July 3 PM

After the interview with Rick I wondered around Duluth, drove over the lift bridge and spent a couple hours in the Rose Gardens. By 5pm I was meeting with Jen Wright, a writer and probation officer, she recently wrote the book Winter Storm, a lesbian mystery that takes place around Duluth. Jen discussed the moment she decided to write I book centered on a lesbian character and weighing the possible aftermath the book may cause her with her job. Through our conversation stories about risk, growth and support came through. Plus I got to see Jen’s new, old bike, a Honda Silver Wing. I had no idea this bike existed. The Silver Wing is the baby to the Gold Wing.

After leaving Jen’s, I hooked up with Kim Griffin, who finished Surgical Tech School, and because of a hiring freeze is working at a group home. When asked to talk about a time in her life when she faced her fears and changed her life, Kim was reminded of her relationship with her mother. She spent the time talking about honesty, love and the struggle to bring her complete self into her mother’s life. Kim’s story reminded me of the importance of family to be real, loving and at times very different.

That night I went to bed reflecting on the stories I had heard so far. It was day 3 and already I felt myself changing. I felt the fatigue of riding. I was settling in to what my life was going to be like for the next three weeks. I decided to not try to make sense of everything too much just yet and trust that it will all come together by the end of the trip in a way that I most likely can’t imagine now.