*Any resemblances to real persons or events, past or present, are strictly coincidental.
Circa 1978
She: Honey, I think we were supposed to take that exit.
He: Are you sure?
She: Well, I’m looking at the atlas here and … boy, this is right on the edge of this page … here, I’ll look at the detail map on the next page.
He: Let me see that!
She: You drive! I’m navigating!
He: Are you sure you’re reading that right?
She: Gives him a dirty look. I’m telling you, it’s exit 174. Stabs atlas with finger. I can see it right here.
2014
She: Which exit am I supposed to take?
He: Look at my phone mounted on the dash. It shows you. Just follow the arrows.
She: I can’t see your phone. It’s too small and there’s a glare.
He: Here, I’ll set up my tablet instead. Several minutes pass. Oh shoot. My tablet is out of power. Let me find my charge cable. Rummages through large tote bag containing a tangled knot of chargers, cables, plugs, devices of all sorts. OK, here it is. Flurry of plugging and unplugging.
She: So which exit am I supposed to take?
He: Just a minute! Minutes tick by. OK, well, Google maps has us using a different route from Apple maps. Pinches the image in. Agh! Too small! Stop that, you dumb thing! Pinches the image out again. OK, let’s see… Well, I think we should take exit 174.
She: Yeah, that was miles ago.
* * *
Circa 1978
Dad: All right, I’ve been around the dial three times now. There is nothing on the radio out here in the boonies.
Mom: Let’s sing!
Small kid: Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of beeeeeer!
Teenager: Shut up, dork!
Mom: Or we could play a game! How about the alphabet game? Or twenty questions?
Big kid: Look, it’s a “Watch for ice on bridge” sign! ABCEFGHI! Ha ha!
Small kid: No fair!
Big kid: Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…
2014
Dad: All right! We’re on the highway now. What would we like to listen to together? I’ve got 27 audio books, 314 music playlists, and 67 podcasts on my phone. Or I could project YouTube videos on the car ceiling if I can rig up my laptop with the projector ap on the tablet, and then I could get audio by…, let’s see, …
Mom: (Driving.) Honey. Just stop. Kids, what would you like to listen to?
Kids: Barely perceptible twips and chutters of earbud noise, as each kid zones out in a private world created by a separate headphone/ipod set.
***
Circa 1978
She: I’m hungry. Is it time for lunch yet? Where shall we go?
He: Say, there’s a billboard advertising a truck stop with Marge’s Diner. Shall we take a chance and stop there?
She: Well, it’s hard to say when we’ll come across another restaurant on this lonely stretch. We had better do it.
2014
She: I’m hungry. Is it time for lunch yet? Where shall we go?
He: Let’s see. Tappita tappita tappita. Ok, Google maps says that in thirty miles there’s an exit with fifteen restaurants, including a Denny’s, an Applebee’s, a Noodles, and here’s an Italian restaurant.
She: Italian! That sounds good.
He: I’ll just look it up on TripAdvisor. Tappita tappita. Scroll scroll scroll. Yeah, no, never mind.
She: Where’s the nearest Chinese place?
He: Tappita tappita. Looks like forty-five miles, just off the interstate. Scroll scroll scroll. Gets good reviews, too. And they have free wireless!
She: Let’s do it.
***
Circa 1978
Parked on an exit ramp, Dad is peering under the hood, looking determined.
Dad: I think it’s the carburetor.
Mom: Are you sure? Shouldn’t we call Triple AAA?
Dad: Of course not! I can do this! Son, I think there’s a socket wrench in the trunk. Go get it and then crawl under the car with me to watch what I’m doing. Every man has to know how to fix a car!
2014
Parked on an exit ramp, Dad is peering under the hood while teen stands there with a tablet.
Dad: So what does the KIA website say?
Teenager: I went through FAQs, and that took me to the diagnostic page, which says we need part #24015-15A. And it has a link to the nearest place where we can get one.
Later, in the parking lot of the ginormous auto parts store in big-box world off the interstate.
Teenager: OK, I’ve got the instructional YouTube video up.
Dad: You sure that’s the one for replacing a running light on the 2011 Kia? That doesn’t look right.
Teenager: Oh yeah, that’s the 2010. Sorry. Hang on. Tap tap tap. Here you go.
Dad: That’s better. OK, hold it up so I can see.
***
Circa 1978
Kid: For the twentieth time. Are we there yet?
Parents: No!
2014
Parents: Sweetie! We’re here! Time to get out of the car!
Kid: Are we there already? I’ve still got twenty minutes left in this episode! I’ll just stay in the car and finish.
***
Circa 1978
Some place far from home in a distant state, at the end of many many miles of highway, the travelers at last arrive.
Travelers: We’re here!
Dear friends or family: Welcome! We’re so glad you’ve come!
2014
Some place far from home in a distant state, at the end of many many miles of highway, the travelers at last arrive.
Travelers: We’re here!
Dear friends or family: Welcome! We’re so glad you’ve come!
Thankfully, some things stay the same…
The American Road Trip: A Retrospective
*Any resemblances to real persons or events, past or present, are strictly coincidental.
Circa 1978
She: Honey, I think we were supposed to take that exit.
He: Are you sure?
She: Well, I’m looking at the atlas here and … boy, this is right on the edge of this page … here, I’ll look at the detail map on the next page.
He: Let me see that!
She: You drive! I’m navigating!
He: Are you sure you’re reading that right?
She: Gives him a dirty look. I’m telling you, it’s exit 174. Stabs atlas with finger. I can see it right here.
2014
She: Which exit am I supposed to take?
He: Look at my phone mounted on the dash. It shows you. Just follow the arrows.
She: I can’t see your phone. It’s too small and there’s a glare.
He: Here, I’ll set up my tablet instead. Several minutes pass. Oh shoot. My tablet is out of power. Let me find my charge cable. Rummages through large tote bag containing a tangled knot of chargers, cables, plugs, devices of all sorts. OK, here it is. Flurry of plugging and unplugging.
She: So which exit am I supposed to take?
He: Just a minute! Minutes tick by. OK, well, Google maps has us using a different route from Apple maps. Pinches the image in. Agh! Too small! Stop that, you dumb thing! Pinches the image out again. OK, let’s see… Well, I think we should take exit 174.
She: Yeah, that was miles ago.
Circa 1978
Dad: All right, I’ve been around the dial three times now. There is nothing on the radio out here in the boonies.
Mom: Let’s sing!
Small kid: Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of beeeeeer!
Teenager: Shut up, dork!
Mom: Or we could play a game! How about the alphabet game? Or twenty questions?
Big kid: Look, it’s a “Watch for ice on bridge” sign! ABCEFGHI! Ha ha!
Small kid: No fair!
Big kid: Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…
2014
Dad: All right! We’re on the highway now. What would we like to listen to together? I’ve got 27 audio books, 314 music playlists, and 67 podcasts on my phone. Or I could project YouTube videos on the car ceiling if I can rig up my laptop with the projector ap on the tablet, and then I could get audio by…, let’s see, …
Mom: (Driving.) Honey. Just stop. Kids, what would you like to listen to?
Kids: Barely perceptible twips and chutters of earbud noise, as each kid zones out in a private world created by a separate headphone/ipod set.
Circa 1978
She: I’m hungry. Is it time for lunch yet? Where shall we go?
He: Say, there’s a billboard advertising a truck stop with Marge’s Diner. Shall we take a chance and stop there?
She: Well, it’s hard to say when we’ll come across another restaurant on this lonely stretch. We had better do it.
2014
She: I’m hungry. Is it time for lunch yet? Where shall we go?
He: Let’s see. Tappita tappita tappita. Ok, Google maps says that in thirty miles there’s an exit with fifteen restaurants, including a Denny’s, an Applebee’s, a Noodles, and here’s an Italian restaurant.
She: Italian! That sounds good.
He: I’ll just look it up on TripAdvisor. Tappita tappita. Scroll scroll scroll. Yeah, no, never mind.
She: Where’s the nearest Chinese place?
He: Tappita tappita. Looks like forty-five miles, just off the interstate. Scroll scroll scroll. Gets good reviews, too. And they have free wireless!
She: Let’s do it.
***
Circa 1978
Parked on an exit ramp, Dad is peering under the hood, looking determined.
Dad: I think it’s the carburetor.
Mom: Are you sure? Shouldn’t we call Triple AAA?
Dad: Of course not! I can do this! Son, I think there’s a socket wrench in the trunk. Go get it and then crawl under the car with me to watch what I’m doing. Every man has to know how to fix a car!
2014
Parked on an exit ramp, Dad is peering under the hood while teen stands there with a tablet.
Dad: So what does the KIA website say?
Teenager: I went through FAQs, and that took me to the diagnostic page, which says we need part #24015-15A. And it has a link to the nearest place where we can get one.
Later, in the parking lot of the ginormous auto parts store in big-box world off the interstate.
Teenager: OK, I’ve got the instructional YouTube video up.
Dad: You sure that’s the one for replacing a running light on the 2011 Kia? That doesn’t look right.
Teenager: Oh yeah, that’s the 2010. Sorry. Hang on. Tap tap tap. Here you go.
Dad: That’s better. OK, hold it up so I can see.
Circa 1978
Kid: For the twentieth time. Are we there yet?
Parents: No!
2014
Parents: Sweetie! We’re here! Time to get out of the car!
Kid: Are we there already? I’ve still got twenty minutes left in this episode! I’ll just stay in the car and finish.
***
Circa 1978
Some place far from home in a distant state, at the end of many many miles of highway, the travelers at last arrive.
Travelers: We’re here!
Dear friends or family: Welcome! We’re so glad you’ve come!
2014
Some place far from home in a distant state, at the end of many many miles of highway, the travelers at last arrive.
Travelers: We’re here!
Dear friends or family: Welcome! We’re so glad you’ve come!
Thankfully, some things stay the same…
Refugia Podcast Episode 38 So Much Joy: Linda Racine and Traverse City Presbyterian Church
In 2022, there were multiple policies or overtures passed focused on creation care, and it really put out an alarm, saying “It’s serious, folks, the Earth is really in trouble. So we need to take strong action.” And they were encouraging all churches to reduce their carbon emissions by at least 25% in the next four years and get it down to net zero or net positive by 2030. A group of interested folks at church looked at that and said, “Let’s do it. Let’s go for it.”
Refugia Podcast Episode 37 Land as Primary Text for Healing Community: Elaine Heath and Spring Forest
Elaine Heath is the abbess of Spring Forest, a new monastic community in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Spring Forest centers around communal prayer and meals, a vibrant farm, refugee support, and other ministries you can read about here. You can learn more about Elaine’s work as an author and speaker on her website, or in articles like this one from the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Refugia Podcast Episode 36 True Woo: Pete Nunnally and Water and Wilderness Church
Father Pete Nunally is the founder of Water and Wilderness Church, a Washington DC-based outdoor church and watershed community. You can read more about the model of Water and Wilderness Church here. Father Pete is a passionate and well-spoken advocate on his social media pages and other forums, as in this interview with Creation Justice Ministries.
Refugia Podcast Episode 35 Peacemaking at the River: Doug Kaufman and the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative
Doug Kaufman directs the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative, an organization that leads climate justice initiatives from an Anabaptist faith perspective. Doug and his team support Mennonite and other Anabaptist churches, helping to build networks, train leaders, and empower climate-related initiatives. Doug describes environmental work as a form of peacemaking, a way of countering the slow violence of actions that cause and exacerbate climate change. Thanks to Doug for geeking out with me on theology and offering some glimpses of Mennonite climate work.