Travels with Charley. 8.18.14

My little mother, in front of what was Blacks Department Store, Waterloo, Iowa

I have fallen further behind in my trip documentation, spending a few days with Mom on my way home from the East Coast. I am learning my/our way around a Waterloo, Iowa, vastly changed since I last lived here in 1965. I am experiencing how men sometimes/often get thrust into a position of dealing with the cars and unfamiliar places and situations, and feeling compelled to act confident for the sake of others.

Normally I read huge amounts all the time, and use daily writing to help me see and process...This is pure exhaustion-generating experience. Steinbeck's slim volume has been keeping me company all along the way...as I head off into lots of unknowns. I see my future self in my mother...but also where my life has differed. I flash on all the scenes from the past mnth, the people, the experiences. 

I admit, I'm a little nervous about Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon...when I reach the left coast on Saturday, it will be more familiar territory for the run home, the stop at Ruby Beach to ceremonially join the Atlantic water with the Pacific...I'm reaching out to friends to join me in spirit along the rest of the way home.