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Packing light
and Letting his Heart Sing
Image is of Don Sires on Lake Washington preparing for a Hobby Cat Race.
Meeting Don and getting to know him and his beautiful family has been a truly heartwarming experience. I’ve never known him to hesitate in trying to assist someone in need of better outcomes. Not to mention that he continued to be the person to call for any home construction work, Don is an avid learner, a reliable subject matter source for multiple disciplines and is very charitable in deeds and his faith; of which, the latter we share in common. Recently, I thought of stories my husband would tell me about trips that he was invited to by Don. As I recalled each reference, the question that came to my mind was, “how is it that Don (quiet as it was kept) at one moment would be at home and the next hiking or traveling with very little notice, luggage and money; yet have experiences full in positivity and inspiration?"
In this publication, I share excerpts of my interview with Don. The fuller recorded audio is available online for our member community. Join our community to listen in. It’s the Positive Network Community and it’s free to join.
The below image is of Don canoeing on Cottonmouth Lake. When you listen to the audio, you'll get the scoop about that trip.
Don Sires on Cottonmouth Lake Carbondale, Illinois. 1976
How did you come to love traveling?
"It was a lot because of my father constantly watching wild Kingdom [and the] idea of the world [being] so big.” Don added that his interest in travel continued to blossom as his father invited both diverse conversations and people in his home as a young person. Even with the influence of an adventurous brother, and a friend who was into hitchhiking, Don had no more elevated voice reaching into his heart, that motivated him to travel, meet people and enjoy life, than his own.
During our interview, Don recalled his father inviting people from all over the world to their home. He spoke of the “wonderful conversations” and how his father being of the Bahá’í Faith was the catalyst to the experiences he enjoyed, like getting to know people of diverse backgrounds. [The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion based on the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh ... that there is one God and one human family, and that the great religions of the world represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society].
Combining influence from dad's love of people and his brother's courage, with his hitchhiking buddy, Don was confident that he had all the insight that was needed to be on his way without hesitation. He explained, “I was still in high school [and] the friend of mine was older. He had come back from Vietnam and really introduced me to the freedom of hitchhiking around America. ... out of high school, I was hitchhiking around the Midwest. Ask yourself, what parents allow their high school kid to just go?” Don shared an example that he would tell his parents he was going from Iowa to Wisconsin and would be back at the end of the week—recognizing later in life that no parent would allow their child to take such a trip, without significant trepidation. But Don took many trips like that and traveled even further, frequently.
About the influence from Don's brother: “...he was the brother just a little older than me and it was like growing up with huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and Tarzan all rolled into one. He was this very adventurous somewhat [charismatic] spirit and so he had influence on the idea that the world was my home." Don explained his brother's influence this way: "I graduated from high school, [but] I didn't go to my graduation.” Instead, Don shared that he got his sleeping bag, threw a change of clothes in it, rolled it up, put a rope on each end and left for Omaha. Note at the time, Don lived in Waterloo, Iowa, which was about 200 miles from Omaha. Once there, Don connected with another relative “an older half brother and I had a nephew with me. ... [a] nephew that was older than me. I was 18 and he was 19.” Don shared that was a defining time for him as well. "...at that point is really when I discovered that it was like America—anywhere I wanted to go. It just felt open and free.” Within a year Don began hitchhiking regularly. “Later that summer I hitchhiked from Chicago to Berkeley and then we drove back.”
Don, Under 30 yrs old, single
& building houses in Boone, Iowa 1978
Q: Did your travel escapades change when you got married and had a family?
"Donna [Don's wife] was and still is this person who if you [want to] go to California tomorrow, she's pretty willing to jump in the car and go. She loves traveling, loves camping and loves exploring."
Don shared more about traveling during this time in his life. Simply put, he became married with a family, who traveled. Then when his family grew, Don said, “Now we're a team with young children. There is a six, and, four-year-old, so packing for me radically changed. I still put the most basic things together, but Donna [his wife] is truly more organized ..., and you know it's [going to] take a little longer to get out of the house before we go to different things." Don explained. “I looked at her and said, we just need to be more organized, don't we? Oh my God here we are 45 years later, I still eat those words.”
Sharing love of sailing with his long-time love, Donna. Yale Lake 1989ish
Q: What experience was rewarding?
“... out in the mountains, there is a place on Mount Hood ... called Cooper Spur. It's on the north side of Mount Hood. You walk up about a mile and a half, maybe two miles ... through the timber line and you turn and look on a clear day you got [mount] Adams and ... Saint Helens and you can see Mount Rainier [and] the Columbia River flowing down below ... look a little to the east and you got the Apple Valley and ... this feeling ... amazing and beautiful—the world."
It was such a joy connecting with Don. There is much more to hear on the recorded audio. Join our member community to listen in. We're the Positive Network Community and focus our efforts in advancing connections to positivity.