I Love.......Globes

I love GLOBES. I'm not sure when my fascination with them began. I must have been young. I don't remember anyone I knew that had one of their own, so it must have been in school. I never was a big geography buff, so it was never about that. Even today I would probably have difficulty finding a lot of countries, even those to which I have traveled. Still, if a globe is in the room I will probably notice it, and if no one is looking (or maybe even if they are) I will probably feel the need to touch it or give it a little spin. Globes both comfort and fascinate me.

I own two globes. I remember I pondered the purchase of the first one for quite a while. It seemed frivolous. In the end, I couldn't help myself. I bought it. While it wasn't an expensive one, the black waters made it a bit unique. Loving the color black as I do, it seemed to be the right globe for me. Sometimes I take it down and spin it on its axis, amazed I own my own little compact world. Also amazed that certain places are nowhere close to where I thought they were!

Throughout the childhoods of my three youngest nieces (Maggie, Taylor, and Addison), when Aunt Kim was going to take a trip we played a game where they would have to find where I was going. First they had to find North Carolina. Then they had to find the country of destination. I would give them clues as to where it was until they could put their finger on it. Then they would trace a line from one to another, and we would talk about where I would be traveling. Taylor, especially, had a great memory of the places. When I would get back from the trip, she could often still find the way to my destination.

The other globe I bought as a souvenir from.....somewhere. As is often the case, I don't remember where I bought it. I do remember it held no real significance to the place I was visiting...I could have found one back home, and possibly at a better price. But this little tiny jewel globe was beautiful, with its bright blue waters. Too small for any real function, it just made me happy to look at it. While I can't recall where I purchased it, I remembered thinking it was a perfect reminder of a good trip....and the promise to myself of more good trips to come.

What's so great about a globe? It makes our world one. This world that seems so one-dimensional in our everyday life, with  so many divisions and differences, is actually a huge rotating ball. Twirl it in its axis and you don't see the separation we humans often create. We rotate together. In sync. It`s beautiful, really. The different colors of the countries speak of the colors of many different faces and cultures, distinct, but adjoined to their neighbors. When you look at the United States compared to the rest of the world, we're really just a small part. Yes, we have states bigger than many countries, but there is so much there besides us. Looking at the globe you can see small countries of great power and large countries who have struggled. The amount of land you own isn't necessarily correlated to your global world power or significance.

While the shapes of the land remain pretty much the same, often the countries change. You can usually figure out when the globe was made based on the countries that show on it. Yugoslavia is not on my globe, but it shows Serbia and Montenegro together. That means it was probably made between 2003 and 2006, I believe. I actually thought it was older than that! I'll have to think about that more.

Globes remind me of all the countries I have been fortunate to visit, but show me I haven't made a dent in where I want to go. I will continue to spin them and pick new places to explore, and dream of the adventures to be had.

I remember a show from when I was growing up, with a theme song that sounded really creepy, but had lyrics of note. The Big Blue Marble. 

"The earth's a Big Blue Marble
When you see it from out there
The sun and moon declare
Our beauty's very rare

Folks are folks and kids are kids
We share a common name
We speak a different way
But work and play the same

We sing pretty much alike
Enjoy spring pretty much alike
Peace and love we all understand
And laughter, we use the very same brand

Our differences, our problems
From out there there's not much trace

Our friendships they can place
While looking at the face
Of the Big Blue Marble in space."

And here we sit, a pin drop on that big blue marble, spinning and spinning. Living life on that globe. Yes, I love it.