ABSTRACT
This riff or mini chapter begins with the claim that wandering maintains an inseparable (if often inactive) relationship with falling. The drifting consciousness that welcomes happenstance and the accidental—say stumbling upon a host of golden daffodils—also provides an opening for bad accidents. Accidents, in short, are a regular, unwelcome feature of the road. The road is not a smooth straightaway but, on occasion, an asphalt mirage suspended over a deathtrap. Wanderers not only can’t avoid falling but they are often listed among the fallen, just as the fallen often take to the road as wanderers. The fictional character Rambo, from David Morrell’s 1972 novel First Blood, introduces a discussion of homeless veterans. Homelessness leads to a discussion of women who fall between the cracks. Finally, according to UNICEF, in 2016 nearly 50 million children worldwide have migrated across borders or been forcibly displaced—a conservative estimate. One hundred million children worldwide live on the streets, according to a 1989 estimate. The figure, as the Consortium for Street Children advises, is considerably outdated: “The true numbers are unknown.” Wandering, in short, intersects with some of the most serious social issues facing the contemporary world.
