Traveling Case

I'm a traveling man. To stay light on my feet, I make sure my bag of goodies I take with me is sufficient for my adventures, like taking an 80-day tour around the world.

I'm sitting at home right now looking at my checklist, making sure not only do I have the usual domestic items - underwear, socks, toothpaste - but also my means of locomotion.

My head feels like Phileas Fogg, in that precision ratchets the vocabulary and grammar rules in my thoughts on a machine-like basis. My head also feels foggy today, but that's another matter.

How'm I to travel? All the experts I've consulted have given me nothing but grief. If I choose oil, I'm environmentally-unfriendly. If I use solar power, I'm wasting precious water. If I use wind power or batteries, I'm exploiting workers and causing mineral wars. If I walk or pedal my way, I'll never make it there on time. I haven't figured out how to put ocean waves, hydroelectric dams or geothermal vents in my travel bag. Hydrogen and helium have their uses but I'm unconvinced.

I may postpone my trip for a while and see what creative minds out there have invented that I haven't thought of yet. I need mass-produced energy that's efficient, cheap, readily-available and acceptable by all for a happy future - perpetual motion machines and magic water converters not included, of course.