Questions 4 America's Blog

Roy has quite a story!  He  flew planes in Vietnam and was a commercial airline pilot for more than 30 years and now he’s happily retired in Scottsdale, AZ.  Roy believes that many Americans have not been fiscally responsible and that is one major reason we find ourselves in the condition we are today.  Is he wrong?

Mike was very accommodating as I approached him sitting by himself at a table in a Starbucks in Tucson, AZ on Thursday.  His perspective on the media is interesting yet not very encouraging.  Is he right?  ”Me first” definitely does seem to permeate our society at this time I am afraid  I have to agree.  His wish for a better future for his ESOL students is selfless and I am afraid also lofty at this time.  Mike was a Structural Linguistics professor at the University of Illinois.  Mike is no dodo bird.

I am in New Mexico staying in a nice hotel/motel.  Today’s drive was gorgeous!  It was 27 degrees when I left Odessa, TX this morning and 55 degrees in El Paso three hours later.

I visited the site of the world’s first ever rodeo in Pecos, TX.  I was in bumper to bumper traffic at lunch hour in El Paso which shocked me.  I passed a cut up camper topper in the back of a pickup truck that rivaled any one you’ve seen in a “you might be a redneck if…” email.  I just couldn’t get to my camera fast enough.

I drove all around Las Cruces, NM with a mountainous backdrop like I haven’t ever seen.  Spectacular!  I interviewed a very special woman/mother/person outside of the city on a rural road that I was driving to nowhere.  Kismet.  That’s what this whole journey is about, special unexpected moments.

I located a news reporter in Phoenix who is a fellow Marquette alumnus (well I’m not exactly an alumnus but i play one on tv) and Tim Vetscher will hopefully be able to convince the assignment desk at ABC that they just MUST do a segment on my questions4america journey.

So, hopefully, tomorrow will include an interview with ABC.  I  will be staying with my mom in Scottsdale tomorrow night.  Unfortunately, I have to shove off on Friday to stay on schedule to make my WGN segment on the following Friday.

I have put 2,200 miles on the question mobile since Friday.  I have encountered freaky bad weather but also gorgeous landscapes.  Gosh this is a huge country!  It’s also one spectacular canvas where anyone who wants to can paint their own portrait all over it.  I am working on it.  I hope you are too!

Peace,

The Inquisitor

Aleda was every interviewer’s dream.  She followed me for miles on a country road and I kept wishing she would pass me as I had no idea where I was going.  I saw an intersection that looked promising and turned around and she too had turned down that road.  I stopped and asked her if I could get to I-10 from there and that led to her interview.  Her point that working parents aren’t afforded enough time to spend with their children- I mean the very reason they’re working so hard to begin with-is so key to some of the problems I think our society is facing today. Thank you Aleda for your candor and directions to I-10.

Today was an interesting day!  I spent about an hour and a half in Abilene looking for a boom microphone for the camcorder as it was suggested to me that for interviews that did not have close approximation it would be a good thing for audio quality.   A boom mike was not to be had in Abilene, but an interview with yet another positive youngin’ made the pull off worth it.  That generation continues to give me great hope!

The drive from Abilene to Odessa was about 2.5 hours (in addition to the 2 hours getting to Abilene) of incredibly windy conditions.  I had no idea just how windy it was until I arrived at my destination.  I am sure some have seen such conditions, but this boy never had and it was scary!   I had to stop at one point and pull a five-foot tumbleweed out of the grill of the car.  It was like dodge ball with tumbleweeds!

For those of you who envy my journey I will trade you today’s drive, but that’s it.  Obtaining an interview in Odessa was next to impossible.  Actually, it didn’t happen.  In addition to the weather difficulty I had a question mobile issue that occurred after my motel check-in.   When going to find a bite to eat for dinner I must have made a turn severe enough to topple my cooler.

By the time I realized it, my makeshift bedroom was soaked in cooler water.  I spent time at a very interesting “washateria”, as it was called, where I might have been considered an English Professor.  I offered up a dryer that still had 25 minutes on it to a young woman with a 10 year old and 3 year old (I’m guessing here and keep in mind it’s me guessing children’s ages) and the mom and her 10 year old did not speak any English so my Spanish kicked in.

The mom and daughter both were kind of taken aback that I was able to convey that I wanted to offer the dryer in translatable enough Spanish that they did not know what to do.  I think the mom did not want to “take” a favor from a stranger and I understood that.  Back home, it is typical for school-aged children to translate for their parents but that was not the case here.  Then I realized how close I am to the border.

I also realized that I was afforded a great education, and it was handed to me from kindergarten through college.  I then started counting my blessings and minding less that I was where I was in the situation that I was.  The question mobile’s bedding is once again dry (except for the foam mattress which is airing out) but in disarray but  sh*t happens.

Bottom line folks:  blown down internet cable towers, soaked accommodations, half eaten dinners ditched for washateria needs,  and stressy, windy driving conditions are relatively moot when compared to the trials and tribulations that others encounter everyday.  It’s all RELATIVE isn’t it?  Thanks MOM & DAD!

Peace,

The Inquisitor

This was one of the freakiest things I’ve ever witnessed in my life.  At first I thought, huh, it’s kinda windy out there then I thought holy god it’s way too windy outside.  Then I turned up the volume on my iphone/ipod earphones and tried to pretend that it was just normal.  By the time I pulled off to the side of the highway I was pretty convinced that this was NOT a daily occurrence.  So that is why I am up at midnight posting my stuff.  This was gonna be an “easy” day.  HA! That is what makes this journey so interesting.  I do not know what I will encounter from day to day.

They might make good christmas trees and they’re already dead!

What a wonderful world it would be if we could all see through Ernest’s eyes! I’m not saying that he is not a realist, he is most definitely a realist and a productive force in our society. I really like meeting with folks from his generation who are, like him, positive and hopeful and doing what they can to churn our economy.  Keep it up the Ernest’s of the USA!

P.S. I had to ask him twice if he was in fact a native as he speaks as though he could be from Akron.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 3 HOURS FOR THE INTERNET TO BE RESTORED  AFTER THE TOWER’S SIGNAL  WAS KNOCKED OUT BY RIDICULOUSLY HIGH WINDS EARLIER TODAY. I HAVE VIDEO TO PROVE IT. PLEASE BE PATIENT. I’M NOT!  WEATHER HAS BEEN PLAYING A DEFINITE ROLE IN LEG II BUT I WAS READY FOR IT AND IT HAS NOT HAMPERED MY JOURNE Y’S PURPOSE.

OK  so despite the fact that it rained just about the entire trip today it was nonetheless a very good day.  I got three very good post-able interviews, two of which I will post tonight as time is very much a factor.  I was on the road for 8-1/2 hours from Jackson, MS to just west of Ft. Worth, TX which was well beyond my original intent.

I stopped in places I always wanted to: Monroe, LA and Grambling, LA and Shreveport, LA and then I side-stepped the Dallas/Ft. Worth area out of sheer ummm non-stupidity.  Highways are crazy congested and full of BAD drivers!!!

I seem to be hungry every night when I go to bed even though I eat enough food throughout the day.  I remember that from the last Leg as well.  I think I’m more worried about gaining weight as Im sitting in a car all day than I am about eating enough.  We’ll see.

I love the fact that I take off in the morning with no idea really what the day will bring. I am doing much better at opening myself up to those potential experiences and that is a very good thing indeed. It’s all about the journey as I know where the destination is.

My question mobile has become a barcalounger on wheels.  I could not make it any more comfortable.  It’s a wonder I don’t try to get in some shut-eye while I’m driving?  As stated before, this journey has become one of self-discovery that’s for sure.   Things I absolutely detested and said I would never subject myself to I am doing right now.  This is definitely a learning/growing experience for me and for those who know me.  THANK  YOU ALL!

Peace,

The Inquisitor