On The Road

Finally, I am moving. Left this morning. Writing tonight from Franklin, Indiana.

For those of you who do not know, I am driving to Alaska. The goal is to arrive in Skagway, Alaska by July 30. Then it will be a few days visiting my buddy Emily on the island of Sitka and a week of bicycle touring beginning back at Skagway. I am very excited to see my dear friend and her home. I am just as excited about being able to explore some of the spaces in between North Carolina and the Yukon

Besides the freedom of the road, gorgeous and interesting places, and intriguing and fascinating people, these are the things that are helping inspire me on the road:

Book I am currently reading:
"Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose -I should have read this last year before I did the Lewis and Clark seminar in Montana. It's the story of one of the greatest expeditions in history and the president who backed it all. I'm not physically close to the Lewis and Clark trail (maybe on the return drive), but I feel very close to the spirit of the Corps of Discovery.

Books that that have gotten me here:
"On the Road" - Kerouac, "Grapes of Wrath" - Steinbeck, "White Fang" - London

Text message:
"Hey coach can u bring back sarah palin for me if not a shirt lol :)"
from Enrique, one of my wrestlers. I am just glad he knows who Sarah Palin is, even if he has never met a punctuation mark in his life (and no, :) doesn't count).

Theme songs of my trip:
"Lost!" - Coldpay
Running with the idea of "Not all who wander are lost". Plus, it's a great song.


"Rise" - Eddie Vedder
from Into the Wild soundtrack. I have other music on my iphone, but this CD is the one in the car player. Also, the embedded video has sweet scenes from the movie.
Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow


"When You Were Young" - The Killers
This song just came out when I was last in Alberta. I remember ripping around Banff and Jasper in my rented Chrsyler 300 with this blasting. You can believe that this song will be loud when I the Rockies. Plus, I needed a Killers' song on here.


"Highwayman" - The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kirstofferson and Johnny Cash)
This is for the Superfans. It's the song the GT Superfans play and sing before we go into every game. I get chills when I watch the video, right about 2:05 when Johnny Cash breaks into verse 4.
I fly a starship across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again

"Drive" - REM
The quintessential road trip song.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

... and I feel fine.


Last night, a few of us gathered around the campfire, cooked hobos, made smores and enjoyed one another's company. Lindsay made the comment that despite all the bad things going on around (gas crisis in Asheville, Wall St bailout, subprime fiascos, Iran's rhetoric and so forth), she had a remarkable week.

That was such a reassuring statement, because I know that our country has major issues and I know that individuals struggle on a daily basis. There was a point last week where I was feeling bad because it seemed in the middle of all this turmoil, I was clicking on all cylinders and having a fantastic week. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one, because the evening news made it seem like I was.

My students and classes were fabulous last week. They worked hard all week and took a test on Friday that either: they all cheated on, I really covered well, or they actually studied for since each class scored very well (and my tests are not easy). So, I had a terrific week of work. In addition to a terrific bunch of students and a terrific week of work, I also got to experience a bunch of great times with friends:

-Monday, I got to go to Laura's for a fall/end of summer hangout with a bunch of great people.
-Tuesday, Mike and I took a 20 mile road bike ride and then went to Two Guys Pizza where he interviewed me for a class and we ate fantastic pizza.
-Wednesday, I got to hang out with Dave and Sturgill and we rocked some Guitar Hero to relieve the grind of teaching and coaching.
-Thursday I attended the North-West volleyball game and, even though we lost, I saw Jan Stanley set the state record for career wins by a coach.
-Friday visited with Slim and DK (a week early)
-Saturday I hung drywall with my hero Jeff Smith and then sat around the campfire with great friends.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign towers.
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn.
Locking in, uniforming, book burning, blood letting.
Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.
Light a candle, light a votive. Step down, step down.
Watch your heel crush, crushed. Uh-oh, this means no fear cavalier.
Renegade steer clear! A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies.
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
(I feel fine)