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Sue Cauhape's avatar

I had a hard time reading through this because at every turn you sent me on a tangent ... memories, faces, bits and pieces of lives met along the road. As I read this, I made notes and lists. So inspiring, Tonya. So luscious with just the right details to evoke a million stories.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

Oh my, that is the highest compliment for a writer! I'm so happy I could bring you to your own pen and paper, Sue. Notes and lists are their own whole little universes.

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Tabby Ivy's avatar

Oh I want to drive across the country by myself now! if for no other reason than to give myself the time and space to slow down, zone out and let the thoughts and attention to small things come to me.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

That's exactly it! When you're driving in a quiet car, it's amazing all the thoughts that surface. And it doesn't have to be cross-country, either. I used to love the quiet part of the day when I would drive to and from school an hour each way as a teenager. It was my thinking time.

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Anthony Head's avatar

It's true about the Bermuda Triangle. Most of the old world mysteries are dying as the planet moves on to more important matters, like survival.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

Ugh. You're right, but that thought is depressing. What if we all just decided, okay, it's actually 1999 now. Nothing after that ever happened. We could throw away everything that said otherwise and decide we're all just going to stay there forever. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

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Anthony Head's avatar

Yeah, except for hearing that Prince song all the time.

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Kathryn Reiss's avatar

I feel like I've been along for the ride on your road trip. So many fascinating details! I love your song lyrics based on road signs. 😂

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Tonya Morton's avatar

I still think it'd make for a great song! I should finish writing a couple verses for it... Thanks so much, Kathryn.

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Ned Mudd's avatar

"At every Lutheran potluck there should be teams of anthropologists with notebooks, spooning samples of ambrosia salad into tubes." Another good one!

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Tonya Morton's avatar

Thanks, Ned!

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Kim Spangrude's avatar

Our thoughts are creative, vivid, complicated, but we don’t always have such conscious access to them as you do. I love how self aware and accessible your creativity is to your public self. That, I think, is the definition of art.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

What kind words! And I think you're right about art. I always want to aim for a level of awareness where thoughts move freely (i.e., I try to get out of my own way.) That's the only way to hit on the true stuff. Thank you so much, Kim.

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Paul Vlachos's avatar

Love this piece!

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Jodie Meyn's avatar

By the way there's a town in Indiana between here and Chicago called Purgatory. Or maybe I just imagined it too. Good stuff.

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will passinault's avatar

beautiful.....some real gems in there....I always wondered who was eating the bananas in the truck stops !

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Tonya Morton's avatar

I used to wonder about that too! But I was feeling really wiped out and sick of road food one day and bought one and, it turns out, bananas are a lifesaver when you're driving. They taste like real food, unlike all the chips and energy bars, and they do give you some energy. Apples, too, though it's harder to find a good apple in a truck stop.

Thanks, Will!

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Kristen Lenea Ryberg's avatar

Ahhh, so many lines to taste throughout, I love your travel diary full of poetic content.

Travelled 2 years ago, just 7 weeks-my dog and mini-van. You've inspired me to put together my travel notes and photos sitting in files! Matter of fact, my camping stuff is organized in one place in the basement asking.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

Yes, jump into the notes! It's amazing what they can offer! Little details turn out to contain so much. I'm so happy you were inspired by my piece.

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Paul's avatar

Great piece! Maybe you should try Tulsa. Tulsa Remote pays people $10,000 to come here for a year. It’s an effort to attract creative people to the city.

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Tonya Morton's avatar

That's a pretty attractive offer they're making. Unfortunately, the ghost of my father would come back and hector me endlessly to leave if I ever moved to Tulsa (it's where he was born and raised.) But I don't have anything else against the place.

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Apr 6, 2023
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Tonya Morton's avatar

Thank you so much for this beautiful description, Connie. I love that thought of images moving through the veins.

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Apr 6, 2023
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Tonya Morton's avatar

Oh, that is fascinating! Thanks, Connie.

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Apr 6, 2023
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Tonya Morton's avatar

That's one of my favorite things to do too! Whenever I'm feeling alienated from humans, I'll go for a walk and try to just pay attention. It's amazing the stuff I can see and hear when I'm not distracted. You have some fantastic ones. I love "He likes to watch his housekeeper clean," especially.

One of mine from today: I was walking by a bakery and saw that a little boy had just dropped his brioche on the sidewalk. He and his mom were both looking sadly down at it when his sister scooped it up and screamed, "I'll eat it!!" That one immediately went into the notes.

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