations are endless.

Last night at 9:18 I crossed the Michigan / Indiana border on my way to St. Augustine Florida.

The highway was dark, cold, and snowy. A fitting contrast to the bright future ahead.

And I whispered to the state I have called home all my life. Au revoir.


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