 The Nelsons, now that Jeff has said goodbye to a near four-decade
career as a journalist, are getting their home ready to sell and
can't wait to begin a nomadic lifestyle that will take them all over
the country -- in the lap of mobile luxury, I might add.The house
on wheels has everything a person could look for in living quarters:
king-size bed, washer and dryer, twin recliners and a couch in the
living room, plus a big-screen TV -- the Nelsons' new home has it
all -- and it moves down the road.
In a way, the decision that husband and wife made together to
weigh anchor and visit America brings Nelson full circle with a life
that started with an early wanderlust.
Between attempts to find himself and his academic career, Nelson
went on hiatus from the world of deciding what one should be when
one grows up and toured Europe as a 24-year-old. Nelson had
attempted to follow in his father's footsteps and gain a degree in
engineering, but engineering and he weren't very compatible.
After realizing college was a waste of time, Nelson dropped out
in 1964, only to be drafted and ordered to serve his military tour
in Germany. He didn't get to see much of the country during his time
in the service. With a laugh Jeff admits, "I seemed to have a
tendency to get into trouble and have my leaves canceled on me. So
when I finally was discharged, I had leave time accrued that put
$500 in my pocket, and I decided to use the money to backpack across
Europe."
The stories Jeff has about those five months could fill a book of
memoirs, but a few readily stick out in his memory. Armed only with
a camera and backpack, Jeff started his tour of Western Europe.
While in Stuttgart, Germany, Nelson saw a brochure about the longest
cable ride in the world, across Alpine glaciers from France to
Italy, and decided to include it in his itinerary. While on his
trek, Jeff hitched a ride with a self-proclaimed Swiss "toilet seat
salesman." Jeff to this day doesn't know if that story is true or
not, although the expensive Jaguar the man drove told Jeff either
the story was a lark or there was serious money in selling stool
seats.
The man was very kind to Jeff, and they hung out together for two
days as Jeff collected his bearings and gratefully accepted the
man's help. "He bought me a carton of Lucky Strikes, which were not
cheap in Switzerland," Jeff said. "He also bought a huge tenderloin,
and I remember eating the whole thing."
Jeff told the Swiss man he was heading for the cable car between
France and Italy, and the benefactor gave him 40 Swiss francs to pay
for the excursion, with the provision Jeff write him a letter
telling him all about his sojourn.
Nelson got temporarily waylaid from his mission and spent the
money on a full week of skiing at a Swiss resort but did end the
week with the cable car ride.
Later, this time in Spain, he met a young Englishman who took a
liking to the American and let him stay in an apartment he was using
on the Mediterranean beach. It was at this time that Jeff composed a
14-page letter to his benefactor telling him all he had done since
they had met in Switzerland.
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Eventually Nelson heard back from the man, telling him it was the
best letter he had ever received and he believed someday he would be
reading Jeff's works in Paris Match, a significant European magazine
at the time.
That letter was the catalyst for him to realize he enjoyed the
art of the word and that he wanted to make a life of telling people
information they otherwise might not know. Jeff returned to Eastern
Illinois University and majored in English with journalism as a
minor.
During his days at Eastern, Nelson became editor of the school
newspaper in some historic times -- the Kent State University
slayings among the most notable as the heated debates over the
Vietnam War raged across college campuses. Nelson also championed a
criticism of a rigged school election and held firm on opinion
columns that demanded the resignation of the university's president.
"After my term as newspaper editor, the school changed its policy
and changed editors every semester," he said. "I guess they had
enough of me and didn't want to see someone else get too firm a hold
on running the campus newspaper."
After graduation Nelson began a career with Copley Newspapers,
first at the Springfield State Journal-Register and then as managing
editor of The Courier in Lincoln.
For the next four decades, Jeff's opportunities to travel waned.
A family, a busy career, work to be done around the home and a need
to use vacations to visit Gina's family in San Diego put his
wanderlust on hold, but it never tempered his thoughts that one of
these days he and Gina would see "everything" there was to see in
the United States.
Now that the day has come, Jeff, with the enthusiasm of that same
ex-serviceman 40 years ago, beams about where he and Gina will go
and what they plan to see. "There's so much -- the Grand Canyon,
Yellowstone, the Appalachian Trail, the Baja, all the museums and so
much more. I'm not even sure where to start."
Gina wanted to make sure her choices received a family vote.
"There's Alaska and the Florida Keys and New York City too," she
added.
Nelson winced at New York City, perhaps because he wasn't
interested in seeing the Big Apple, or perhaps he dreads the thought
of driving a 22-foot Ford F-450 diesel pickup with a 37-foot trailer
behind it through Manhattan.
Their daughter, Sarah, home for the weekend from her studies at
Eastern Illinois, listened in to her parents' conversation. She will
be graduating this semester with a degree in English with a history
minor and plans to attend the U of I for a master's in library
science. Her personal activities will prevent her from joining her
explorer parents.
Jeff and Gina, like all parents, have to admit their 22-year-old
daughter has her own life to live, but perhaps she can join them
from time to time as they see "everything."
One cannot but wish them all the time they will need to do so.
[By Mike Fak]
Readers can find more of Mike Fak's writing at
www.searchwarp.com
and www.problogs.com.
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