| General Non-Fiction posted January 27, 2022 |
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An inspirational family travelling the world. (500 words)
Living The Dream
by LisaMay
Story about A Family Contest Winner
It was 2009 and my then-partner, Roger, and I were on a two-year motorcycling expedition throughout Australia. We’d already tackled some arduous terrain in the eastern states and were now headed to Perth, crossing the vast Nullarbor Plain.
Seeking some shade, we pulled into a roadside rest area and parked our motorbikes. I’d just finished peeling an orange when an unusual vehicle arrived. I stared in amazement. The old blue car looked like it should’ve been in a museum, yet the international travel stickers that adorned it attested to its endurance across 100,000 miles and many countries.
The vintage vehicle, a 1928 Graham Paige, was home and school-of-the-world to the intrepid Zapp family – an Argentinian couple and their children. Roger and I went over to greet them. I offered some orange segments and after introductions we started chatting.
Herman told us: “We’ve been on the road for several years – we left Argentina in 2000. We drove to Alaska first. We’ve got four children now, each born in different countries along the way. They’re our souvenirs.”
Candelaria, his wife, held their baby up to show me. “We’re in Australia, so we named him Wallaby.” The adorable infant chuckled as if he were in on the joke, just as a wallaby (a small kangaroo) jumped past us and disappeared into the shimmering heat haze of the surrounding plain. The other children played happily together nearby.
Roger and I crossed paths three times with the Zapps during our own Australian travels. I was in awe – and envious – of their obviously strong bond. To my chagrin, my relationship with Roger limped along from one petty squabble to another during our travels. The aura of love and gentleness surrounding Herman and Candy showed that with love and the right attitude, one of patience, cooperation and respect, a relationship grows stronger and anything can be faced together and achieved.
It’s the sort of attitude that attracts other people’s warmth and generosity. It draws out a desire to be equally cooperative and loving. The Zapp’s journeying had been greatly facilitated by reciprocated human kindness. They’d often benefited from hospitable offers of help with accommodation, food, petrol, and assistance with repairs.
They were never opportunists scrounging for handouts. Herman was a handy odd-job worker, and they’d written a book, Spark Your Dream, which, in addition to Candy’s watercolour paintings, they sold along the way. They were travellers with a mutual dream. Their faith in people and ability to work hard to make their dream come true was impressive.
I read more about this family just recently; they travelled the world for 20 years before returning to Argentina. What an incredible adventure experiencing different cultures! Of course, not everyone will see this as something they’d like to do, but the Zapp’s story does go to show that wealth isn’t necessary to fulfil dreams, just passion.
Meeting this family left a vivid impression on me. It was a privilege to meet people leading such inspirational lives.
It was 2009 and my then-partner, Roger, and I were on a two-year motorcycling expedition throughout Australia. We’d already tackled some arduous terrain in the eastern states and were now headed to Perth, crossing the vast Nullarbor Plain.
Seeking some shade, we pulled into a roadside rest area and parked our motorbikes. I’d just finished peeling an orange when an unusual vehicle arrived. I stared in amazement. The old blue car looked like it should’ve been in a museum, yet the international travel stickers that adorned it attested to its endurance across 100,000 miles and many countries.
The vintage vehicle, a 1928 Graham Paige, was home and school-of-the-world to the intrepid Zapp family – an Argentinian couple and their children. Roger and I went over to greet them. I offered some orange segments and after introductions we started chatting.
Herman told us: “We’ve been on the road for several years – we left Argentina in 2000. We drove to Alaska first. We’ve got four children now, each born in different countries along the way. They’re our souvenirs.”
Candelaria, his wife, held their baby up to show me. “We’re in Australia, so we named him Wallaby.” The adorable infant chuckled as if he were in on the joke, just as a wallaby (a small kangaroo) jumped past us and disappeared into the shimmering heat haze of the surrounding plain. The other children played happily together nearby.
Roger and I crossed paths three times with the Zapps during our own Australian travels. I was in awe – and envious – of their obviously strong bond. To my chagrin, my relationship with Roger limped along from one petty squabble to another during our travels. The aura of love and gentleness surrounding Herman and Candy showed that with love and the right attitude, one of patience, cooperation and respect, a relationship grows stronger and anything can be faced together and achieved.
It’s the sort of attitude that attracts other people’s warmth and generosity. It draws out a desire to be equally cooperative and loving. The Zapp’s journeying had been greatly facilitated by reciprocated human kindness. They’d often benefited from hospitable offers of help with accommodation, food, petrol, and assistance with repairs.
They were never opportunists scrounging for handouts. Herman was a handy odd-job worker, and they’d written a book, Spark Your Dream, which, in addition to Candy’s watercolour paintings, they sold along the way. They were travellers with a mutual dream. Their faith in people and ability to work hard to make their dream come true was impressive.
I read more about this family just recently; they travelled the world for 20 years before returning to Argentina. What an incredible adventure experiencing different cultures! Of course, not everyone will see this as something they’d like to do, but the Zapp’s story does go to show that wealth isn’t necessary to fulfil dreams, just passion.
Meeting this family left a vivid impression on me. It was a privilege to meet people leading such inspirational lives.
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Writing Prompt ~ Family ~ non fiction Read definition of 'family' before entering this contest. This definition will be enforced in this contest. from dictionary.com family a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family. a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family. the children of one person or one couple collectively: ~~~~~~~ Write a nonfiction story with a Human family as the subject ~Read all rules! minimum word count 450/maximum word count 500/black font only No vulgar words, sexual terms, ghosts/spirits/paranormal, time travel, or profanity No references to political figures, parties/innuendos/references, past or present, or ideas such as Marxism No Christmas stories/Valentine's Day or adoption/birth of children, or a human in the hospital/hospice care with little time to live No animation, music included with one picture allowed |
Story about A Family Contest Winner |
 Recognized |
Author note:
The accompanying photo shows the Zapp family and their 1928 Graham Paige car. The photo was taken in 2010 in Oamaru, New Zealand, by Sally Rae, a photographer for my local newspaper: The Otago Daily Times. The family was travelling in my own area then. I would love to have hosted them in my home city of Dunedin, but I was still travelling in Australia on my motorbike at that time, in Tasmania.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. The accompanying photo shows the Zapp family and their 1928 Graham Paige car. The photo was taken in 2010 in Oamaru, New Zealand, by Sally Rae, a photographer for my local newspaper: The Otago Daily Times. The family was travelling in my own area then. I would love to have hosted them in my home city of Dunedin, but I was still travelling in Australia on my motorbike at that time, in Tasmania.
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