In Missoula, offering ponderings, and admiring Freecycle from afar

by Alex Steed

Published October 30, 2008 @ 08:41AM PT

Hello, all. We're about to take off from Missoula, an all-around unplanned stop [really - just to break up the long haul between stops - sorry, Missoula], and make way to Spokane, Washington, where we're going to spend some time with super-activist Mariah McKay.

In the meantime, some points of interest:

• From the comfort of our Motel 6, we watched a bit of CBS's The Early Show (OMG! Millennials absorbing media via 20th century models of distribution! Someone call Jay Rosen!), and there we saw a spokesperson from FreeCycle - one of the coolest ever web-based services. The interviewer's reaction was pretty predictable and uninteresting - Cue: You got all of that great stuff for free? - but it was fantastic to see such a great service highlighted on television. That's right, America! [Some of] "the kids" don't want a bunch of new crap. They're just fine with putting the old crap to good use.
• I am getting emails that prompt me for a from-the-road definition of the Millennial generation based on the context of this tour. What have I seen on the road, thus far? Beyond realizing that I really don't know a damn thing about anything? That I don't know this country at all? That, beyond memorized statistics and passages from books and articles about political philosophies I am steadily realizing that I don't a damn thing, but I can fabricate a pretty good opinion regardless? That I can really sound like I know what I am talking about? I haven't found much beyond that, and creating an even cloudier picture for myself of this generation, let alone its activist front. Despite the frustration that comes from said cloudiness, Socrates might suggest that said disorientation is a good thing. It's a purer starting point than when I left a few weeks back, thinking I had an answer or two.
• I have learned, however, that the roads out of Oberlin are covered in dead deer and that Montana looks exactly like the big, beautiful, sparse meth lab I imagined it would. I can confidently say that a couple of weeks of stuffing my belly with road food is a terrible idea (though MCAtour friends from the Eat Well Guide have reminded me that they provide a tool that is helpful in making sure I don't OD on Taco John's while on the road) and that I probably drink way too much when I'm away from home. But what do I know about the Millennial Generation that isn't already rendered into YouTubeable soundbytes and stuffed into an over-priced seminar that addresses how to recruit us to work for your company - how to pander to our delicate nature - how to coddle us into making photocopies for you? I am still figuring that one out.