Every so often I think about getting it all together and finally making a trip to England for a couple of weeks to walk the "Hadrian’s Wall trail." But, in the end, there’s always some obstacle: job transitions, kids getting married, statin myopathy, you name it.
My fascination with this part of the world and its history goes back to high school when I first heard Roger Waters’ "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" on the Pink Floyd album Ummagumma. Who knew what a “Pict” was?
Then, just a few years ago, there was Mel Gibson playing William Wallace in Braveheart noting that it was particularly good traveling weather because “The rain is falling straight down. Well, slightly to the side like.” Of course Wallace wound up painting his face blue and meeting a violent end.
Who wouldn’t want to visit such a place? And so, once again, I sat down to peruse Web sites and dream about the trip.
But enter “Hadrian’s Wall” and what do the Internets serve up this morning? The first listing is ”Hadrian Manufacturing" the foremost supplier of toilet wall partitions and lockers. (The current highlighted feature is their new high-tech powder coating that defies graffiti.)
And then, there it is, right on their “Our Story" page, a detailed homage to Emperor Hadrian explaining his attempt to wall off the barbarians and tracing the history right down through the centuries, a direct link to today’s public toilet stall.
What a relief! I need not travel all the way to England to experience Hadrian’s Wall, the trail is as close as the nearest Target store restroom. I may be able to make this trip before I die after all.
