Road Trip to New Orleans, Part I

My latest column looks at the first leg of my road trip to New Orleans. Overall the trip was a great success. I got to see interesting parts of the country and spend a few days in New Orleans with Melissa Lewis, poet extraordinaire.

It’s important to get outside of the city, especially in the summertime when the heat is particularly unforgiving of urban areas. Just to maintain one’s own sanity, get out and breathe the fresh air and step on green grass. Sit under a tree by yourself in a yard or forest.

The more one travels America, the more one loves but is frustrated by America. This is a beautiful country populated by great people, but I can’t help the overwhelming feeling that we have been heading in the wrong direction as a country for quite some time now. I try to address some of this in my column, but will have more of that in Part II.