Boston, MA: Common on the commons

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Julie McDonald

One of the most common questions that I get is, how do I get people to talk to me? This trip, as the last, the automatic answer has been that I am shocked/delighted by just how easy it is. I am fond of saying that in 2008, people were so responsive because I made myself so ridiculous. Yellow slicker, helmet hair, short and aging… kind of irresistible, no? For this trip, I was a little worried, as I clearly lack the shock factor.

But it is so simple. People ask in passing where you are heading and, voilà, introduction. What happens next is the best part. Almost without question upon hearing that I am ‘audio harvesting’ people ready themselves to be asked for an interview. More surprising, people within earshot often queue up. So cool.

Today I found myself in the Huntington Avenue YMCA in Boston (with thanks to Bryan and Rana), the first YMCA in the country and a historical landmark, it is breathtaking. Here, as I did leg lifts, a man asked where I was from, and we were off. Within minutes, three more people wanted to give me their ‘words’ for our mind map. The enthusiasm that I have met in every region simply to be heard is remarkable. I will be forever grateful.

But today, I want to introduce you to David. He requested first name only with no photo as he is one of my ‘felons I have talked to’. David is heading back to Lubbock, Texas where he has a job and where he found a better environment to raise his son. While so much of his life experience is outside of our understanding, David’s views are some of the most common that I hear expressed.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/David.mp3″ title=”David”]

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Atlantic City, NJ: Right at the Atlantic

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Okay, there is no way to start this post that will mask my bias, pride and love for today’s interview. The first night of this trip was spent in LA with my daughter, Katie. That I wanted to interview her goes without saying, but maybe not just for the reasons you might think.

With every conversation, every interview of my 2008 trip, my spirit and faith were renewed. Conservative or progressive, each persons humanity and shared values gave me hope. But never more… never more than when I was talking to young people. There is a sense of ordered thinking, absence of ideology and most of all, an engagement that is heartening.

The chance to record my daughter was irresistible. Katie is in her last year at UCLA Law School and is an avid rock climber, dancer and reader. I cannot be objective, but every day I am thankful.

So Katie indulged me, as she often does. I think you will hear not only why I am so proud, but why I am so hopeful.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Katie%20McDonald.mp3″ title=”Katie McDonald”]

(thank you Katie girl, I love you)

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Washington DC: Not knowing

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Today was proof that not knowing is at the basis of the most resonate moments for me.  I arrived in Washington DC for a day (with my Steve, btw) and set out to walk my favorite path around the mall. We had limited time, but it was a gorgeous day and everything familiar felt comfortable and sweet.

Then, we made our way to see the new Martin Luther King Memorial site. Like most people, I had seen the pictures and consider myself pretty savvy, memorial-wise. So it was completely unexpected, my reaction. The entry called ‘Mountains of Despair’ enable a slow presentation to the Tidal Basin and the Stone of Hope upon which the statue of Martin Luther King emerges. Two walls of MLK inscriptions allow you to slowing take in the wisdom, language and immeasurable loss of this man. Amazing.

And it happened too, on the lighter side. I had the chance to talk with Von J on the way toward Washington DC. A native of Pontiac Michigan, Von J is living in Los Angeles, working as both an actress and designer. She was returning from a design show and her views were as original as her designs. Spontaneously, Von J was joined by Michael ‘Bo’ Hairston. A young man from Danville, Virginia, he left home to find work in DC. He is working two paying jobs and is about to get his own apartment. Abandon you expectations and enjoy.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Von%20J%20and%20Michael%20Hairston.mp3″ title=”Von J and Michael”]

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Richmond, VA: Surprise and delight

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Robert Frost wrote, “For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I knew. I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew.”

Substitute travels for his poetry and he captured perfectly what I am discovering every day. It is those subtle surprises that define and add texture to every day of this trip. Today the colors started to change.  For those of us west of the Sierra Nevada’s and south of the Oregon/California border, the depth of even the early colors here in the southeast can take our breath away.

And then there is Bobby Barnes.  Making his way back to Birmingham Alabama, Bobby works at the Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  Work is good.  Mercedes has added 300 new employees in the last 6 months and is looking to add 400 more.  As much as I thought I understood about a man like Bobby, at every turn, he was a surprise.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Bobby%20Barnes.mp3″ title=”Bobby Barnes”]

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Charlotte, NC: Joys

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Julie McDonald

I have a list. Actually, I have several of them. You know about one from my first post from the road, but there are others. Stories from the Edge, Felons I have Talked To, and, my favorite, Acts of Kindness. I suspect that I will write about each of these in future posts. But today I am inspired to start a new list. Small things.

It is remarkable that the simple act of removing yourself from your daily comforts and patterns, heightens every receptor for little joys. A really cold diet coke, a great shower, a hairbrush (yes, I have one now). Last night it was a fresh and well made salad (seriously, check out my slide show, it was awesome)

And as I made my way south to Atlanta and then back north to Charlotte, I met Andrew Velez. A young man on his way home to Long Island where he works providing handicapped elder care, he had a quiet manner and a thoughtful, considered way of expressing himself that was absolutely engaging.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Drew%20Velez.mp3″ title=”Drew Velez”]

A joy.

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Nashville, TN: A father’s search

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Julie McDonald

You can see it on their faces. The fear, determination and lack of sleep. A waitress at the Waffle House pointed in their direction. They were distributing posters and looking for anyone who might have seen Caelie. They paused for coffee and told me their story.

Caelie McGuire is 14 years old (her birthday is today) and has been missing since October 4th from Louisville, Kentucky. She left home with a troubled friend but they have good reason to believe that she might be in the Nashville area. Her father, Craig T. McGuire is joined in his search with his life long friend, Eric Price. They are using every resource, every agency to help find Caelie. But they could not sit at home. They could not wait.

They tell their story so much better than I can,

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/McGuire%20and%20Price.mp3″ title=”Craig McGuire and Eric Price”]

It seems small to even make observations about this moment. My gratitude that they would let me in, allow me to sit with them, is exceeded only by my profound hope for Caelie’s safe return.

If you have any information about Caelie McGuire, please call 502 795-8224

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Memphis, TN: Living the story

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Sometimes you hear the stories and sometimes you get to just live them.

Not wanting to brave a 17 hour Greyhound ride, I decided to rent a car for this leg of the journey.  It was a bit overcast as I left the hotel and I shared my ride and story with ‘William’ the shuttle bus driver.  A imposing, but gentle man, I am guessing he was in his late 40’s.  He works,

  • As a shuttle driver for the hotel, early mornings
  • For the City of Tulsa, maintenance, rest of day
  • Landscaping five homes, weekends
  • And providing in-home elder care in the evenings
Four jobs to support his wife and 2 sons, one of which is disabled.  He would, by his request, remain nameless, photo-less and off mic for fear of losing his job with the City if they found out was employed elsewhere.  When prompted, his only concern was “making it though another day”.  
He is not a fan of Mitt Romney.  Succinctly he said that Romney “makes that kind of money, doesn’t work as hard as I do…  and pays less in taxes”.  Still, his response when asked if he sees brighter days…. “Oh yeah” wide smile, “absolutely”.
I got in my rental car, a Mazda 2 (did you know they went down to 2?) that weighs only marginally more than my washing machine, but with a lot less pick up. The sky got darker and about 30 minutes later, opened up with a deluge that reduced my Mazda 2 windshield wipers to a toy-like appendages,
I made my way slowly, nervously until about an hour later, me and my Mazda emerged on the other side.  A truth from the road – If you are traveling East on I-40 and manage to get ahead of a storm, you keep moving.

Hungry?  Buck up.  Need a hairbrush?  Get over it.  Keep moving.  It only takes a glance in the rear view mirror to see the dark clouds and lightning.  Keep moving.

Our country has been through a relentless storm.  Two wars economically compounded by two huge tax cuts and a financial collapse brought on by a banking free-for-all.  So when I hear a party platform that touts decreased regulation, decreased taxes, increased military spending, served up a with jingoistic middle east  topping, all I can think is, keep moving.

Please America, keep moving.

Unrelated but somehow important.  Just as I was crossing the Memphis-Arkansas Memorial bridge over the Mississippi River, this came on the radio (seriously),

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Heartbreak%20Hotel.mp3″ title=”Elvis Presley”]

 

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Tulsa, OK: ‘Stuff’ happens (that’s for you Joe Biden)

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Off my game.  I am just off my game.

It has been a series of missteps all day.  It started when I tried to prove that I could keep working from the road and messed up.  Then I decided to push through to Tulsa to get within striking distance of Memphis, without checking and discovering that Greyhound has no direct routes from Tulsa to Memphis.  Seriously, a Greyhound route would take me back to Texas, though 14 stops, resulting in a 17 hour trip to go 400 miles.  Arrrg.

Mistakes on a trip like this are painful.  My essential equipment (which I access all day long) includes a recorder, camera, PC, phone, notebook, adapter case, glasses, sunglasses, and wallet.  As a result, I have become a cross between Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets and Dustin Hoffman in Rainman to ensure that I never…. never leave any piece of equipment behind.  Apparently I needed to add hairbrush to the list, because my post shower grooming has taken a turn south without my, now missing, hairbrush.

Today I met Andrew Jones.  He is a native New Yorker, cap and all, with a degree in finance.  He was working as an auditor when he became a casualty of the Wall Street debacle   He left his home for a job in Tuscon where he has worked for the last three years.  Andrew is now making is way back to NYC with hopes of a new job.  He was kind enough to share his unique perspective,

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Andrew%20Jones.mp3″ title=”Andrew Jones”]

Which leads me to final piece of ‘stuff’…

Off mic, Anthony shared his story of the night that President Obama was elected.  The moving story of his experience in Times Square watching the President’s acceptance speech.  More, he had his journal from that time and shared it with me.  Here are his entries from that night and the next day,

So cool.  I was very touched and asked him to re-tell his story so that I could record it.  He graciously did.  I was in my hotel room before I realized that I managed to botch the settings and the recording was unusable.

This day needs to be over.

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Amarillo, TX: Of course, discourse

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Yesterday was a special day for me.  Reconnecting with Shayne, and then Dan meant more that I can express here.  It is a measure who they are and how they give of themselves, but in equal measure, it speaks to something larger.

On the bus from Albuquerque to Amarillo, I met and spoke with many people.  Got lots of new words and great stories.  Then something unusual happened.  Jason Thomas, a gentleman returning home to Amarillo who I had spoken to during a short stop approached me to ask me why I was doing this.  The answer directly addresses why my time with Shayne and Dan is so important to me.

My parents used to have card parties.  I have clear memories of sitting in an adjacent room, knees pulled up under my chin, and listening to the grownups discuss politics, policies and current events.  It is important to note, that these memories span years between 1963 and 1968.  Our country was in turmoil.  There was rioting in the streets, student protests, and assassinations.  And while their guests spanned the political spectrum, there was no time that I can recall when these subjects were off limits.

In 2008, as now, the state of our discourse, the ability for families, friends and community to debate and discuss the issues of our day is at the lowest point in my lifetime.  And still, it is that ability that is at the heart of everything that our founders intended for our democracy.  It is why they organized three branches of government, imposed checks and balances and ensured each of us representation.  They called on all of us, and especially our leadership, to engage with each other.

So even when one side thinks that Obama is “Adolf Hitler” and the other believes that Romney is a “compass-less mouthpiece” we have it in us to respect and even to admire each other.

[rtmp3 url=”https://dl.dropbox.com/u/108166614/Audio2012/Shayne%20Newbolt.mp3″ title=”Shayne Newbolt”]

That is why I do this.

See you in four years Shayne

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Albuquerque AZ: ZZZ’s in AZ

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Julie McDonald

Today was a long day.

This part of the country and Williams, Arizona specifically have a special place in my heart. The entry point to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, four years ago I arrived in Williams to 40 degree weather and winds that blew over more than one semi-truck on I-40. I experienced my first break down (the scooter AND me). Enter Shayne Newbold, Wayne Jordan and Dan Coman. Their kindness and our time together created some of the greatest moments from that trip.

So you can imagine that I could not pass through these parts without seeing them. Because of the holiday, early this morning was my one chance. I rented a car (Greyhounds do not go to Williams) and I set out early to take Shayne a large cup of dark roast coffee before I had to be back in Flagstaff for the last bus of the day.

But it made for a long day and I am just settling into my room here in Albuquerque. I promise to edit and post Shayne’s interview tomorrow, but for now the shower (yes, Bryan, no makeup does not mean no showers) and sleep are calling.

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