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"If there's a fork in the road, take it." Nine years old and probably, if not certainly, this was one of the strangest, most peculiar phrases I heard. A fork in the road? And what about a spoon? Dirty napkins? Why not, as the man said…pick it up!<br />

The Fork & The Road

Camron Karsten
2007-04-27 22:18:57

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"If there's a fork in the road, take it." Nine years old and probably, if not certainly, this was one of the strangest, most peculiar phrases I heard. A fork in the road? And what about a spoon? Dirty napkins? Why not, as the man said…pick it up!

The quote was read to me out of a book written by Pat Riley (one of the top ten NBA coaches of all-time according to NBA.com) entitled The Winner Within. He was older. I was nine. And at nine years old, I hadn't the slightest, simplest clue as for the significance behind the man's word. Again…nine: why should I?

The fork and the road, as well as the action of taking it all in, carries little to no weight. It is of no importance to a youthful mind, for in this state of innocence, the mind is still free; it's still absorbing every experience with its refining preferences. Most of all, it is these very preferences in which life is lived by, in which the road is traveled.

However, somewhere between youth (say 5, 6, 7, 8, 9+ years old and on into adolescence) the numerous forks upon the
road vanish. More, they might be there, but they're passed over in place of someone else's forks. To retake one's own fork upon one's own road is the exercise in life.

Along Came The Choice

As the motion of the sun, as the pleating horizon and its contrasting hues from light to darkness and back, life revolves. Individually, life revolves and evolves, traveling the path of the individual. The individual, from each perspective, is the traveler, and upon all travels, there is a road which to go by. Which fork will you choose? Or from the very beginning, my dear child, don't forget your forks.

I've chosen the revolving life as a professional traveler. I decided, back during those turbulent years of unsteadiness amidst a pubescent burgeoning, that the road will always be mine, and thus found the lifestyle to support this decision. And ...