The Story

In the summer of 2007, I took a very long trip around America. I made a list of all the places I had ever wanted to see and I pulled out a map and, just for kicks, I traced a route that would take me to all of them.

Then, just to see, I figured out how long it would take to drive this route. I figured out how much gas it would take. I figured out where I had friends I could stay with along the way, and where I could camp, and where I would have to stay in a hotel. And it dawned on me that it would actually be cheaper to take this trip and see America’s greatest hits than it would be to rent an apartment in New York City for the same amount of time.

It was only logical. Also, it was crazy. Probably it would make a great story at the end. I knew it was the right choice.

So I drove off, not totally sure where I was going, or what I was doing, or how it was going to work, but pretty sure that I would be fine and that I’d figure it out along the way. Lot of things happened – big things and small things, and things that were funny and sad and personal and universal, and I was different at the end of it.

Then, I went to work on the Obama campaign. That's a different story all together, but suffice it to say, I developed an enormous crush on America.

I took out the half written stories and notes I'd made from the trip, and I wrote down everything that had happened and picked out the best stories, and added some music and some pictures and strung it all together to be a…something.

I feel weird about calling it a one woman show. But it's ok with me if you do.

I told the story at the Fortnight Festival Works in Progress Series, in front of about 100 people, over two nights in January 2009. It was terrifying and I was sure I would die. However, I did not, and people liked it.

It turns out, we all have a lot more in common than I thought, and just as much as I'd hoped. So here we go again.