“Take my picture!”

A request for a photo from a woman is an honor I welcome! Or so I thought, until I saw it was a young girl, about elementary school age. It seems she wanted me to send a picture of her with her younger brother. She doted on him, despite the age gap.

I was surprised the moment I looked through the viewfinder. These children had a completely different vibe from the stylish kids in California. The children of Kentucky were so wonderfully, innocently rural! Yet they sparkled with such vibrancy. Perhaps it was the good air they breathed while growing up. They gazed at me with pure, childlike smiles.

I had them stand with Route 127 as their backdrop, and I snapped the shutter the instant a car passed by.

“Thank you!”

Within that 1/500th of a second, I felt I had found the reason I've been driving across America for 16 years. This country alone never ceases to fascinate me.

Guitar Picks and the Face of Roy Buchanan

As we parted, I got their address and gave them a guitar pick, printed with my name, website, and phone number, as a business card.

A friend had made these for me cheaply about a year ago. I had 1,000 of them, and since I only give them to fellow guitar enthusiasts, they surprisingly didn't run out and ended up buried in a corner of my desk. Then, just as I was about to leave, I remembered them.

Actually, the back of these picks are discreetly printed with the face of Roy Buchanan, and true guitar aficionados in America always give a knowing smile. It’s quite the niche inside joke.

Of course, these children don't know Roy Buchanan, so they'll likely lose them quickly. By next summer, they might inexplicably end up for sale at a “127 Yard Sale.” There are many Roy Buchanan fans in America, so they'll probably sell fast. That, in itself, would be an amusing story.

Even with considerable effort to minimize waste, I accumulated about 10 items of trash during my two-week trip. At this rate, by the time my office is so full I can't find a place to step, my new books, "My Freedom! 5" and "My Freedom! 6," will be completed simultaneously.

Then, while tidying up my room, I'll pick up new material and set off on another journey. America is vast beyond compare, and my "treasure hunt for trash" will likely never end.

(to be continued)

Photography by Rin Tanaka