The End of the Road

Ok, last post. As I write this, I'm in my bed at my parents' house, wearing eight layers of clothing and tucked under five blankets. And flannel sheets. I will be looking for my electric blanket tomorrow, and hopefully that will allow me to cut down on layers, because I am seriously having trouble moving my arms (ala Randy in A Christmas Story), and my knee-high soccer socks under my leggings are cutting off the circulation to my calves. It's good to be home.

I've been on a break for the past few weeks visiting friends in the Northeast and cramming in as many Oscar nominees as possible before this Sunday. Many of you know my obsession with going to the movies, and I haven't been able to indulge that much on this trip, so it's been a very pleasant and relaxing break. This week I'll be preparing to meet with the powers that be and determine what happens to all the amazing interviews I've collected. I'm really excited about listening to them and getting to work editing all of them.

I just got back this afternoon, and it is great to see my family here again after nearly five months. My mom made me my favorite dinner, my dad brought Stephen over from ND for dinner, and Pete told me that when I go out tomorrow, he's planning to "melt all the doorknobs so I can't get back in." Ah, there's no place like home. Really, though, isn't he creative? Most people would change the locks, but Pete's version is so much more interesting, and certainly more visually compelling.

I also came back to a whole lot of mail. Like, a folder full. My mom has been diligently saving every scrap of paper anyone has sent me over the past four months. Some of it's pretty useless—1099s, free credit cards with "Your Name Here" on the front—but a lot of it is from people I've met on this trip. And I hope you won't mistake my meaning when I say that I'd forgotten about these people. They are very important to me, and I think about them all the time, as I do all of my friends. I reflect on the things we talked about, and I think about them and how they live their lives, and I remember them when I see something they'd like...but I guess people are recalled to you differently when you're holding a physical letter from them in your hand and reading their current news. I think probably I won't realize the full impact they've had on my life for awhile, but right now, I feel really grateful to them for all their generosity, and I'm honored that they shared their stories with me. I know that sounds unbelievably trite, but those are the only English words I know to describe it. And I gave up swearing for Lent, which includes swearing for emphasis. Otherwise, I'd be emphasizing everything.

When people ask me about this trip, it's hard for me just to start talking about it or describing it in general terms. Every day, every city, every home, every interview was different. In my mind it's a mosaic of all these little moments, like this guy giving me his map of Yellowstone and telling me best places to go; and my friend's mom buying me postcards because she didn't think I'd have time to get them myself; and another guy telling me he's dying of cancer and he's not afraid; and believing him; and seeing the sun come up on my first day in Minneapolis; and trying to reheat rice at my brother's apartment without a microwave; and reading Frog and Toad Are Friends to a room full of third graders. And that's just off the top of my head. It's a weird hodgepodge, I know, but that's how I see it in my mind at this point.

I appreciate all the support many of you reading this have given me over the past six months. I'll save the Academy Award speech, but now I know what they mean when they say they couldn't have done it without (insert 50 names here). I suppose I could list you all, since there is no music here, but this is the worldwide web, susceptible to all kinds of readership, so I'll avoid naming names. I'll also avoid naming places and plans for now, partly for the reason I just stated but also because they're not all final. I've got a few things worked out for the next couple of months, and those of you are interested in knowing about that may email me at your leisure. In any case, thanks for reading this!

Last stop

Sorry for the long hiatus...thanks to everyone who's been sending along kind comments about this blog, but the fact is that I enjoy doing stuff more than writing about it. So I'll write up the last part of the trip, and then do a brief wrap-up.

I made my way from Raleigh to Washington, DC, stopping along the way for a delightful visit with a couple of friends in Charlottesville, VA. In case you've never been (I hadn't really), Virginia is completely gorgeous, and it was a really fun drive because Sibyl, for some reason unknown to me (when is her reasoning ever known to me?!) decided we'd take the back roads, which wind through the beautiful hills of VA. I met up with my friend/former neighbor/fellow Saltie Jesse Dukes, who is doing some cool work for a program in association with UVA's station, as well as some great freelance pieces (check out his work at http://www.jessedukes.com). He was doing a bit of volunteer consulting with a group of high-school kids who interviewed elderly people in their community and are putting together multimedia pieces using their interviews and photos. So I helped with that for about 10 minutes, and then we went for tea, just like in the old days in our neighborhood on Vesper Street. I also got to catch up (briefly) with my old roommate-for-a-summer Jenaro, so it was a very Vesper-y afternoon. It was a very pleasant afternoon, despite the cloudy weather.

And then I drove into DC, where I stayed with my friend Rebecca and her roommate Jeanne. And the whirlwind began. From the time I hit the city to the day I left, it was a blur of parties, museums, family, old friends and a few new friends, plus a lot of work. Every time I thought I was about to do my final interview, someone else would call back, or reschedule, or strongly recommend a friend...and each one was better than the next, so I couldn't very well say no.

Most of my interview subjects in DC were veterans and former government employees, so they had a lot of interesting historical-type stories. I got to talk to a 96-year-old man who met the King of England and Gen. Patton during World War II. When I asked if he was there when Patton slapped the kid from Mishawaka (thank you, Fr. Blantz's American History class), he told me that he wasn't, but if he had been, he would have slapped the general right back and damn the consequences. I also talked to a guy who used to work in defense intelligence about the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a guy who worked in nuclear regulation about the prospects of nuclear energy with regard to the new green trend. Really cool stuff.

I also ended up spending a lot of time in Arlington National Cemetery. I had to go take some photos for the project, and then some of Rebecca's friends invited me to go with them...I should explain that Rebecca and my brother David who lives in DC were both on the road a bit for work while I was in town, and the result was that I got my own bed and spent far less time in bars than I usually do when I visit DC. I also ended up spending a lot of time with Rebecca's friends, I think because I was staying at her place and we look enough alike that I was a suitable substitute for the week. A little weird, but they were fun. In any case, how often do you get a call asking, "Are you up for an afternoon of solemn contemplation of our nation's great heroes?"—or something to that effect. And it was really cool to tour the cemetery with people who actually knew some of the history. Turns out, Arlington National Cemetery is located on what was Robert E. Lee's estate. Actually, it was his wife's estate—Mrs. Lee was a descendant of George Washington. So when they evacuated during the Civil War (the Lee estate overlooks DC, and thus was a strategic location for the Union), she took with her many family heirlooms that had belonged to Washington. Then one of the Union generals decided to make sure the Lees could never return to the estate by burying fallen soldiers (and sometimes the limbs of amputees) in Mrs. Lee's rose garden. What a story. The writers on Desperate Housewives wish they could come up with something so deliciously vindictive.

I also got to spend some time at the Air and Space Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the Hirshhorn and a few other hot spots on the mall. Yea, free museums! Definitely the best thing about Washington. You know, if you're not into government.

I have to admit, though, it was a little tough getting around the city. I am declaring Washington, DC the most difficult city I've had to drive in, for a number of reasons. Apparently the city was purposely designed to confuse invaders and give the U.S. military clear access to shooting at them. Right, except that I'm guessing invaders will carefully study a map beforehand and do a few dry runs before battle. Whereas your casual visitor to the city may or may not have studied their route from home to wherever it is they are going quite that diligently, let alone trying to execute it in real time. Add in a bunch of lost tourists, a few insane cabbies, and a dozen or so "because we feel like it" road blocks, and I found myself just kind of hoping I didn't hit anything when I left the house.

But all in all, I had a fantastic time in Washington, and though I was sad to wrap up my interviews, it was nice to end with a really strong bunch.