Oooh you've touched on SO many things I want to comment on!!
First, New Orleans was my ultimate bucket list trip and in 2019 I did it. Spent 10 days there and man, it changed my soul. A few years ago I wrote a huge piece on Medium about the experiences. I also distinctly noticed how everyone calls you baby. I had a black Uber driver with a full grill over his teeth who kept calling me baby ๐คฃ He was the best.
Many years ago I also took a trip to Boston and accidentally ended up at a sketchy nightclub in Dorchester. I didn't learn until after the fact that Dorchester has/had one of the highest murder rates in America lol. I have no idea how lil' old, white Canadian me ended up there ๐๐
Welcome to the South, RD! I think Iโm heading steadily into being elder White Trash--and some of my tattoos could definitely use a re-do--but I wouldnโt want to be anywhere else.
PS. If you enjoyed the โelection fraudโ billboard, just drive a little further into North Georgia, and youโll see perhaps the most โSouthernโ (Gothic?) billboard of all time, reading simply: DRUGS AND GUNS. Yes, itโs a pharmacy/firearms shop.
I donโt want to call you any names. But I do think that whatever you are trying to say in โResponse toโฆโ post is flawed, because we canโt see what you are responding to. Also, you may want to read or re-read George Saundersโs August 6th post on โMeaning and Attribution,โ as well as his August 3th post titled โWhy we do this, Part II.โ Both deal with specificity in writing.
It is a bit laughable and pathetic that you post a very nasty โResponseโฆโ and then turn off the comments because you donโt want a โnasty experience.โ
This reminds me how much I love driving around the U.S. I prefer driving over flying any day (and night). I havenโt explored too much of the south (eastern side) simply because I donโt do well in heat and humidity. This piece hooked me into your experience. Thanks!
Great writing, very lyrical. This was my first time reading your stuff, so it was a great intro. The โglazed eyes from tears of disappointmentโ line really painted a vivid image. Also, of course, Ole 55 (and that album more broadly) is ripe for nostalgic thoughts. Enjoy New Orleans!
These nomadic journeys always sound amazing and soooooooo the opposite of who I am. I love to experience this through your words because I am not a road dog!
My dream is to do a Rust Belt Roller Road Trip, visiting great art museums by day, and roller rinks by night. I know I need to do this, soon, as roller rinks are a dying institution (we lost so many due to pandemic restrictions).
I keep putting it off, but this post is a reminder I need to go!
Iโv e done the southern route a dozen times in the past two decades and last year took the northern route. So much more fun. More stops, better scenery, cooler people. If your driving back and have never experienced I10 through Texas you should do it ... once. Oh, and watch out for the methane clouds ๐จ๐คฎ
Good Morning Michael! I'm noticing many similarities between us: I also just got back from a (much shorter) road trip, we each love the open road, and I think we must be the same age because I feel (and write) very much the same things about our 20's and "previous life". That's not to say that we are the same, just a few similarities I noticed.
Also I LOVE New Orleans, probably my favorite place in the US. Amazing food, incredible culture and night life, and the surrounding area (Biloxi, Mississippi) is absolutely unmatched across the US for white-beach life.
Great post, I found myself wishing you had written more about the food (especially in New Orleans) that you ate. I noticed that you write alot about what you drink (Chai latte, green tea, etc) but didn't go into the food beyond "freeze dried". As a former and current "fat kid" I wish that you would have gone more into the food of your trip because I absolutely love reading about food.
What an evocative and lyrical meditation. Love this line: "I like doing it unplanned, letting the wind take me. I have a general outline of where Iโm going, what Iโm doing. But that can change anytime. I like that." My mother wanted a detailed schedule months before I took my kids to Montana. I resisted. And the week we had was both incredible and organic. We learned by going where we needed to go, as Roethke would say.
Also glad to see a mention of "Ol 55." One of my favorites as a campfire guitarist. Brings back memories of graduate school and the friend who introduced me to Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Greg Brown, Daniel Lanois, and more musicians than I can name. We shared an office and would play CDs on an old boombox. Sometimes students would come hang out and bring their own CDs. I'd actually pack a boombox to class with me and play music at the beginning of class, sometimes during small group work, for a coffee house vibe. Students would ask what I was playing, and I'd learn of new artists, like Shakey Graves and Lord Huron and Sonny Landreth. That all changed when mp3 culture came along. Then everyone was locked into their own little sound cloud, less curious about what anyone else had on their playlist.
Your writing makes me feel like Iโm right there with you. I especially liked this paragraph:
โAfter eating I called Britney and did a humid walk around the campground and then discovered a random back road and walked down that. We talked and talked. Darkness descended. The moon rose up, three-quarters full and pale and bright. I walked and walked. I went to the beach, watched the lightening striking in the distance and talked to Britney. I got back to the car. We hung up. I turned the A/C back on.โ
You really capture the enchantment of discovery, of just being on the road.
Your subconscious mind will always bring you back to reality whether you like it or not. Raw emotions will hide only to trickle out when your guard is down. Peace โ๏ธ๐ผ
Yeah. Dorchester. Yeah. Thereโs an area in Dorchester called Savin Hill that gained the nickname Stab โn Kill.
Otherwise, sounds like a great road trip. Always great to explore this amazing country.
Oooh you've touched on SO many things I want to comment on!!
First, New Orleans was my ultimate bucket list trip and in 2019 I did it. Spent 10 days there and man, it changed my soul. A few years ago I wrote a huge piece on Medium about the experiences. I also distinctly noticed how everyone calls you baby. I had a black Uber driver with a full grill over his teeth who kept calling me baby ๐คฃ He was the best.
Many years ago I also took a trip to Boston and accidentally ended up at a sketchy nightclub in Dorchester. I didn't learn until after the fact that Dorchester has/had one of the highest murder rates in America lol. I have no idea how lil' old, white Canadian me ended up there ๐๐
Thanks for this jog down several memory lanes!
Welcome to the South, RD! I think Iโm heading steadily into being elder White Trash--and some of my tattoos could definitely use a re-do--but I wouldnโt want to be anywhere else.
PS. If you enjoyed the โelection fraudโ billboard, just drive a little further into North Georgia, and youโll see perhaps the most โSouthernโ (Gothic?) billboard of all time, reading simply: DRUGS AND GUNS. Yes, itโs a pharmacy/firearms shop.
I donโt want to call you any names. But I do think that whatever you are trying to say in โResponse toโฆโ post is flawed, because we canโt see what you are responding to. Also, you may want to read or re-read George Saundersโs August 6th post on โMeaning and Attribution,โ as well as his August 3th post titled โWhy we do this, Part II.โ Both deal with specificity in writing.
It is a bit laughable and pathetic that you post a very nasty โResponseโฆโ and then turn off the comments because you donโt want a โnasty experience.โ
I fail to see your point, if you have one.
This reminds me how much I love driving around the U.S. I prefer driving over flying any day (and night). I havenโt explored too much of the south (eastern side) simply because I donโt do well in heat and humidity. This piece hooked me into your experience. Thanks!
Great writing, very lyrical. This was my first time reading your stuff, so it was a great intro. The โglazed eyes from tears of disappointmentโ line really painted a vivid image. Also, of course, Ole 55 (and that album more broadly) is ripe for nostalgic thoughts. Enjoy New Orleans!
These nomadic journeys always sound amazing and soooooooo the opposite of who I am. I love to experience this through your words because I am not a road dog!
Your voice in this is strong. Being a gypsy suits you.
My dream is to do a Rust Belt Roller Road Trip, visiting great art museums by day, and roller rinks by night. I know I need to do this, soon, as roller rinks are a dying institution (we lost so many due to pandemic restrictions).
I keep putting it off, but this post is a reminder I need to go!
Iโv e done the southern route a dozen times in the past two decades and last year took the northern route. So much more fun. More stops, better scenery, cooler people. If your driving back and have never experienced I10 through Texas you should do it ... once. Oh, and watch out for the methane clouds ๐จ๐คฎ
Good Morning Michael! I'm noticing many similarities between us: I also just got back from a (much shorter) road trip, we each love the open road, and I think we must be the same age because I feel (and write) very much the same things about our 20's and "previous life". That's not to say that we are the same, just a few similarities I noticed.
Also I LOVE New Orleans, probably my favorite place in the US. Amazing food, incredible culture and night life, and the surrounding area (Biloxi, Mississippi) is absolutely unmatched across the US for white-beach life.
Great post, I found myself wishing you had written more about the food (especially in New Orleans) that you ate. I noticed that you write alot about what you drink (Chai latte, green tea, etc) but didn't go into the food beyond "freeze dried". As a former and current "fat kid" I wish that you would have gone more into the food of your trip because I absolutely love reading about food.
Keep up the great work and I'll keep reading!
What an evocative and lyrical meditation. Love this line: "I like doing it unplanned, letting the wind take me. I have a general outline of where Iโm going, what Iโm doing. But that can change anytime. I like that." My mother wanted a detailed schedule months before I took my kids to Montana. I resisted. And the week we had was both incredible and organic. We learned by going where we needed to go, as Roethke would say.
Also glad to see a mention of "Ol 55." One of my favorites as a campfire guitarist. Brings back memories of graduate school and the friend who introduced me to Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Greg Brown, Daniel Lanois, and more musicians than I can name. We shared an office and would play CDs on an old boombox. Sometimes students would come hang out and bring their own CDs. I'd actually pack a boombox to class with me and play music at the beginning of class, sometimes during small group work, for a coffee house vibe. Students would ask what I was playing, and I'd learn of new artists, like Shakey Graves and Lord Huron and Sonny Landreth. That all changed when mp3 culture came along. Then everyone was locked into their own little sound cloud, less curious about what anyone else had on their playlist.
Your writing makes me feel like Iโm right there with you. I especially liked this paragraph:
โAfter eating I called Britney and did a humid walk around the campground and then discovered a random back road and walked down that. We talked and talked. Darkness descended. The moon rose up, three-quarters full and pale and bright. I walked and walked. I went to the beach, watched the lightening striking in the distance and talked to Britney. I got back to the car. We hung up. I turned the A/C back on.โ
You really capture the enchantment of discovery, of just being on the road.
Your subconscious mind will always bring you back to reality whether you like it or not. Raw emotions will hide only to trickle out when your guard is down. Peace โ๏ธ๐ผ