The fact that I’m traveling alone comes up often. Nearly immediately, the fact that I’m a woman traveling alone closely follows. Cue: wide-eyed faces with lips tightened, an attempt to conceal a wave of opinions. Immediately, there is interest, curiosity, or sometimes envy. A shadow follows, apprehension and dismay. Aren’t Read more…
“You have to have a cheesesteak,” Marc says emphatically. His eyes widened with excitement, sparkling from the memory. We sat across from each other at the kitchen table, miles away from Philadelphia in his Detroit home. “You have to get it from Pat’s, that’s the only place you should go,” Read more…
“I want to come with you,” he says. A cigarette dangles from between his fingers, smoke twirling up into the clear sky. Dusk had turned to a clear summer night, the patio dark against the streetlights of an empty sidewalk. My heart quickens, I push out a short laugh. Oh Read more…
“How are you paying for this exactly?” “But like, what side are you really on?” “How does your father/boyfriend/husband feel about what you’re doing?” These questions come from all angles, no matter where I’m at in this journey. They come when I’m interviewing people in small businesses, working at coffee Read more…