Where the Wild Things Are: A Vagabonds Story
We believe the spirit of a backpacker is something that develops early in life. It’s that burning urge to find out what’s behind every little door in the house (even if it turns out to be the linen closet or the drawer where your mom keeps the tupperware.) The desire to climb that old fence and peek at the neighbor’s backyard. The kids that imagine new worlds outside of their rooms, the dreamers, the creative thinkers. Once we gain independence with age, these qualities drive us to travel and realistically explore all those places we imagine as children.
Where the Wild Things Are is a short, 9 sentence children’s book that embraces this notion. This is the story: a kid named Max gets punished, by being sent up to his room without supper, for being an a-hole to the dog. Instead of being a pussy and crying about it, Max imagines a world outside of his room, somewhere where the wild things are. He lets his imagination travel to a world where he conquers the unknown wild things; there he becomes free to be himself. When his journey ends, his imagination rests and he snaps back into reality to find his room, with supper (an old people term for dinner?) sitting on his dresser, still hot.
Originally published in 1963 and now reworked as a movie (directed by Spike Jonze nonetheless), Where the Wild Things Are is set for release on October 16, 2009. The central theme is what keeps this story around after nearly 50 years since it was first published. The idea of imagining a world outside of your daily routine, away from your life’s frustrations, somewhere where you can be free to imagine, free to explore, free to rule if you wish.
These are all ideals and inspirations that backpackers share. We are Max! By choosing to travel independently and cheaply, we constantly embark on journeys that lead us to where the wild things are; trekking into the unknown to conquer our fears and quench that thirst for discovery we have cultivated as children.
Read the book (takes maybe 10 minutes if you’re at all literate), watch the movie and journey on. We promise your supper will still be hot when you return.
Written By: Anna Starostinetskaya
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