Reconnecting with America: A Stranger at Home

Reconnecting with America is more than the story of an 8,000 mile motorcycle journey. It illustrates the toxic influence of fear and insecurity in American life.The author rode across America in the summer of 2019. He spoke with a cross section of Americans; a homeless wanderer who collected animal skulls in the desert, a recovering drug addict planning to open a head shop. An insurance executive who lived behind a wall in St. Louis to keep out the riff raff and a retiree who was traveling across the country to map his family genealogy. He spoke with students, immigrants and union workers. Each shared a story. Social change is glacial; like the process of carving a cave, it takes centuries."America is a bucket of crabs.""My feelings are just as valid as your facts.""As long as I have my TV and beer at the end of the day, I don't care what the politicians do."The author worked for six months at Ground Zero in New York City and soon after relocated to The Netherlands. He spent his