Untitled - Beeldbibliotheek

CARAVAN DAYS 257At any rate, it is clear that days that are socompletely recalled have been vividly lived andthat everything in them has been significant.That is the first truth about Caravan Days.There isnothingin them that does not count.They are free from slack and empty periods.They leave no room for killing time. They arebusy days, packed with insistent occupationsdays in which there is always much to do andeverything is well worth doing. They are beautifullymonotonous, and yet no two are the same.And that they stand out, each one apart, is dueto the fact that they are divided both by timeand space with journeys between camps. Theyare new days of new habits, a new outlook and anew state of mind and feeling, and they have thepower of reaching out and leaving the old thingsbehind. That is their special gift. Worries andproblems and cares are not easily eluded evenfor a few weeks in the year. There are times whenit is not possible to travel away from them bytrain or ship or motor.But it is generally possibleto walk away from them beside a caravan.It isgiven to the caravanner, as the days run on, tofind a new proportion in the value of things, forthe time being, in which the successful cookingof a supper or climbing of a hill weighs more withs