Day 20: The End?

I made it to sleep around midnight and woke up around 5:30am. Seems like a good amount of sleep, unfortunately I was crossing three time zones while it was happening. The plane landed about a half hour later. I was back in the homeland. After a slight wait to get my bag, I went outside and awaited my chariot.



By the time I got back to my apartment, it was about 7:30am. It looked pretty much the same as it had when I left.



It was basically about the time I would normally get up, shower, and go into work. So that's what I did. I did the usual thing and took the usual way in. Around the corner from my office there was a little more of a sideshow going on than usual, as a man had apparently started living on that corner. His possessions (and I use that term loosely) were strewn throughout an oddly painted car, a storage bin, the sidewalk, and the front yard adjacent to the sidewalk. Police were everywhere and the man was causing quite a ruckus.



So there I was home again, and home I am still, and what has changed? I've seen America, or much of it, and filled in some of the missing parts with Canada, and am I any different? Have I grown at all? I'm not talking about the Minnesota State Fair food here, I mean intellectual and spiritual growth. Has America made any impact on me? Have I made any impact on America? As a planner, I tend to think that significant change only occurs over time, with the seeds planted early and nurtured steadily over time. I don't feel different now, but perhaps over time the experience gained from this trip will help me blossom into a more complete person. Or at least I'll know where to park if I go to any of these places again.

While I'm at it, I should thank the many people who helped the trip along:

• Dan, of course, whom this trip was really for in the first place and to whom I wish all the best in his new life as a woman (just kidding -- I meant to say grad school)
• Amy, Sarah and Caitlin, and Gerda (I apologize for some potential bad spelling there) for lodging accommodations and so much more
• Carol and Lloyd for the finest in California hospitality
• Jenna for showing us how to party Chicago-style
• Dick and his wife, whose name I have sadly forgotten, for the whirlwind tour of Minneapolis and breakfast
  
• Rich for the Mexican food in Utah
• Ron for the ride to In-N-Out
  
• Debbie for use of her atlas and advice
• Matt for hanging onto my apartment keys in case of an unforseen emergency that thankfully didn't happen
• The waiters, hotel clerks, park rangers, blackjack dealers, and Mormons that made our stops enjoyable
• The prehistoric creatures that provided us with fuel for the trip as well as some of the entertainment
• My Mom and Dad for reading up on me and generally knowing where I am, as well as for raising me and keeping me more or less in line, even to this day
• All the other people who commented on the blog and let me know that people were actually reading
• All the people who read the blog but didn't comment and so I don't know who you are
• And all the people who didn't read, because I'm sure you were doing more productive things with the time you could have spent reading, anyway.

And now to the question you're all asking: What happens to Jeff's America next? Well I don't plan on doing anything new at the moment. However, there is a lot more America out there that I haven't seen, and there is some possibility that I will go out there to see it. So at some point, you may see further reports from me out in the field, whenever and wherever I happen to be there.

'Till then -- Jeff.