I have been interviewing my cousin’s children, Allie and RJ Doroshewitz since 2012. This year is RJ’s sophomore year studying Political Science at George Washington University and shortly he will cast his first vote in a presidential election. The only thing better than recording people’s stories, is recording them over time. Watching these young people come into their adult lives having navigated social media, school shootings and a pandemic… I am in awe and deeply moved. Please listen to RJ.
It has only happened a few times in my life when an experience is so profound that I have to just ‘be’ with it before I can put words to it. As you are about to discover, even though I took two days, my words will fail. Luckily, I was blessed to meet and learn from the remarkable parishioners and leaders who have continue the legacy of the sacred place.
To the uninitiated, Buc-ee’s is sensory overload. Started in Texas in 1982 it has become a southern cultural phenomenon. Everything is BIG. Rows of gas pumps visible from space and lots of barbecue, jerky, jams and sauces, candies and something called Buc-ee’s Nuggets. My best discovery Buc-ee’s was how they treat their employee’s. I will be back!
I learned early in the process of wandering that most wrong turns usually lead you to small discoveries. Today was no exception. While I drove at breakneck speed (for me) to try to get to Atlanta a day early for a rally I had just heard about this morning. The moment of realization did not even set me back. I was in the heart of downtown Atlanta and I got my bag, my flag and I set out on foot.
The street art in this video was all taken in within 2 blocks of my hotel. Today was sunny and a Friday which meant that people were exiting buildings ready for their weekend to start. I must have looked like such a rube stopping in front of every mural, trying to back into the street to capture a full frame of each piece. I loved every minute of it.
And once last thing, something is happening out here. In the last week I have traveled through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and now Georgia. It started with the missing Trump vans at Cadillac Ranch, the scarcity of Trump signs in comparison to 2020 (to my memory) and (again my perception) a gentler tone in all my interviews.
Many of you know that after my experiences in 2020 and 2022, I was truly reticent about this year’s journey. While I still struggle to reconcile the current polling with what I consider to be the strongest split screen comparison of two presidential candidates in my lifetime, with each day, each interaction… that cognitive dissonance is taking up less real estate in my head every day. There is something about laughter between friends. There is reassurance when you look for humanity and, without fail, you find it.
I don’t know what is going to happen. I believe, as I always have, people are inherently good.
Below is a compilation of 5 (yes, 5 – I totally flubbed the intro!) wonderfully kind servers and the wonderful moments they shared with me over the past 3 days. I have moved through Arkansas, Tennessee and now Mississippi and, yes, this is unquestionably Trump country. But for 3 days I have eaten wonderful (and one time GREAT) food and laughed and got to learn a little about their world. I am thankful.
My time in Fort Smith Arkansas was another study in contrasts. I left my hotel and walked pass the court house. A singular towering monument honoring ‘Our Confederate Dead’ 1861 – 1865 stood as tall as the substantial building and would greet anyone entering to seek justice. It seems to me to be a uniquely American ability to accept our unreconciled past and keep going. I had (way too much) breakfast at the 5th Street cafe and I stayed (way too long) swapping stories, laughing and even shared a prayer with Karen (member of Crossroads Cowboy Church, yes, Cowboy church), Cynthia (who proudly announced ‘I quit smoking…. I vape now’) and Christie (who drew the absolute best cartoon pig named Mr. Oinkers on my flag). All of which led me to Miss Laura’s Visitor’s Center and Juliana. The women of Fort Smith do not disappoint.
I can still remember the first time I arrived in Shawnee Oklahoma on a Saturday and made my way down Kickapoo street (not kidding, that’s the name 🙂 to check out the Oklahoma Baptist University. I caught sight of a church across street and knew that I would be attending Sunday service at the University Baptist Church.
That year I wrote, “So this is what I found in Shawnee. A congregation focused, not on politics or social agenda, but on service. I like it here.”
That was 16 years ago and I have never missed a Sunday service at UBC on my travels since. Pastor Justin Dunn is able to gently guide and inspire and I treasure the hours of interviews that he has generously given over these extraordinary times.
This Sunday was no different. Pastor Dunn’s sermon today was on speech and how our words are powerful. They can create good and they can do great harm.
Then Pastor Dunn did something I had never heard him do before. He referenced a current event. Specifically, the Presidential debate and the damage done to Springfield by the former president, and also the language used by the Kamala as an example.
This video includes that segment of his sermon and the discussion that Pastor Dunn and I had after. I think you will see why I always come back.
Crossing into Oklahoma marks the end of ‘high desert’ and the half way point of any southern cross country trek. I found my way to another Route 66 Diner. Just like the one in Gallup, the food was plentiful and tasty. Owned and operated by veterans, it was packed with locals all talking to each other. There was not one person (including children) on their phones or watching Paw Patrol on an ipad. A community together and talking. YES! Not surprisingly, no one was comfortable going on video or tape but they were happy to be heard. I am grateful.
As hard as I try to embrace the unplanned nature of the road-trip/odyssey experience, I jumped out of bed this morning in anticipation of arriving at the Cadillac Ranch in the morning light and cool temperatures. And while public art is an absolute passion, I was equally excited for the trailers of Trump vendors that lined the frontage road when I stopped in 2020 and 2022.
But it was not meant to be. I arrived to find several cars of visitors and a singular vendor selling pendants and keychains made from the paint chips collected from the site. No Trump merch, no flags, no trucks honking loudly from I-40.
But Cadillac Ranch never disappoints. Please meet Paul, Tracy, Jenny and Nick. They live in Liverpool, England and brought their indomitable spirit and laughter across the pond to drive Route 66 from its origins in Chicago to Los Angeles.
If Tim Walz were British, we would be Paul.
Technical note – North Texas is unbelievably windy and the new audio filter I applied was absolutely not up to the task. The last part of our interview was not salvageable with the tools I have. I promise to try to bring in the pro’s (I’m looking at you David 🙂 and will post the whole interview if I can.
To Donald Trump from my new friends from Liverpool, ‘You enjoy your night Mate’
