Travels Across America

Sometimes You Have to be a Little Bit Crazy

by Shawn July 16, 2012

My uncle looked at me. “You know, to live this life you’re living, make these kinds of decisions, you have to be a little bit crazy,” he said. The worrying thing is, his face showed no sign of amusement. I nodded and smiled. “I know.” * * * * * It’s been one month since [...]

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What Are You Looking At?

by Shawn July 8, 2012

A man and a woman walked past my mom’s candy store where I worked on Saturday. The woman’s gaze swept longingly over all of the chocolate. The man laughed and in a boisterous voice shouted out to her: “You just lookin’ at pounds, girl. That’s all you lookin’ at.” “Oh hush,” she said. “I’m just [...]

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Surviving the Worst Case (or, Finding a Stranger in Your Kitchen at 4am)

by Shawn July 6, 2012

Recently a friend of mine woke up at 4am after hearing a loud noise in the downstairs of his farmhouse. He drifted out of bed in a fog – it was a hot summer night – and mumbled middle-of-the-night admonishments at his dog who he figured must have busted through the mudroom screen. He wandered [...]

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The Question I Couldn’t Answer

by Shawn June 25, 2012

I was nervous. A reporter from the local news fidgeted with my mic then attached it to my shirt. I sat down under the glare of those huge lights that look like silver umbrellas. The cameraman watched us through his lens, then turned to the news anchor. “We’re good,” he said. For the next ten [...]

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The One Thing You Need in Order to do God’s Will

by Shawn June 19, 2012

Four months on the road. Four months of showering in an RV. Four months of emptying the waste tank every few days. Four months of waking up in campgrounds or Walmart parking lots or curbside to a friend’s house. Four months. And then, on a warm weekend in June, the adventure ended. We unpacked and [...]

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A Strange Week, Starting Over, and the Nature of Giving Up

by Shawn June 18, 2012

So it’s been a strange week. Getting home from a four-month road trip. Moving into my parents’ basement. Cleaning up Willie and putting him back into storage. Seeing so many friends who we hadn’t seen for what felt like years. Visiting my grandma. Hugging my bald aunt. At many points during the week, my brain [...]

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Seven Things About Traveling that I Don’t Miss

by Shawn June 14, 2012

Our entire family is in a strange adjustment period. Cade and Lucy aren’t sure what we mean when we talk about home. Sammy cried on our first night back because he wanted to sleep in the bus. Only Abra seems to bounce around the house as if nothing new is going on. While there are [...]

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