Three Thousand Miles and Back

Hello! My name is Steve Bolin and welcome to my blog. There are a near infinite number of stories across these great United States, many of which will never see the light of day. They're ordinary tales lived by ordinary people, from truckers to waitresses to librarians to retirees. I want to tell their stories.

There have been many books and television shows that have taken on this challenging assignment . . . John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, for example, is a classic book in this vein and to some degree, the television show Made In America does a fair amount of the same thing.

Charles Kerault, of course, is the king of telling America's stories for so many years on television and in books, most notably On The Road. I certainly am no Charles Kerault, but I hope to do a serviceable job here reporting on the places, people and events I visit, meet and experience (respectively) as I travel from Alaska to Rhode Island, to Florida and then to southern California.

The difference is I'm not going anywhere. This entire trip will be fictional, at least as far as the specifics are concerned. The names will be made up, many of the towns will be invented, the stories will be spun from my imagination . . . all of it in the name of entertainment. Oh sure, the roads I traverse will be real enough, but I strongly recommend you don't take anything seriously in this blog beyond that.

Why am I doing this? Well, it's simple, really . . . I've always loved such books and television shows I've mentioned, but I don't have the luxury of making the trip I've outlined. If I did, believe me, I'd leave on the first plane to Fairbanks. Unfortunately, I'm a writer and am not blessed with Michael Crichton money. I have a day job to attend to, so instead of going to all these places, I'm going to imagine them for you right here in this blog.

Again, this is all imaginary stuff. If one of my stories sound like you or your town, it is purely coincidence. In case you feel like writing me, though, I invite you to comment on this blog and don't forget to let me know where you hail from. It would be awfully nice to make some friends on this flight of fancy. Hope you'll join me!

Steve