Signs of home

Just a short note from Lancing, Michigan. Only a few days ago we were in Tennessee. Time flies and the miles fade into the rearview (too cheesy?). It's bitter sweet, pointing the compass north. It means the trip is nearing its conclusion. It also means there are signs of home.

Last night, pulling into Michigan, there was snow blowing across the road. I'm ok with the colder weather, but the south's warmer climate definitely won me over. Alex on the other hand sees snow and his thoughts turn to frozen roads and the coming driving season. And when we neared Okemos, the side-of-the-highway food-plaza included Tim Horton's. I won't say Tim's coffee is anything special, but I'll concede that Tim Horton's is a legit Canadian institution. Definitely turned my thoughts to getting home.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. I'm off to JavaBarn. More soon.

Loren

The ambassador of kwan

Hello again. Writing to you from rain-drenched Lavergne, Tennessee. We saw rain drops today for only the second time since we got out on the road more than a month ago. I'm sure that will get a groan and an eye-roll from anyone reading this in Yellowknife. According to reports, it was 26 below zero this morning. The good news is that the gasoline and food shortage has blown over. Sorry, I'm gloating.

We had a great event today at the Ingram Book distribution centre in Lavergne. It was a private event, but hundreds of people showed up to hear Alex do what he loves to do more than just about anything else: dispense advice. He figures he's held down enough weird jobs and raised enough heck-raising kids to qualify him to give advice on everything from how to cure whatever ails them with herbal remedies to where people should set up shop to raise their families and find good work.

The more people who turn out to hear what Alex has got to say, the thicker he lays on the advice. Today, around 300 people heard about the merits of having a big family. He encourages people with 5, 6 and 7 kids by saying, "That's pretty good, you've already got half of a family, keep going." He also says having 11 kids and 10 grandkids (with an 11th on the way) is the surest way to start your own fan club.

Perhaps Alex's favourite advice is to sell people on the idea of coming north to Yellowknife. In the last 40 days, almost nobody has managed to shake Alex's hand or get a photo taken without getting a tourism brochure or DVD from the Northwest Territories or Yellowknife. It amounts to thousands of people hearing a quick story about how to cope with the cold or how they could ply their trade or skill to great success in Canada's north. At the very least people leave with the knowledge that the north is vast and beautiful, and if they do make it up north, they're welcome to look him up.

It is nice to hear Alex trumpet the north (over and over and over and over) because it's a good reminder that we actually do have a home. This road trip is a constant adventure with a new location, with a new set of faces and personalities everyday. The daily refreshed audience constantly gives Alex a new crowd to regale with advice. He clearly enjoys it and it can seem like life on the road is his natural habitat. But his focus on the north roots the whole trip in our real home. Which is good.

The photo here was taken this afternoon in Tennessee. Alex is explaining where we're all from. The video is one of a couple northern reels that we play on the huge LED screens on the outside of the Red Giant big rig at events.

Hope this finds northerners digging the onset of winter and southerners contemplating a trip to Yellowknife. My advice: March and July are the best months to visit. Take care.

Loren

Too late and too many miles to say a lot tonight. We're shacked up at a Motel 6 in Mississippi. I can confirm that Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi was out of this world. We picked up Louise in Houston and drove south to the coast. When we pulled in, we were bag piped into town by Alex's nephew Tim. He piped two tunes: "The Clumsy Lover" and "Itchy Fingers," both were dedicated to Alex. I did not ask why.

Alex's sister Simone, her husband Dave and their sons Adam and Tim opened up their home to Alex, Louise, Jay, myself and three visiting university students: two from Taiwan and one from Saudi Arabia. The exchange students were part of a larger group that were farmed out to local Corpus Christi families so that they could experience a "typical American Thanksgiving." Not sure who's definition of "typical" the Debogorski/Hardy gathering would have lived up to, but it was great.

Before the big meal, Alex, Louise, Jay and I all spent some time down at the beach. Nice to dip our toes in the gulf. The beach and the home cooked meal were a healthy break from the road. And it was nice to be around while Alex and Louise had time to relax and catch up. Adding Louise to our team for a few days shaped us all up. Now that we've said goodbye to Louise, and we all realize that a woman's presence helps keep our team on track, we've switched the voice in the GPS to "Jessica." Her Australian accent is just a bonus.

Tomorrow we'll arrive in Nashville in time for a 6pm radio gig for Alex. He's co-hosting the Billy Block show, which should be available on the web here.

That's all for now. Have a good night.

Loren