Road trip!!!!

There are rare moments in my life when I've felt purely happy.

One that I remember was back in the late 80's when I'd just begun to freelance for NPR. I was living in Winchester at the time, editing my reel-to-reel tape at WINC radio, patching a living together making radio any way I could, with a little television on the side to help pay the rent.

It was early, early on a summer morning. I was in my Ford Ranger pick-up with the camper top, heading north up 81, on my way to Limerock Raceway in Connecticut to do a story on actor Paul Newman's second career as a race-car driver.  I had a large, black coffee in one hand, the steering wheel in the other, and Emmylou Harris on the tape deck. I remember the moment the sun came up that morning, because at that moment everything felt new, everything felt possible, and I was nothing but happy.

Why am I blogging about this? Because right now, I'm all set to pile into my car pre-dawn yet again and head east to Farmville. There, today and tomorrow, I'm to sit in on five classes at Longwood University and talk to students about writing personal essays. Maybe I'm older and slower, but that really does seem just as exciting to me as hanging out at a racetrack. I love words, I love working with students, I love road trips out into the WMRA community!

Happy trails to me; happy trails to you. May your day bring you as much joy as I'm expecting mine to. We'll talk when I get back. WMRA's Tom DuVal will be writing tomorrow's entry.