Prologue

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning." -- John Henry Newman

I'll be 30 next month, and while I wouldn't say I haven't had a "beginning," the past few years certainly haven't gone the way I expected.

To be clear, I'm not complaining. I'm healthy, financially secure, have great friends and family... In fact, it would hardly be a stretch to say I have more freedom and less responsibility than anyone I know. And therein lies the problem: It's likely too much of the former and to little of the latter. Jell-O has more structure than my life.

This has been evident to me (and others) for some time now. But as I find myself at the crossroads of an impending birthday that ends in a zero -- the kind that makes one reflect on the past, ponder the future, and generally question the daily existence that we so often take for granted -- I feel a renewed sense of urgency to get my life headed somewhere other than nowhere. I'm reminded of the inestimable Andy Dufresne's declaration: "Get busy living, or get busy dying."

So with that in mind, I'm hittin' the road.

Starting tomorrow, May 23, I'll spend 33 days traversing 10,000 miles across America. Yes, it's a somewhat hackneyed cliché of an attempt to find myself, heading from sea to shining sea and back in search of an epiphany that may or may not come. But it's something I've always wanted to do and the timing feels right. 30 strikes me as a line of demarcation; a break between acts one and two of the three-part drama we casually refer to as "life."

For four and a half weeks I'll be on a self-imposed journey of self-exploration. I'll be visiting old friends and making new ones. I'll see baseball games and ride roller coasters, go hiking and fire guns. I'll play Blackjack at midnight in Vegas and get drunk at midday in New Orleans. I'll cruise through the heights of the Rockies and the depths of the Mojave; under the canopies of the great redwoods of northern California and across the vast open ranges of western Texas. I'll watch the sun set over the Pacific and the moon rise over the Badlands, and I'll stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon and come to realize that I'm far more insignificant that I'd previously thought. I'll eat a wide variety of ridiculously unhealthy (but incredibly tasty) foodstuff, and will attempt semi-regular exercise so said foodstuff doesn't make me fat(ter) while I'm gone. And I'll meet my newborn nephew, Daniel, who will by then be 22 days old. His life is thoroughly uncomplicated at the moment, not yet afflicted by the mixed blessing that is self awareness. His daily regimen mostly follows the pattern of: eat, shit, sleep, repeat. It's an existence not too dissimilar from my own, though his is far more socially acceptable and I have to wipe my own ass.

My friend Steve will be joining me for the first three and a half days of the trip, and I can't think of a better companion to have along for the ride. Steve and I have logged thousands of miles together on multiple road trips over the years, dating back to our first one ever in the summer of 1995. As two wide-eyed 17 year olds, we headed to Boston for a long weekend with no particular purpose -- I remember thinking that the 200 mile trip seemed insurmountably far. This is to say nothing of the 15 years or so of countless good times we've shared that have been entirely unrelated to driving. I'm sure we'll get on each other's nerves by the end of Day 2, but I'm equally confident that it won't matter.

As for this blog, its purpose is two-fold. Whenever I've mentioned my plans for this trip to someone, they've asked that I send photos and keep them updated on my progress -- it seems like this is a good way to do both. Separately, after long days on the road I will undoubtedly need a creative and cathartic outlet for my thoughts. I've often imagined doing some writing and this appears to be as good an excuse as any to start. Pending both Internet access and sobriety, my plan is to recap each day on a nightly basis. I don't promise it'll be the most scintillating stuff you've ever read, but hopefully it'll serve as a pleasant distraction from whatever it is that normally keeps you busy. I encourage any and all to post comments -- it would be reassuring to know that people other than those who share my last name are reading this.

And with that, I'm out. Departure is less than 24 hours away and and I still have LOTS to do!