We’re going back on the road! This time, more of a North-westerly direction because it’s too damn hot in my beloved Southwest. I’ve got an opportunity to work remotely for a couple of months, so I’m taking advantage of this and going explorin’ First stop is southern Illinois to visit mom and old friends, then north. I’m thinking of heading up through North Dakota on I-90 (visit the Minuteman Missile Visitor Center, Badlands, Crazy Horse Memorial), over to Wyoming for…
I went back to Carbondale after my fiasco in Terre Haute to spend more time with my mom and since it was no longer freakishly cold, I was able to visit some of my favorite haunts like Giant City State Park. First, Argos and I climbed up to look out over Shelter 1. This is a favorite hang-out spot, and also where a lot of folks practice rappelling. It was a gray day, and my photos aren’t fabulous, but at…
(ice storm. Jan 2017. Carbondale, Illinois) A dear friend of mine in Carbondale who works in hospice and I were talking about the nature of loneliness. I find it somewhat ironic that I have felt far less lonely since I took off on this road trip alone than my last two years in Arizona. She talked about the loneliness of dying people and how nothing external seems to help someone who has that particular heartache. She told me about a…
This used to be a working soda fountain. In high school, we could drive out to Pomona for a malted or a gen-u-ine root beer float. When my grandparents died, we planted trees for them at the Unitarian Fellowship. Time passes, trees grow. Nothing endures but change. Turn and face the strange. Tomorrow, I go back on the road.
Before I left on this journey a friend of mine asked me, “What’s your job? Everyone has a job so go do that!” Of course, he did not mean an office job. “What’s my role here? What am I here to contribute?” (LaRue Pine Hills) This is a thought that rumbles around my head often. Currently, I travel, I write, I take photos, I care for two dogs. But what am I contributing to a larger community? I’ve considered many…
Carbondale, Illinois is as close to having a ‘home’ as I’ve experienced thus far. This is the town where I made my first snow-person, learned how to drive, cut class, and found my love for romping outdoors. Home is the place where I have the deepest memories, history, and connection. I have friends here dating back to pre-school, and my mom lives here with my step-dad and a young Australian Shepherd. Would this still be home if my mom weren’t…