Recently, I had the occasion to go on a road trip. I type that and wonder what flits through your mind? Long stretches of highway? Your favorite music? Empty cheetos bags and candy wrappers stuffed in the side pockets of doors? Someone special next to you or kids in the back seat fighting? Or just you? Alone and cataloging thoughts as the mile markers fly by. My daughter hates traveling by car and I have to admit it makes me a little suspicious of her. If you fall into that category, maybe this series of posts will change your mind. There’s something of the magic that makes this world work in a road trip. That magic is getting harder and harder to find and I look for it greedily. And, I will readily admit, I found it on this most recent trip. Found it in aces and spades with more to spare. I’m happy about that. Wishing, already, for more. I have maps and guide books in the secret places of my mind. I’m planning and hoping that another day will find me with suitcases and a tiny puppy in the back seat and headed to go see. Go see people and places, moments and, most important, some more of that magic. It’s powerful stuff. It’s making me sit down to write today. To try and catch it before it flees from my memory. It would be a shame to forget the couple walking their dog, or the flowers growing from the side of the mountain or the way the mist felt on the banks of Lake Michigan. Grab your favorite snack and come along. You’ll save a fortune in gas and at least you won’t be sitting in my darkened living room looking at all six hundred pictures I took. Can you imagine? Six hundred. I might have a problem.