Moving down the road.....and trying to move on

I moved down the road to see great friends in the NY Metro area and to try and heal the wounds that were still visible to almost everyone around me. Somewhere south of Philly, I made a decision.....I wasn't ready to head back to the DC area just yet. A week with friends in the NY Metro area wasn't going to be enough time for me to even feel right about heading back to DC. I love DC and I wanted to come back, but I had to be mentally and emotionally ready to come back. I needed to get out away from the East Coast and see some sun and try to heal. So, I called up my great friend Zach in Phoenix and told him I was coming out to spend the month of March in Arizona. He was thrilled to hear the good news! After trying to convince me to come visit him for a couple of months, I finally was coming out to Phoenix. And just in the nick of time as Helen, Paula, and Vickie were going to be hanging out in the great Southwest for most of the time that I was going to be out there.

It was going to be just what I needed.....time with friends.

More later......

The day I had waited for......and dreaded

It was an emotional day for me.....one that I will never forget for the rest of my life. It was a day that I had anticipated, but hadn't expected. I couldn't help but be excited, but still cautious at the same time. This was a day that I dreamt about every day during my five month journey around the world......it was the day I was coming back and would see Carolyn for the first time since we last saw each other in Bangkok's airport in October, but I was not coming home, not to the home I wanted or expected.

I would have loved to have said something to her to change her mind, but those walls were too high to climb over and too thick to break through. She made it clear that I wasn't going to be able to hurt her any more, but all I wanted to do was to tell her I loved her one last time and to hold her close and always remember the good times with her. In the end, after all was said and done, I realized that we finally did the one thing we couldn't do when we were together.....sit down and honestly talk about our relationship and be open with each other. A bit ironic and cruel.

More later......

Crushed......absolutely crushed

After not getting much sleep last night, I'm moving on down the road after spending some precious time with my aunt in Knoxville, a place I called home for a couple of years after college. After holding out hope that maybe.....just maybe, there might still be a chance, those hopes and dreams were crushed, just as I was, by the worst possible news that I could hear. I'm glad that I was with my aunt as she was able to comfort me at one of my lowest, if not the lowest, points of my short life. For that, I'll always be grateful to her and her wisdom and ability to put things into perspective. For now, it's a wet drive over the mountains to Charlotte, NC to see a friend before heading back to DC for some finality.

More later.....

A great friend.....in a great town

After exploring the greater Memphis area, I made the slow drive up out of the Mississippi delta and over to Nashville, one of the great towns in the country if you love country music. I think some country music was definitely in order for me at this point in my life. My great friend did a great job of keeping us busy with fun stuff, but probably the most fun I had was listening to a bluegrass band called Jypsi play at a little joint down on Broadway. They were a funky group of family members almost reminiscent of a folk group out of the 60's, but they could definitely play and I was drawn to one of the covers they did. It was an old Waylon Jennings song called, "I don't want to get over you" and the lead singer blew me away with her moving vocals.

After spending some good time and talking about life with my great friend, I made my way to Knoxville, a place I called home for a couple of years after college.

More later......

Finally......I stop off in Memphis!

You would figure that with all of the back and forth drives I did from Knoxville to Texas through the years, I would have stopped off and seen some of Memphis. But every time I drove through I was booking it trying to get to my destination as fast as I could. This time was a lot different....with no job and no destination to get to, I had time to stop off and experience some of Memphis.

I don't know why I didn't make myself stop earlier, but I'm glad I finally did! I liked Memphis for some of the reasons that I like New Orleans, it just had an interesting mix of people, music and culture. I got a chance to fulfill another childhood dream and see Graceland.....after all, I do share a birthday with The King. And was truly moved at the Civil Rights Museum at the site of the former Lorraine Motel. I stopped off for some pretty good BBQ before hitting the road to spend a long weekend in Nashville with a great friend.

More later......

Big D and the suburbs

So, growing up in and around the Houston area, especially being an Oilers fan, there seems to be a subtle dislike for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Most people claim to be from Dallas, but really grow up in one of the surrounding areas like Mesquite, De Soto, Arlington, etc. And lets face it, most of the folks up in the Dallas area are transplants from other parts of the nation.

As it happens, I just spent a weekend with a good friend from college who lives in one such suburb.....Garland. I got a chance to see and experience some of the great things about the Dallas/Ft. Worth area as well as throw my own twist on the experience. From the Stockyards, to Joe T. Garcia's, to Billy Bob's (the world's largest honky-tonk), to smoking shisha, a few too many beers and deep conversations about life, the choices you make and the consequences of those decisions; the weekend was definitely a great stop on the road......and on the road of life.

But now it's time to make my way through Southern Arkansas (oh boy!) to the greater Memphis area.

More later........