"From the Road..."

I didn't think it was possible to have my mood change so drastically in only a matter of about 15 hours. Wednesday night was not anywhere near premium for me, especially since I chose to watch an HBO documentary a mother made about her 15 year old son's suicide. I decided to watch that instead of Shark Week. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was sitting there for two hours to watch this documentary. It's just a bad idea in general to watch those types of programs because not only does it not have a happy ending, but the entire time I'm watching this vibrant boy turn his depression on and off, I'm comparing friends and over thinking way too much. So the result wasn't exactly great and after the show, the night was just a barrel of shitty shit. But then around 1 o'clock the next day, everything changed. Usually I don't receive a lot of mail. It's most often addressed to Rachael, but rarely ever Kimberly. But on Thursday, there was a bulky envelope, obviously containing something valuable, with my name tattooed in the center. However, the name in the upper left hand corner wasn't really a name that I'm familiar with. Andrew (last name not necessary). The postmark was dated August 4 from North Carolina. Even though I don't know this Andrew personally, I knew exactly what it was doing in the pile of mail.

Let me paint y'all a purty pitcher. Adam, newly graduated from Fairleigh, went on a summer road trip across America with a couple of his closest buddies. Prior to leaving school, he made this massive facebook group that detailed this trip and their planned whereabouts. Of fucking course I'm going to join because you know I'm in love with the idea of escaping. So Andrew sent out a message from the page saying that if anyone would be interested in getting a letter from the road, to send him our name and addresses and it's better if we don't know each other. PERFECT! cause that was exactly the kind of interaction I was looking for. Didn't know Andrew, barely know Adam, yet I was giving my address to him so I could be included if only through paper in this Great American Adventure. I kept my expectations at a minimum because I figured I would be last on the list for a letter, seeing as how friends and family would probably get a letter faster than some chick who doesn't even know these guys. Turns out, I was last on the list! Well when I opened the letter from Andrew, I found nine handwritten pages full of everything I would have ever wanted to hear. This letter, written from the kitchen table of a friend's apartment in the Outer Banks of North Carolina was created on day sixty-three. That was how long the trip was going to last but now it'll be a little longer. I'm the letter that was written on "the last day." (Except not really cause there will be another one to a friend on the way home. But still)

I only know Andrew through this letter and what I've been reading on their sporadic blog. I know that he is a beautiful writer and I know that drawing comparisons to Kerouac is very acceptable. I was actually thinking that Andrew might possibly be Kerouac's reincarnated soul and this letter that I received was just an extension from On the Road. Sure, it's 50 years late, but it's always possible! As beautiful as Andrew's bloated letter is, and as much as it deserves to be shared with the world, I kinda would rather focus on the point behind the letter and what I got out of it. Besides the mesmerizing detail of their trip from the previous four days, this letter confirms my prior thought that humans are an incredible reason to live and interact and squish and love and lalala and everything and anything else. Even though it's really only ma bi'ness, the letter allowed for raw, real, gentle and awesome emotions. I can't express how happy I am. When I think about him writing this letter, never having said a word to me but still feeling the urge to write what he did and how he did, I am amazed. He ran out of notebook paper, so he wrote on the back of Google Map directions. And when he ran out of that, he wrote on paper with cocker spaniels. Just thinking of that makes me smile because some might consider writing a shortened version of whatever he or she felt like saying when it has been determined that the paper supply is dwindling. Yet Andrew wrote on old directions and then narrow, grocery list paper just so he could finish his thoughts. He wasn't going to let his story go untold because of a silly thing like no paper. How fucking beautiful. This is exactly what I've been looking for. The unexpected interaction with the unexpected feel good content and smiling. I wrote him a thank you/introductory letter. I've never met someone through a letter before, but my hope is that he finds what I said and returns with more insight into his own character. Maybe on their way back from Colorado (surprise adventure trip), South Jersey or Philadelphia will be included in the journey, cause I'm totes down for meeting Andrew in person! I am absolutely in love with this letter and strangers and ideas and of course, adventure. This was the best turn around. But I'm still going to wonder, Andrew, why was I the last letter? He said he remembers flipping through the addresses and having his finger fall onto my name sixty-three days prior to writing the letter as he sat in the backseat of the car. But why me?... Why was I so special? Even if I never find out, I'll always love that this happened.

I'm going to pull a Miranda July. Along with this in depth, life questioning stuffs, I am really curious who reads my blog. I have four people who 'follow' me but I know them all (cept one). But that totally doesn't mean that lots of others haven't discovered me and use me as therapy for a bad day at work. Or when they need to take their life, compare it to mine and determine that things ain't so shitty for themselves and hopefully it's not the other way around. I just wanna know if only a few of my friends are checkin' this out or if lotz of strangers are reading this as well. After the letter from Andrew with all of his incredible thoughts and personal connections and gah!, I don't think it's that far fetched to figure this out. So I think it would be really awesome if you would leave a comment or email me at knt52990@yahoo.com and just say "Taste the Rainbow." And that's all you have to say. Cause when you do, I'll immediately know that I'm not just addressing my close friends (Sandra, You don't have to comment. bahaha!) but I'm addressing those I have yet to meet. If you want, it can be anonymous, but it doesn't have to be. Either way, it'll be comforting to know that strangers are connected to me.

I'm happy and excited that people are good.