WOW Word-Of-the-Week #370: Curiosity
September 7, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #370: Curiosity
Curiosity – a desire to know or learn.
Do you have a desire to learn about new things? Do you think the older you get the more curious you are? Do you think that you know everything you need to know?
This week’s WOW comes from Kim with her response to my WOW#364 on wonder.
“What a great idea for a travel theme. I recently had to travel around the US for work, and they bought an RV for me to do it in so I could bring my dogs. I was on the Lewis and Clark Trail and didn’t know it. I kept seeing T shirts and magnets in the stores with Lewis and Clark on it. I then started going to every museum about them, and camping in or close to their original camps. I hiked parts of the trail that are in State Parks. I looked at the statues in the various towns, and read the inscriptions. I watched the movies, and read the books. It was amazing what they did.”
“In school, it was 2 guys in a canoe going up a river. I loved it too, to be reminded that one of the miracles of the trip was that they were saved numerous times by Sacagawea, a 16-year-old young Indian woman carrying a new born on her back the whole time, who served as guide, interpreter, food expert, diplomat, doctor (and basically made the trip successful) the whole time her French husband was getting paid. It was a pleasure to read about their adventure and to have a look into the politics of the day.”
“I had a friend tell me her travel ‘theme’ was to visit great American mansions all around the US. (The ones she has visited: Ca’ dZan: John Ringling’s Florida winter home for the circus; Moss Mansion, MT; Pittock Mansion, OR; Graceland Mansion, TN; Old Westbury Mansion, NY; Hearst Castle, CA; Biltmore Mansion, NC, Fallingwater, PA; House on the Rock, WI)
“You should take the Silk Road Marco Polo traveled! There is an interesting book about that called “The Journeyer” by Gary Jennings. A FUN adventure read for travelers. I read that one when I traveled all over Asia. Safe travels.”
This week’s focus is on curiosity. Do you have a desire to learn something new? Do you have a travel theme? Do you have a hobby or a trade someone would like to learn about?
Reader Responses
“I like to joke with people who meet us for the first time that my daughters have their mother’s brains and good looks, but their father’s stubbornness and curiosity. The fact that I am a curious person is one of the reasons I became a journalist. I wanted to know what made people tick, and wanted to go places that I would never get to go to if I were not a journalist. We are all so different and come from so many different places that there are great stories to tell. Everyone has a unique background, and that is why we are just so darned interesting. I liked the mention of Lewis & Clark. It reminded me of when I was in grade school and learned about Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet and their travels through the Illinois and Wisconsin territories along the Mississippi River. They befriended Native Americans along their route also. Their travels piqued my curiosity as a child. Since curiosity is a natural human trait, I am always amazed when I meet people who are not curious at all! Without that natural curiosity, we really don’t open our minds to worlds – and peoples – outside of ourselves. We remain ensconced in our own little worlds. Something, unfortunately, I am seeing more and more as I approach my dotage. Thanks for the word, Susan.” – “Warrior” Joe