Pulitzer prize winning article...NOT!

Get Off the Front Porch
By Rip Pewett


As a small boy I too, like Columbus, knew the world wasn’t flat but I believed it was a triangle. Nashville, Tennessee was at the western point, then Knoxville, Tennessee to the east and closed up by Destin, Florida in the south. What a wonderful pointed world it was! My parents showed me the round globe and this rocked my world almost as much as the no Santa Clause disclosure. Oh well, I still had the Easter bunny (oh right banished to Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean). A dysfunctional childhood for sure, but I like to think of it as a period of disinformation. I remember sitting on my front porch watching the same view everyday wondering what else was out there.

World History I and Geography quickly showed me all I needed to know: the world was vast and there were billions of people just waiting to meet me. I took baby steps at first by getting out of my own state. I immediately fell in love with the decadence of New Orleans, the sunset celebration in Key West, the lights and glitter of sin city Las Vegas and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The latter I credit for inspiring me to become a scuba diver. I saw thousands of different species of saltwater fish, rays & sharks that hooked me for life. This was also the first time I encountered penguins and to this day I still think they rock! The problem was, if I never traveled outside the United States I would never get to swim with most of these beautiful creatures.

The first order of business was acquiring a passport. This was easily accomplished by the good folks at the Acklen Avenue branch of the United States Postal Service. Four to eight weeks later I had the legal instrument to traverse the globe. In the next 10 years I would put that baby to good use. I traveled to Australia twice and dove in the Great Barrier Reef each time. I watched the fairy penguins of Phillip Island return at dusk from the sea to their burrows. (that was amazing). In Sydney I drank cold VB’s (Victoria Bitter) in a pub watching the USA play Australia in Olympic men’s basketball. I was the only Yank and the only winner in that place by games end. I spent seven weeks in Northern Ontario fishing for trout and dodging moose on the back roads. I visited Cancun twice and did some drift diving in nearby Cozumel before buying treasure at the numerous free markets. I got engaged on Andros Island in the Bahamas, got married on Grand Cayman, then honeymooned and scuba dived on Little Cayman.

I am currently planning my adventures for the year 2008. As always, I try to visit the old faithful destinations that I mentioned earlier. I will also embark on some new adventures, including at least one new major league ballpark. It is here, in the planning stages, that I truly find contentment. It took me 38 years of my life to realize that my business and my livelihood must be tied to the planning and execution of adventure travel. I am starting my own web based business to promote “Getting Off Your Front Porch” and finding treasure. Not sunken treasure per se but local treasure from all over the world. I will visit exotic and far off places like Papua New Guinea, Bali, Thailand, New Zealand and revisit Australia. When I get the green light, I will even discover the treasure of Cuba. You can follow my vision quest, as I like to call it, and see the treasure I discover on my website www.onmeway.com.

I want every reader to know that I am a native Nashvillian, as my father was before me. I truly love it here, but the world is a spectacular place and must be explored. Nashville will be the same great town when I return. I believe that every adventure helps us grow and see things through a different light. I make new friends in every new city or town I travel and they are kind enough to point me in the right direction and share their culture with me. Since Al Gore invented the internet (ha ha) it is simple to keep up with my new friends all over the world and maybe one day I can return the hospitality Nashville style.

The world is changing but we cannot live in fear of it. I firmly believe when it is my time so be it. I might just be lucky enough to see all the things on my list of 100 things to do before I die. I know one thing for sure and that is I absolutely must get off my front porch. Bob Seger said it best “these are the memories that make me a wealthy soul.”

Rip Pewett
Treasure Hunter

Welcome to OZ!

Well, i'm in Sydney for 5 days of decompression & the first thing i learn is...it is 8a.m., i've packed like a girl for the 45 days in Oz(Australia for the rookies) & i can't check into the Bondi Beach hostel until 2p.m. No worries. I throw my bag into the hostel storage, grab my traveling gnome Big Boy & head to the topless beach! Well let me tell you, this beach rocks & although it is the slow season, it is packed with people. Big Boy finds a board way too big for him but whatever floats his plastic boat. I don't want to damper his mood as he was tucked into a bag for the flight....it was rude but had to be done.
I decide that a little brekkie is in order so i pull up to a cafe & order eggs,big bacon, toast & potatoes. i order a beer & the manager informs me that his permit won't allow him to sell beer this early but he appreciates my zeal. I sit back & overlook the surf while reading the Aussie daily paper. My food comes quickly & i enjoy not having much of an agenda for the next 5 days. There is such a feeling of contentment when you realize your world is 12,000 miles away & no one knows where you are. Complete freedom.
I bought a 7 day combo pass(bus, train & ferry) after i cleared the Japanese customs agent(confused where i actually landed for a second), so i grabbed a bus, hoped a train & there i was at Circular Quay(pronounced key) with the Sydney Bridge on me left & the Opera House on me right.....next stop the oldest pub in Sydney, The Fortune of War!
Cheers,
Rip

change of attitude, change of latitude

Well, here is my logo.......perfect, but it took awhile for the graphic design guy to visualize my idea. Even though i gave him the link to find it, no customer service in the world anymore. Oh well, i've found if you keep moving forward then you forget most speed bumps pretty quickly. So, I retired from the mortgage business on March 15th & prepared myself for the decompression of a lifetime.....6 weeks back to Australia or Oz as the Aussies called it. This was my maiden voyage for treasure hunting. I had bought gifts the two previous times but never really thought about making a career out of buying Australian treasure for import to the U.S.A.

If you travel at all you know that domestic airlines suck with the exception of Southwest or Southbest as i call them. I would have to fly American(ugh) from Nashville to Los Angeles then hop on Qantas for the 14 hour trip over the big pond. I am pretty good at not thinking about being over water for 90% of the journey. Alcohol usually helps me forget this & many other things as well. The Australian phrase of "no worries" comes to mind. Half way thru the uneventful flight, the captain advises the waitress's in the sky to take their seats & fasten their seat belts....NEVER a good sign. So i sat their with my VB(Victoria Bitter) beer in hand & waited for the unknown & waited & waited. Nothing, not even turbulence. I was relieved & saw no more problems until my 747 way up in the sky touched down. Cleared customs without delay & found myself in Sydney International airport & 6 weeks to do whatever the hell I wanted to do. We will pick up there next time & I'll tell you about Bondi Beach where all the pretty people go topless! Cheers, Rip