Freedom

This weekend, I made a trip to western Massachusetts, where I had a board meeting at my alma mater for a fund I help to oversee. That visit was lovely and normal.

The trip there and back was extraordinary. It's been busy at work, but without any planning, I was able get there and back easily, driving past beautiful countryside in NY and PA, on well-maintained roads (so smooth I didn't realize how fast I was going at some point), and with a thousand choices about where to stop.

I had freedom. I have freedom.

It might sound normal, but in so many countries around the world, its not normal, whether because of dictators regulating travel or lack of resources or corruption that diverts those resources from public roads. That freedom is my Right, and everyone's right, but its not a broad experience across humanity and I will always be thankful for it.