Thanks and Goodbye, from the Two of Us.

After four revisions of this, my final blog entry to you all (and proving Hemingway’s theory on first drafts), I’ve come to the conclusion that this needs to be split into two parts.

One from The Good Traveler.

And one from me – Aric S. Queen.

[Part One]

Well, wow – we did it.

5,321 miles in six weeks.

Starting from Nat Geo headquarters in Washington, D.C., down to Otis Redding’s hometown, then all the way to Los Angeles and everything in between.

All for Good.

And there was a lot of it.

From the awe-inspiring John Hunter to Laura the Librarian, to the people behind the Santa Fe International Folk Art Festival and a muralist who seemingly forgot how important money can be…it’s comforting to know that there are a heck of a lot of people out there who are doing good without once stopping to ask when the spotlight is headed in their direction.

And it came at a time when we all needed some good news – take a quick scan of the headlines that have made the news lately and it’s easy to think the world’s all going to hell – but it’s not. The fact sadly is, that the good stuff doesn’t sell newspapers.

But of all of the people, dogs, neighborhoods, you name it on the receiving end of these good deeds, I have a feeling that it was me who got the most out of it. My days were filled with meeting these folks and learning from them, then going home (or to a hotel) to write about these folks — and sharing their stories with you. Talk about inspirational.

I learned a few things as well:

1. There’s a lot of good that can be done.
2. I’m not doing any of it.

So, thank you, doers of good – for setting a quiet example of what kind of a difference one person can make.

Yours truly,

The Good Traveler

[Read Part Two]