At the heart of it all, Home is people. Not just a place. But the place that homes my family is sacred. Part One:

When I started this blog, I didn't anticipate that I would have the chance to embark on a three-month journey to see both of our children, in California and New Zealand, as well as other beloveds in-between! Wow...what an amazing opportunity this has been. I plan to share periodic articles to highlight how this trip has influenced my views on the state of our country.

The articles will be posted as I have access to internet. Here comes Part One.

On May 23, Jim and I embarked on a cross country road trip, driving from Philadelphia to San Francisco. It was the first leg of an epic journey to reunite ultimately in New Zealand as a total family. We have not been together since September 2023. In the months since then, there have been monumental changes in the makeup of our family: medically, geographically and in family membership. Through all the changes, we remain one tight group that somehow feels more complete when we are all together.

As we drove across country, I kept saying things like, Wow....What an incredible country we live in! The land is so mammoth and diverse with accents and cultures that are hugely different. While we both shared in the driving, Jim did the yeoman's job, and I made up for his efforts with my own unique navigation skills. "Buckle your seat belt, Jim. We are really going to see this country".

So, Yep, we saw America from other than the main highways between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Among our many deviations off of Interstate 80 was taking what is known as "America's loneliest road" across Nevada. An AAA spokesperson said of Rte 50, “It’s totally empty. There are no points of interest. We don’t recommend it. We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they’re confident of their survival skills.” Well, I disagree. It is truly spectacular country...just be sure to fill up your tank, because there are LIMITED gas stations. Still well worth the drive.

As we were driving, I read more about the road, and learned that it is part of the old Pony Express route (and what later became Route 50). Why and what was the Pony Express?

In 1845 it took six months to get messages from the East Coast of the USA to California. By the 1850's, a half million people had migrated to the west coast, and plans to get messages across the country were developed. I really resonated with this idea as being so far apart from our kids has been tough. The internet and zoom have kept me sane! I have no idea how I would have managed in 1850's. Part of the 1860's plan was an 18 month experiment with the Pony Express, which began carrying the mail cross country. The riders rode furiously, making stops for new horses every 18 miles. It took 10 days to ride from California to Missouri. This novel introduction of faster mail ushered in the transcontinental telegraph in 1861, and the Pony Express ended.

What a distinctive chapter of our American history. As Jim and I traveled, I delved into the violent history of the land and its people that we were passing through. The Goshute Nation, indigenous to the Great Basin, lived in harmony with their expansive homeland for centuries. However, their access was increasingly limited by the encroachment of white communities and enterprises like the Pony Express. After significant conflict, tension, and loss of life, a treaty was established that granted the Goshute Nation two protected reservations. I am here to witness the resilience of a people determined to live in their own homes, even when they were relegated to utterly desolate lands for survival! For me, the trip became more than just traveling on the 'loneliest road in America'. It became a poignant, silent witness to the loss of homeland for an entire people. Land that is now barren of life was once home to so many.

I could not help but think of the similarities with today and our administrations' "fight" against immigrants. We have not learned much. Why do we have such a need to control the lives of others who are different than those in power? Surely, there must be more peaceful ways to coexist. Surely, dominance by money is not the only path of moving forward in progress.

It made me ponder the effect dominance has on families. How might my own family be different today if my German grandparents and Irish great-grandparents had faced deportation, been forced onto reservations, or been denied access to essential resources? What are your roots? How would your family have been treated?

This amazingly vast and diverse country is in the throes of another kind of domination. Just as the people of the Shoshone Nation, were forcibly gathered up, arrested, physically removed from what had been their home, we are witnessing similar acts in our streets and homes today. It is now 165 years later and still we have not learned crucial lessons about how we coexist and grow as community. We have moved from the shameful history of how we have treated the many people who were already living in our country to now shamefully removing so many who came for a future life. Surely not all of these people should be removed, relocated, arrested. For what gain? At what cost?

I believe this is a theme for my journey this summer. I will try to pay attention and write about this as I journey. Soon we will be with our son and his girlfriend. Next family celebrations out west. THEN, we all fly to New Zealand. Our daughter and her family are immigrants there. They have relocated for our daughter to go to graduate school. How does this country treat immigrants? How is my family being treated in a new land? Stay tuned. More to come.

But for now, the quest to celebrate and love my family is central in my life.

It is a good day!