I’ve never really gotten over my Little House on the Prairie fantasies. The Long Ride was the most alive and “myself” I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m 60 now. My nephrologist (kidney doctor) has spent the past 3 years telling me I’ve got about 5 years left. I’ve been watching the news, feeling the divides in this country getting wider and stupider, I’ve been remembering the amazing lovely people, all kinds of people, who welcomed me as I rode across the USA 15 years ago, the curiosity, the generosity, the love and care and community – and I’ve been wondering – have we all changed that much? Or is this a mass delusion perpetuated by social media, a big ‘divide and conquer’ scheme by the billionaire class? What’s actually going on?
I’ve been listening to the “talking heads” saying how we all need to do our part – but what is my part? Nobody listens to me, I’ve been living on disability, on a small island, with zero “social signifiers” of success. I have been living very small, not drawing attention to myself, just trying to survive. And then I saw a tiny dun pony, brought to my attention by the mysteries of the algorithms – Franklin. He had a faraway look in his eyes, he was trained to ride and drive, to lie down on command and sit on a beanbag chair. He was 38″ tall and impossibly cute. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About somehow having one more adventure. Because, dang, I’m going to die anyways, right? (We all are, eventually.) What do I have to lose?
Slowly, a plan was forming, problems solved, connections made, hurdles overcome. I called Kristin Mulhall at Twilight Farms (who owned Franklin) and asked about a suitable teammate, she suggested a sturdy little silver dapple Shetland, Franklin’s friend Theodore. I sold pretty much everything I had left and bought myself a team of ponies, sight unseen. Kristin agreed to overwinter them for me – I said “expect me in late March” and we trusted each other.
Karen said that she’d sponsor the wagon, so after much searching and sleuthing around on the internet I found an Amish man named Melvin Beiler at Pequea Carriage Shop in Narvon, PA who was willing to custom build a mini covered wagon suitable for the sort of journey I had in mind. Over the winter we spoke on the phone at least once a week, working out the details one at a time, making sure the wagon would do what I needed it to do, reinventing something that nobody had needed for 150 years. Mel was thoughtful and meticulous and the whole process was a lot of fun. He also had the connections for the seat suspension, the wooden hoops, the canvas cover (Elam of E&M Tarp Shop went above and beyond with the cover!) and even the trucking company who delivered it, right on time, to Twilight Farms in Fresno, OH.
The Wagon is named The Mustard Seed – a reminder that if we have even a tiny amount of faith, we can move mountains. Maybe the ponies will serve as a similar metaphor. Yes, they are very small, not a particular breed, not fancy, just like in most people’s estimation I’m a “nobody” – a “loser” by society’s standards – but watch how much they can do! Look at how far they can travel! How many lives they will touch as we cross the country talking to the people we meet along the way!
My plan is to live in the covered wagon with Thick, my devoted Corgi, as we cross the great plains like Laura Ingalls Wilder did over 150 years ago. We might not stop there, of course – but that’s the first leg of the journey. When I was on my Long Ride I was frequently invited into people’s homes and offered a bed for the night. Unfortunately, my immune system doesn’t work very well any more, so when I’m inside with other humans I have to wear a mask – and this way I have my own portable bedroom/living quarters. I’m also thinking traveling by “Amish RV” will take less energy than packing and unpacking a pony and setting up my tent every night. And this way Thick can ride along in the wagon – much safer (and he’d have a hard time keeping up when the ponies really start trotting!)
The heart of this journey is a search for common ground and connection. Jesus said “Love your neighbor” – but who is our neighbor? Who are we being asked to love? I’ll be sitting down with anybody who is willing, and filming a series of interviews, 25 questions about what people’s actual lives are like, their dreams and their struggles, their priorities and their actualities. I’ll be posting the interviews on a YouTube channel called “Hello Neighbor” – uncensored, unbiased, letting people tell their own stories in their own words and listening – not debating or trying to change their minds. My goal is to create a sort of archive, like Dorothea Lange did with her photographs for the FSA back in the late 1930s (remember Migrant Mother?) It is my hope that maybe these interviews will start to let us start to see one another as fellow humans – all on this journey together, so many of us with similar hopes and dreams and struggles. Maybe we can start talking to one another, rebuilding community, remembering who we want to be in this world and building bridges to a better future for everybody.
