Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Somehow in that moment, I was connected back to the man sitting at that cold desk in
the London office. Maybe we weren't so different after all. Maybe we were really just two
good people trying to find joy the best way we knew how. The only difference was that
now I had much better teachers.
I hugged my new friend goodbye, the joy bouncing off him like sunlight.
As I guided Kindness One out of Pittsburgh and toward New York, I felt like a part of
me was still back there with Tony. I had the clothes he had given me now in my bag. But
more than that, I had been reminded again why I was doing this—to connect in ways with
people that I otherwise never would. I had reached out to a stranger only to find him reach-
ing right back out to me, and I knew that the connection I had made with Tony had just
begun. I had just made a friend for life.
* * *
As I rode into New York City, I could feel the vibrations of Kindness One in every muscle
and tendon and joint in my body. I had been riding for over a day, taking a rather long
detour to see the famous city of Gettysburg before heading to the most famous city in the
world: New York, New York. If I could make it there, I could make it anywhere, right?
Though my thighs were shaking and my head throbbing, the cacophony of car horns and
the hum of eight million people chattering around me encouraged me through to my final
destination. I like dramatic entries, which is why I had naively decided that I must drive
through Times Square, the epicenter of the city, and quite possibly the world.
Unfortunately, whatever adrenaline I had leaving Pittsburgh had deserted me by the time
I crossed the border out of Pennsylvania. I had stopped to find a place to sleep, and by
my sixth rejection, I began to question whether I should go on. Now, I know what you're
thinking?
You just had that amazing experience, and it made you want to quit?
Well, to be
honest, yes it did. Because though my experience in Pittsburgh had forced off my mask, it
had also broken my heart.
Loving strangers is hard. Tony had reflected back to me all those deep fears of where I
could end up, lost to an adventure I couldn't quite break free from, and disconnected en-
tirely from the family I once held dear. The fear of being tether-less overwhelmed me. If
ever there was a point where I could turn back and go home without too many questions
or regrets, that time was now. I borrowed a kind stranger's phone to call Lina, telling her I
was unsure if I could make it any farther than New York.
