There are few times that I feel as acutely aware of being a woman as during my first 24 hours in a new small town. Word gets around quickly, especially since the first observation is a keen: “You’re not from around here, now are you?” I quickly understood that meant Read more…
It’s a small hole-in-the-wall place, somewhere that doesn’t even make it into Google Maps results. There’s no sign lit outside, no open sign in the window, just a few neon lights and a handful of cars in the gravel lot when I pull over on the county highway. I’m in Read more…
We all have them, whether we want to admit it or not. Politics are so engrained within our culture, and along with the “us versus them” attitude comes an accompanying “these people feel X” assumption. — When I was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (or the UP, as locals Read more…
One of the best parts of this trip, I’m quickly learning, is the opportunity to gain quiet little snapshots into people’s lives. Over the past ten weeks, I have become privy to a multitude of the highlights and lowlights of people’s days; I am continually inspired and humbled by the Read more…
Sunday night, I stopped in a gas station in a small town in Illinois to pick up ice. The man in front of me was rather unassuming, probably about 5’8” with tanned skin, cropped hair, jeans and a black sweatshirt. Someone I normally wouldn’t have looked at twice, except — Read more…