Dear America,
I’ve driven across you four times in the past few months. Makes me wonder what you are thinking. Our wide-open plains, Great Lakes, Northern woodlands and the wise old Appalachian Mountains. What are you thinking of us these days?
You have seen a lot happen over the centuries. The Blackfeet, Lakota, and Mohawk. The fur trappers, wagon trains, Lewis and Clark. Bison herds come and gone, elk and grizzly once roaming the prairies and now populating the timbered high country.
The songs I played on repeat while driving remind me of the tremendous work and toil that has gone into building this continent. The Edmund Fitzgerald and The Canadian Railroad Trilogy. My Dad and I wore out the record player listening to Gordon Lightfoot a few winters back. “Living on stew and drinking bad whiskey” about sums it up these days. But when driving along Lake Superior these plays are a must. Iron ore, railroad empires, and engineering feats like the Mackinaw Bridge.
And as she always does, Dolly brings me home. Light of a Clear Blue Morning is my new anthem. Let’s show these lakes and woodlands that there is a hell of a lot of hope for humanity. We have strong backs, strong minds, and strong hearts. We know how to build community. We know how to take care of one another.
In love and gratitude,
Sarah
