Whew. We made it to Free America. We drove through 11 states. Some of them were loooong. We saw friends along the way. We started out with a breakfast with our best friends in Idaho. I do not underestimate the moments spent with like-minded folks. It almost made me feel as if all was normal in the world. We imposed upon old friends for a night here and there, discovered an amazing airbnb in Rawlins, WY and a dirty Hampton Inn in MO. We paid $4.35 a gallon in Idaho all the way down to $3.19 in Florida. We traveled through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
We did this same trip almost 2 years ago, during the fear filled days of the “3 Years to Scare the Shit Out of The World” campaign. Gas was as low as $1.89 a gallon and if we saw one Trump sign, we saw 700. If we saw one American flag, we saw 700. And…all along the way, from Idaho to Florida and back again. along 2 different routes, we saw TWO Biden/Harris signs. That is all. We traveled through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, Public restrooms were closed and eat-in dining was rare. Standards were low and when you were lucky enough to find an open restroom, it was like a stadium toilet after a Mega-Death concert. The food we did eat from a restaurant was subpar at best and bound for the trash at its worst. People were filled with anxiety and fear as they looked upon us with horror because they could see our faces. Yes, I get that some mornings, but come on! At least they felt something. America was humming and you could feel it. You could feel the pride of the farmers along the interstate and see how well America was doing. There was no FJB. There was no Trump hate. The oil wells bobbed and freeways were being expanded, especially in Texas. Every gas stop was a chance to make a difference and people were especially nice. We were so thankful for those who managed to work all day in mandatory surgical masks even though they didn’t work in an operating room. I had cash in my pocket with a pad of notepaper. I left $20 bills on gas pumps and wrote a note about how Jesus loved them. Americans were the best during those hard times. We tended to stay away from big cities on both trips. My dad was a Gideon and I managed to grab a few New Testaments and leave them here and there along the way. Those were dark days, but America was still the light. Her people were afraid, but kept living. Humanity was on full display and it was uniting. Help Wanted signs were few and far between. The CCP virus was a thing, vaccines were not. YET.
Fast forward to 2022. Same route. Of the friends we talked to and imposed upon, everyone had been inflicted with that bad cold going around. And…I am sad to say, many gave in to fear and trusted the government that this was no normal cold. This cold required an untested “vaccine”. And they let themselves be injected. It is such a final thing, that needle. It can deliver all sorts of things into the human body and you have to believe that the power holding that needle has your best interests at heart. Do you remember colds? I remember the last one I had, I could not taste a thing, or smell. It would be hard to breathe because I was so congested. That was in 1999. It was all part and parcel of a cold. And…after we got sick and recovered, we had immunity. Naturally.
During this recent trip we saw a few masked. That is their right and I am happy for them to have it. I noticed along the way that there were far less American flags flying. Old Glory has been replaced by air, empty air. Trump flags, yard signs and bumper stickers have been replaced with an occasional FJB written in the dust on some semi. Cars had no opinion on this trip. The absence of belief was very apparent now. America has become a wasteland of deserted opinions. Of abandoned beliefs. Of individuality. The layers of society have slowly shifted. Have you noticed? Have you noticed that those who were always on the fringe of acceptability have now stepped up to the otherwise unoccupied slot behind the counter at Wendy’s or at the grocery store checkout? Those people with the pink hair and nose rings? Those people with all the tattoos? They are now the EMT’s we see at the rest stops. They are now making our food to order. Where did all those other people go? The ones who vacated those job slots? The people in the middle? Why is almost literally every single business short staffed? Still? Where did all the workers go? Why can’t anyone find good help these days? Almost every business we stopped at had a help wanted sign. And…it wasn’t like before. Yester-years “Help Wanted” signs were necessary because the economy was booming. American business was expanding, mom and pop stores and Main Street was the most important part of our strength as a nation. We were operating as best we could despite all the government interference of a few years ago. And we were thriving. And now? Where did all the workers go? There are help wanted signs and businesses are struggling to stay open. Businesses have been shuttered who had managed to withstand the worst of slumps. There are more homeless than ever in certain areas and they seem to be enabled to stay that way by our government. But, again, I ask…where are the people that used to be in the middle?
After arriving in Florida and seeing the devastation from the hurricane, we also see hope. We see DOT employees picking up debris. We see hives of workers on rooftops. Life goes on. On the rare occasion that I have watched TV, I counted 10 commercials between show segments. About one third of those commercials were for some drug, weight loss, diabetes, depression with an “ask your doctor” line. And, along the bottom was a long list of possible side effects crammed in small writing on the bottom of the screen. No, there was not one ad for the cov!d “vaccine”. I commented on this to Hubs and he told me that we were in a different state now. The last time I had watched TV was at my mom’s house in California and there was a cov!d vax commercial during every break. I have, in the back of my vain little mind, thought fleetingly of getting a botox injection for this furrow between my brows. Well, hell no to that now that I saw the warnings across the bottom of the screen last night during a commercial for it. No way. Were there warnings across the screen for the side effects of the jab back when I watched in Cali? I don’t remember. Probably not.
Both trips were eye opening, and I tend to believe my eyes. I see an America that is slowly being gutted to it’s very foundation, all the way down to the bumper stickers. Are we going to continue to go along? Or are we going to say it is not okay? When? I prefer Free America. I prefer Free Americans.
Oh, this is a beauty, SadieJay! Love this. Love the looks of that WY BnB.
You have far greater levels of understanding and forgiveness than do I. I am unable to reconcile all the bullsh*t about how great "Americans" are given this latest display of cowardice and disloyalty to liberty. Had the numbers been reversed with the vast majority standing up and saying, "No freakin' way!" while allowing the minority -- those prone to crapping their pants (and demanding others do so, too) to hide in their basements if that were their wish -- I would have higher regard for my fellows.
That said, it is a bit better in Florida, but this has changed me forever. Affording the benefit of the doubt to the people of this country is gone -- and gone for good. To paraphrase the song, "I won't be fooled again."