Missed it in themagazine?
All
AmericanWay
articlesare
availableon
aa.com/americanway
inDallasandlivedheremostof
my life. I takea lotofpride in
thecityandeverythingthere-
gionoffers.Dallasalreadyhas
suchdiversecultures, foodand
entertainment options. Re-
cently, it’sbeengreattowatch
Dallas transformmore spots
intooutdoor, urbanplacesof
enjoyment.I’mgladthewordis
outthatthere’smoretoDallas
thancowboyhatsandbighair.
MarcusD.Lewis,
Dallas
E.C.RESPONDS:
I’ve lived in
Dallassince 1988, and I couldn’t
agreemore,Marcus. Perhaps
thecityonce resembled the
stereotypes thrownat it, but
no longer.Dallas isayouthful,
diverse, fascinatingcity that
iscommitted to restoringand
reconnecting theneighborhoods
thatcomprise itsurbancore.
We’regladwegotyouranniver-
sarystarted the rightway.
RoadWarriorFun
stories can change our
lives. I just finished “Moun-
tainStories,”
AmericanWay
’s
MarchfeatureabouttheRoad
Warrior Contest winners.
Before reading it, I was in a
grouchymood, and Ihad lost
theperspectivethattravel isa
privilegeandusuallya joy.On
thisday, itwasanunwelcome
obligation.TheRoadWarriors
shook thebadmoodrightout
ofme.IimaginedJasonDorsey
helpingfellowtravelerswiththeirover-
head luggage. EileenMcHale cracked
meupbyadmittingshetookacabhome
fromtheairport,onlytorealizeshehad
left her car at the airport. ShakaW.
Rodneyopenedmyheartwithhis love
andstrength.ChristineHackettandSara
Craven remindedme thatwomen can
doanything.Thankyou,RoadWarriors
and
AW
, forrestoringmy loveof travel.
LucindaPorter,
GrassValley,California
ROADWARRIORWRITERANNEBIANCHI
WEIDNERRESPONDS:
Wow, Lucinda!My
daywasgettingoff toa rockystart, but
when I readyour letter, yourenthusiasm
totallychangedmyoutlookon theworkday
ahead. I’msogladourRoadWarriorwin-
ners’ stories liftedyourspirits. Thankyou
verymuch for liftingmine.
AIRMAIL
OneWordataTime
Thankyou,AdamPitluk, forsharingNeil Young’s
wisdom in “ThisTrain IsNeverGoingBack.”What
betterplace tobe inspired thanat37,000 feet,
withnoway to recorda thoughtother thanwriting
directlyon thepagesof
AmericanWay
(seeabove).
Youneed tostopandwritedown thosepriceless,
original thoughts, evenatseemingly inoppor-
tune times, before theyvanishviaoverthinking
orhesitation. I’veoftenpondered thepossible
underlyingcauseofsuchhesitation.When Iwas
inelementaryschool,my real aspirationwas to
beawriter. Iwouldalwayswritestories, thoughts
andpoems inmyspare time, neversharing them
with theworld.Whatwould they think?Howwould
I feel about their thoughts? Ieventuallyearnedan
unrelated technicaldegree, thensomehow the
creative-writingurgewas lost. Lately, both thecre-
ativeand technicalmuseshavemade friends, and
Ifindmyselfwritingaboutsuch topicswhereboth
playapart. Therearecertain thoughts thatneed to
bevoicedandaremeant tobeshared,whether to
inspire furtherdiscussion, builduponexisting ideas
and/ormake thingsbetter.Per the lyricsof
When
GodMadeMe
byNeil Young, “DidGodgivememy
voiceso thatotherscouldsilenceme?” It’s time.
I’m ready towriteagain. Thanks for themomentum.
JenniferLaw,
Charlotte,NorthCarolina
EDITORADAMPITLUKRESPONDS:
Neverhave I
seenabetterpractical applicationofmycolumn,
Jennifer. I’m trying to read itas Iwrite…gotmy
magnifyingglassoutandeverything.Don’tstop
writing. Youdon’tneed formal training; justabig
heart.Mywifewroteher firststoryever,which I
published inplaceofmycolumn inOctober2014.
Itwasa finalist foranational award.
to
ART
DARTRail serves the
major downtownhotels,
shops, restaurants
and attractions.
DepartsTerminalA
Tripplanningand
easypayment
withGoPass
SM
.
