From
The Road is
now an internet column enjoying in excess of 10,000 readers weekly.
People often ask if From The Road
was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On The Road
or the Charles Kuralt TV series of the same name.
Kerouac's
book stirred the souls of an entire generation, me included, but it
was not the inspiration. Charles Kuralt was his generations preeminent
storyteller, he possessed a deep love of the "everyman." In
that respect I find inspiration, but the true inspiration for my work
is Ernie Pyle.
During
the Great Depression of the 1930's, columnist Ernie Pyle climbed into
a Model A Ford and roamed the back roads of our nation. Fascinated by
the little guy, he crisscrossed this country, writing a column a day
"from the road." The Depression was a time of great personal
struggle and individual triumph for the people of this land and Ernie
Pyle was there to seek out and tell their stories.
Current
Road Conditions
While
our country is not now in the economic depths of the 1930's, personal
struggle remains. People today are largely unhappy. They are filled
with stress and not certain why or how to purge it from their lives.
They
fight to make ends meet, to get by on two incomes. They're up to their
ears in debt and told they still don't have enough. They're supposed
to be happier, healthier, wealthier, have more, do more, gain more,
consume more. They believe it's necessary to have and experience everything,
but in their hurried, rush-rush world they fully experience little of
what they gain.
They're angry, irritable, argumentative, displeased and stressed out.
"I need more quality of life," I often hear them say. They're
afraid of law suits, of not having enough money, insurance, retirement
or security. They are lost in a Great Emotional Depression. Sound familiar?
Directions
& Destinations
Yet,
out there, throughout this great land are people, everyday folk who
possess great strength and simple wisdom. They are John and Jane Doe,
who get on with life simply, in the moment, raise their families and
live all the time of their lives. They are proud and courageous, sometimes
eccentric, but always rich with life and character. They have dreams
and pursue them with enthusiasm. They are the glue that holds this country
together and the grease that keeps the wheels turning.
They are you and me and the guy next door. They are men and women, young
and old. They're rich and poor and everything in between, and from nearly
every culture on earth. They are the unsung heroes and we will celebrate
their lives and sing their praises, share their sadness and their joy.
Detours
We commute,
we hop on the Interstate and rush from point A to B with little regard
for what's in between. Getting there has taken precedence over the joy
of the journey. It is the beauty, the mystery, the uniqueness, the historical
character of these places on two lane highways and dirt roads that we'll
illuminate and explore.
Information
Super Highway
From
The Road is
now on the Internet. Join us for the journey, it may inspire you to
pursue a forgotten dream of your own.
The text
of each column is posted on this site. Click on the Logo to begin your
journey, From
The Road.
