LFS: The Storyteller

©2013 by LeeZard The real me lives by the sea, With flying hair and sun kissed brow, I’d give anything to be there now. A wave can propel you forward, pass you by or capture you in its turbulence. This is true in life and in the ocean. Sometimes you make the choice and sometimes it’s the wave. That’s deep, very deep (small wave joke). In this particular instance, I made the choice, or did I? I was 14-years old but I remember it as if it happened last summer; it was that dramatic. Fourteen is a very strange time in a young man’s life. The hormones are just beginning to flow but the mind and the body are not quite ready. There’s hair down THERE but you don’t really know yet what to do with the hair or your pecker. But, you know things are changing. For me, it was the summer of 1961 and I was about to enter high school. I was aware of the blooming young girls in my eighth grade class; oh yes, there were stirrings. I even asked a few out for a date and some close-mouth...

©2013 by LeeZard Sometimes the solution to a problem is right in front of you and you still can’t find it. Thus it was for me. If you followed my recent summer journey across America, you know of my loyalty to Starbucks. Not only does Howard Schultz’s empire serve as my office nationwide – with its free WiFi and stay-as-long-as-you-want policy – I just love the coffee. I’ve been a customer since 1974. That’s B.H., Before Howard. While I was on the road I did a lot of thinking; that’s one of the major bennies of a road trip, enjoying the time with yourself and using it productively. I decided I needed to do something to drag myself out of the dreaded SWS (Starving Writer Syndrome), something not related to either writing or my other career skills. This was cathartic; I realized that I’d let me ego keep me down. Ever since my position at Safeco Insurance disappeared in January 2008 I’d devoted my job search and then my entrepreneurial experiment(s) to the things t...

Tuesday September 17-Thursday September 19 – Sheridan, WY-Butte, MT-Spokane, WA-Renton, WA After completing my final interviews in Sheridan and writing them up, I make a beeline for home and hearth. Even so, it is still a three-day drive. Now that my work is done I can revisit a couple of favorite campgrounds from early in the journey – the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest near Butte, MT (where a galloping herd of elk greeted me at sunrise one day) and Riverside State Park near Spokane, WA, out in the boonies but ten minutes from downtown. I relax and enjoy driving I-90 as it heads for the Rocky Mountains. From this point on, even the Interstate cannot detract from some of the most beautiful country in America. --- After 70 days and 10,244 miles I am home. In a sense, it feels strange to be off the road. Faithful canine companion Trooper and I have been in a pleasant routine. Every couple of days it’s been a new location, new people, new experiences and new stor...