Letter from the Road #7

Galloping to Arizona

Gallup, New Mexico (right up there with Intercourse, PA and Truth or Consequences, NM - towns having unique names that ignite the imagination) was my gateway to Arizona. I imagined a western town with horses tied up to hitching posts and the cowboys all in the saloon whooping it up. At first, it seemed the right place to overnight before continuing on to Arizona. Instead the experience proved to be anything but. That said, it was a wakeup call. Why? For the second time since commencing my “magic carpet ride,” I felt uncomfortable and it was my own doing. In as much as I thought I was sensitive to others, I really was not. Driving a foreign built chariot into Gallop was viewed as ostentatious and could only be the property of an entitled member of the "elite class." After all, who else could afford a car that was almost three times that of a Gallop resident’s median annual income. And wasn’t it the elites that profited disproportionately from free trade, leaving places like Gallup economically devastated and nursing their pain and boredom with opioids. I felt the resentment in their eyes. I over heard it discussed at the drug store. This was forgotten America and I was a reminder they did not need.

The first glimpse I had of "class" sentiment was when I had parked in front of Bill Clinton’s boyhood home. The park ranger, helpful and friendly in every other way commented with a tinge of judgement on the rarity of German luxury cars in Hope. Had I become so insulated by my world that I failed to anticipate these feelings surfacing? I was reminded of Senator Gaylord Nelson, a progressive Democratic Senator from Wisconsin. He traveled Wisconsin in a luxury Packard. As he approached a town for a scheduled campaign event, at a prearranged location outside of town, he swapped his Packard for a Ford or Chevrolet. Only then would he enter the town for his campaign appearance. Highly hypocritical and precisely the cynicism that the average Joe rails against. Resentment has been with us a long time. The only difference today is we don’t even consider the impact of our actions on others. The last thing I wanted to be was “a thumb in their eye.” But that’s exactly what I was. This explains all to well the appeal that the nontraditional candidates have, whether its AOC or Trump. Traditional politicians and their moneyed backers have failed these folks.

“My time is up,” quoting Joe Biden. I heard their message. (I wonder if Biden heard himself?) It was now time to leave Gallup. Sadly, I was leaving behind in New Mexico a delightful and welcoming climate. Dry and 80 degrees in the high desert of New Mexico became 105 degrees as I approached Petrified Forrest National Park in Arizona. Petrified Forrest was not what I expected. Thinking I would see the actual remnants of forests preserved from calcified minerals having penetrated the trees thousands of years ago, instead I discovered tremendous rock formations and colorful valleys stretching as far as the eye could see. The only remnants of a petrified forest were the petrified stumps and trunks spread randomly across the desert floor.

At the edge of Petrified Forest, sits a log lodge built to serve weary travelers more than 100 years ago. As some of you know, I hail form Philadelphia. The ranger described the restoration of the lodge during the depression. Apparently the CCC crew that restored the lodge were from Philadelphia. I immediately felt a bit homesick having now been on the road for nearly 5 weeks. As the story goes, when the crew returned to Philadelphia on the cusp of WWII, the team went to work for the Philadelphia Navy Yard building ships. They were welcome additions to the navy yard because they required little training having developed a set of transferable skills through their time with the CCC. Not only did they acquire important skills, they also built a strong sense of social cohesion and common purpose working together first as part of a national works program and then the war effort. Well off parents today are “petrified” of anything that would derail the express ride to success on which they have put their children. I would argue all children need to take a detour and be a part of a national service program. We would get back to being “in it together” and lifting the prospects for everyone. If you have the pleasure of stopping at the lodge in the future, be aware, they serve superb homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors. You won’t crave a DQ Blizzard that day!

Again I was amazed by the dramatic beauty of the landscape as I made my way to Flagstaff. But, nothing would prepare me for the drive from Flagstaff to Sedona. By the time I completed the 50 mile drive to Sedona, it would catapult the short drive to being among the 5 best drives of my lifetime. The drive would join the likes of the Amalfi coast and California Pacific Highway. Route 17 snakes between two equally dramatic and rugged mountain formations creating a virtual valley. I am afraid of heights so at the outset I was pleased there were guard rails lining the drive. My sense of security gave way to trepidation at the midpoint of the drive. The guard rails disappeared eliminating the safety barrier separating me from 1000 foot plus drop offs. To arrest my fear, I started to chant “build that wall.” Kidding.

Sedona

I will go back to Sedona. Over the years, I have known several people who have acquired homes in the surrounding area. Perplexed, I wondered how anybody could give up access to oceans and lakes. Then I sat at Starbucks. When I first arrived and in need of a jump start, I sat on the porch, sipping coffee and watched magic unfold. The colorful, rust toned mountains, changed in appearance as the sun moved across the sky. It truly was mesmerizing and came to understand the appeal. The next logical stop, Zillow! And one night became 3 nights at my hotel.

Admittedly, I did some neighborhood jaunts in part to get a taste for the area. Truth be told, I am a snoop, too. So part of the desire was to find John McCain’s compound. I think I did, but I would have needed a drone to see the house. The restaurants are good and not expensive. In addition to the hotel spas, there are dozens of independent spas offering mud bathes, massages accompanied with warm flat disc shaped pebbles for the back, yoga and meditation. I wouldn’t call Sedona crunchy. I’d liken it to the western version of Asheville, NC. If you’re looking for a unique upscale destination offering a physically beautiful setting, healthy lifestyle, hiking, active adult communities, and gentle climate (relatively speaking), this is the place.

Sedona was my last discovery destination of my west bound trip. I moved on to Phoenix, checked into the Four Seasons Hotel and read, swam, and relaxed for 5 days. Phoenix is a city I have been in and out of for years. It is considered one of the safest places to locate computer facilities primarily because it is impervious to natural disasters. It has massive and highly secure IT infrastructures residing in nameless buildings dotted throughout the greater Phoenix area. American Express internally has referred to their secret facility as Fort Knox.

One cultural discovery I particularly enjoyed was the Museum of the West. Representing the art and customs of 18 western states, it is a visually satisfying and intellectually non threatening museum with displays of 19th and 20th century art, clothing, pottery and weapons. It is not the Museo Nacional de Anthropologia in Mexico City and does not pretend to be. I particularly enjoyed the collections of Hano pottery.

From Phoenix, I traveled to Dana Point to meet my sister, nephew Elliott and niece Samantha before flying east for my mid-trip break. I had a marvelous family dinner after spending an afternoon at the Waldorf like Annelese’s School Samantha’s boys go attend. It’s an exceptional school offering an alternative to traditional education. James, the oldest boy is in fifth grade and already fluent in German. The boys can explain a nebula, which I have even a hard time spelling and first thought was either a dessert or SUV model. (Maybe a fib.) On site is the equivalent of a petting zoo, except this one is stocked with farm animals and shetland ponies.

The afternoon I visited, the school was conducting an emotional “cry in” for the children departing the school. The idea of the “cry in” was to demonstrate to children how sharing emotions is an important part of building meaningful relationships and releasing anxiety. I wondered what my father would have said witnessing his great great grandchildren at a “cry in.” This is a man who witnessed the worst WWII had to offer as a deep sea diver, raising ships and clearing harbors of sunken vessels containing the mangled and burnt remains of brave warriors, and never talked about it?

Civil Rights - Evolving Thoughts

One of my four stated objectives at the outset of this journey was to better understand the state of civil rights today in the US. I have spent a significant amount of time talking with people and visiting cites that played important roles in the movement. It has become clear to me that unless we heal the virulent wounds rooted in slavery and post civil war discrimination, we will be anything but exceptional as a nation. If we fail to live up to our values so often referenced by commentators on the right and left, our sacred values will be nothing more than a cheap suit. To that end, I believe we need a healthy discussion on reparations and how they might help us move forward together.

Reparations should not be an isolated or incremental act. Rather they should be a piece of a larger or grand initiative intended to help us collectively make a huge step forward. Harking back to my days as president of the debate society in high school, We learned that asking the right question was critically important to how the respondents framed their response. So, is this the right question, using debate society lingo: “Resolved: Should the United States offer reparations to the African American community for suffering the injustices of slavery as part of an integrated initiative requiring universal citizen participation?” or have I prejudiced the answer and making the better question: “Resolved: To end the generational perpetuation of racial prejudice and discrimination, what set of actions should the American people take and how would the actions be enforced?” I may not have the question articulated very well, but I think you would agree, we need a national consensus on the right question we need to be asking ourselves.

In thinking about racism, the following points surfaced:

- Racism is the act of bullying pitted against an entire race.

- Bullies steal their target’s self worth and dignity. Bullies are cunning. They choose their targets with precision. They identify a vulnerability for exploitation.

- In most cases the target does not have the where with all to effectively fight back.

- Bullying is in many cases an inherited behavior or pattern.

- Most of us have been bullied. I’ve been bullied twice in my life. Once as a 7th grade student and more recently as an adult. While my experience was not life altering, it helped me to understand better what indignity feels like. The assailants in both cases were cruel and maladjusted individuals who derived a perverted sense of superiority from inflecting pain. Interestingly, these were behaviors inherited from their parents. More than likely they, too, will get passed on to the next generation.

- Blacks in America suffered humiliation at the hands of both institutional and human to human bullying reenforcing from one generation to the next a negative sense of self worth and associated ramifications.

- An apology is hollow and insufficient as a remedy. There is an absence of sacrifice or action that addresses the behavior, teaches a different way, prevents it from reoccurring or passing to a new generation.

- Whatever form the reparation manifests itself, I believe it needs to be linked to an initiative requiring universal citizens participation so the reparation is not viewed as a hollow apology, which it frankly would be. By requiring a universal act, everyone is seen to be contributing to a giant step forward and sharing the responsibility of breaking a systemic pattern.

The first step might be for our President to appoint a national commission of individuals from all walks of life. The commission should conduct its work with full transparency. Their mission would be deliver a proposal for national reconciliation comprised of both a reparation program and universal citizens participation program. Rather than sending it to congress for ratification, it should be proposed in the form of a national referendum.

This is the seminal issue for America. We are a good nation. If we can fix this, we are exceptional. I believe we can and must.

Mid Point Break

So folks, we are at our halfway point. Thank you for indulging me as I posted my discoveries, observations and thoughts over the last seven “Letters from the Road.” I’m taking a 3 week break, traveling back by plane, to the east coast and will return mid July to compete the journey.

Highlights anticipated on the return journey include the Nixon Library, the Rocky Mountains, and Eisenhower Library. I will be making a special stop at Mt. Rushmore to access if there is a rock large enough to accommodate President Trump’s ego.

Happy 4th to all.