In 1968, at the end of my sophomore year at Tulane, I had to declare a major.  A decision that might be relatively simple to many overwhelmed me with existential angst and crippling uncertainty.  A pathetic freshman math teacher closed that door for me.  Science courses entailed way too much memorization.  Somehow sociology rose to the surface.  The fact is, I rather enjoyed it and even did OK in it.

Now, as I enter my dotage, I understand a little more about why.  Observing is just damn fun!  People are nuts and hilarious.  Politics is so absurd as to be laughable.  Yet the pathos of the human condition tugs in a very real way, adding an edge to the humor and absurdity.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving 2015, my wife, Rebecca, and I will embark on an almost 4-month drive around the U.S.  It will involve lots of family and friends, a fair amount of work, and, I hope, lots of moments that tickle my still-emerging inner sociologist.

This blog will be the tool we use to document our adventures.  Join us for the ride if you want.  It’ll take us from Boston to Florida, Florida through New Orleans to San Diego, San Diego to the Oregon Coast, and from there back to Boston and then to Vermont.

With gas prices low, New England getting cold, and the presidential candidates getting crazier and crazier, it should be a fun ride.