Empire building with GoFundMe

I want to take you with me on a cross country trip.

I have been enamored of rail travel ever since my first Amtrak journey to Baltimore as a child of eight years old. I was a young history buff who knew only of the heyday of passenger rail in books. That summer trip to visit family created in me a desire to take the rails wherever and whenever I could.

When I graduated from college, I finally fulfilled that childhood dream - a celebration trip to New York and I have frequented Amtrak since then.

I have been on short jaunts to nearby Winter Park in my home state of Florida. I have taken a four-day journey to Los Angeles from Jacksonville aboard the Sunset Limited.

What has tied together my various ramblings on the rails, whether it be summering in Maine or conventioneering in Kansas City, I most enjoyed using social media to share my impressions of this vast country.

It gives me a sense of joy to know that I have friends and relatives who tell me that they live vicariously through my postings on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and the like. This means a lot to me as I hope to make my trips as enjoyable for others as they are for me - albeit virtually. This, I suppose, is one of the benefits of being a teacher. My summers are a chance to relax and be an artist of sorts, with my craft being an Amtrak artist (so to speak). With a Klout score that hovers around 70, I am in the top ten percent of Internet 'influencers.' I am hoping to be a positive influence :-)

Having been to three corners of the nation via train, I have wanted to visit the Northwest. My grandmother tells tales of taking the Great Northern railroad as a child. I would like to experience that this upcoming summer. And this is where I bring you with me. I originally applied for an Amtrak residency that was established for writers who wanted to hone their railroad writing. I did not receive such an opportunity, but I wanted to create an opportunity for myself.



My aim is to document every step of my trip from Jacksonville, Florida to Seattle and back via Amtrak's Empire Builder. I might even venture into Vancouver if the time is right. My goal is to raise $3,000 to cover my transportation and lodging along the way.

UPDATE: I am working on my proposed itinerary for my trip and here are my plans: With my bags, camera, tablet and smart phone packed, I depart the Jacksonville Amtrak station on the evening of June 29. I arrive in Washington, D.C. the next morning and spend the day enjoying the nation's capital until I leave in the afternoon for Chicago. I hope to return to Florida House before I leave D.C! The next morning, it's Chicago and a museum or a skyscraper (I still call it the Sears Tower - LOL) and then on the train for Seattle after lunch. The next stretch of the trip will be two days venturing into parts of the nation that I only dreamed of seeing. This is where I think that my best work will be - on the old frontier aboard the Empire Builder.

When I arrive in Seattle, my aim is to stay in a hostel and partake in a very happy Fourth of July. Thankfully, I am not tethered to finite rolls of film and will be giddy with sharing and oversharing this epic experience. I will stay in the Evergreen State until I depart Seattle on July 5 at 1:40PM. The return trip will consist of getting into Chicago on July 7th, arriving in Washington on July 8 and back to Jax on July 9. The return trip? Mostly afterglow :-)

Please donate to my GoFundMe account here. Thank you! I promise that you will be glad that you invested in my journey!

Viola Liuzzo and our comfort zones

As we observe Black History Month, we remember the heroes of the movement that expanded rights and freedoms for us all, regardless of race or ethnicity. Hidden among the legendary figures of that turbulent time is the name of someone who is nearly as obscure as the life that she lived and lost.

The 1960s were the decade of Donna Stone and June Cleaver, so we don't normally give much currency or credit to the 'average' housewife of that era. The women of that time were supposedly mopping floors while wearing a fabulous mink stole, cleaning toilets with a string of pearls around their neck or fussing over a fixing dinner for a surprise visit from her husband's boss.

These indeed were comfortable times for many suburban Americans who watched helplessly while young people from all walks of life risked their lives in the killing fields of the Deep South. So, why did Viola Liuzzo, a white woman from the Wolverine State, take it upon herself to leave her domestic life to get entangled in the bloody civil rights movement?

She saw the injustices being committed against her fellow human being. The flickering images of Selma inspired her to stop viewing life from the sidelines and she took a stand; she was already attending her local Unitarian church in Michigan and joined the NAACP. This however, was not enough.

Mrs. Liuzzo believed that she was fighting everyone's fight when she decided to go south to do what she believed was the right thing. She marched from Selma to Montgomery to show the voices of hatred and intolerance that the voices of love and peace are louder than any bigot.

Mrs. Liuzzo, tragically, was killed by four klansmen for committing the unforgivable sin of ferrying protesters in her family car. She left her comfort zone, as many Americans dared not do, so future generations could enjoy the freedoms and liberties that we take for granted today.

Mrs. Liuzzo's death did not end injustice or prejudice, but opened the eyes of a nation to what can be done for others. If only we would leave our own comfort zones to take the brave step toward building a better nation that works for all. We are Mrs. Liuzzo's legacy if only we speak out wherever and whenever we can.

Thank you, Viola Liuzzo (1925-1965)

Happy Constitution Day!

We the people... These three little words kick of the preamble to a great document that serves as the foundation for our nation. These three BIG words affirm the I AM of a nation that, for all of its faults, continues to serve as a civilization that aims to lead the world in freedom and liberty. Two centuries after the Founding Fathers created the Constitution, we have our doubts about how our nation is progressing or regressing and yet we must observe this day every year to educate Americans and the world about how our user's manual for a nation should be maintained and executed. Cynicism has taken hold of our national dialogue in the years since Vietnam and Watergate but we can think of no other way to move forward together. For all of the talk about how the system is broken, we forget that WE THE PEOPLE are the heart of our republic. When fear takes hold, we ignore the Truth that our nation is guided by ideals that are greater than our petty squabbles and that it is up to us to fix our supposedly broken system. When we engage in the necessary troubleshooting to right our course, we must remember that our user's manual is the way to ensure that we get things right for posterity. We need not fear our future if we are faithful to what the Founding Fathers fought and died for to break away from an old order and to create a new system. Party politics aside, we can come together and we can achieve a common goal to continue to lead the world in freedom and liberty. Our world is filled with uncertainty and questions. We are plagued with problems and issues that seem to impede our growth. What is the solution? WE THE PEOPLE! HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY!

Radio Free Spirit - Camelot Edition

Eternal Flame

The New Frontier lives through us today. Ever since 1961, when President John F. Kennedy urged a new generation of Americans to carry the torch and answer the clarion call to action, Americans have been inspired to serve their fellow man. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the violent and untimely end to Camelot and I am working on a book that compiles Floridians' memories of President Kennedy and his dream of a better world that works for all. I am sending a call to you who were alive during this dynamic period of our nation's history to share with me your reflections on the thousand days that marked a transformative time for Americans and citizens of the world. If you would like to submit your thoughts to be included in my book, please send me a 500 word essay that explains what President Kennedy meant to you. Please include memories or recollections of the Kennedy years. Please send me your essay by emailing me at johnmeeks@bellsouth.net. I will review all submissions and will work very hard to ensure that all submissions are published. In these times when politics can be a dirty game and a devil's bargain, I want us to look back to a time when anything was possible for our world and I want to remind us that we can return to believing in ourselves again. I hope to have this book published by the summer of 2013. Time is of the essence as time marches on and I want to preserve your thoughts while we are still here to share our memories. Please email me if you have any questions!