"Randy does the steering, so he won't hurl."

Not the most lyrical of lyrics, but alas, it's true. Those demons of motion sickness that ruthlessly ruled my childhood travels (just ask my parents) settle right down if I'm allowed to drive. So drive I do. Of course, some might say it's also a great way to rationalize claiming the power seat where a coffee-fueled producer can easily exert the kinds of control on which he thrives. But hey, that's enough pop psychology. The real question is Just how is it that I got to do ride around the country exploring the quirkier side of our culture, anyway? Well, I guess there are a few resume-type reasons. I actually did get a degree in journalism from KU, and have been making TV features about the arts for nearly twenty years.

"Mike's got the
maps, such a man of the world."

Though you can usually find me in the front passenger seat with a map on my lap (when I'm not sleeping!), I'm not sure where this line really came from. I'd like to think that I've been recognized as the guy who does most of the navigating on our little show, getting us from point A to point B in the shortest possible time, but let's face the truth. Even though I've been lucky enough to see very small parts of 5 very large continents, that "man of the world" thing only shows up because "world" sort of rhymes with "hurl," and that's what Randy does if he doesn't drive! I like to tell people who ask about the show that we're just out on the road, stopping at all the places your father would never stop when you were a kid.

"There's Don with the camera, kinda heavy on his shoulder."

And he just can't seem to keep quiet. Who ever heard of a talking cameraman anyway? I just want to say up front that I never intended to be a talking Camera Guy. So then how did I land this nice-work-if-you-can-get-it job in which I get to go to amazing places and meet fascinating people, you might ask? It just could be some twisted form of justice. I was born in Detroit a half-century ago, the second of seven boys. There may have been some kind of state law at the time that prevented the transporting of more than six boys across state lines for the purpose of recreation. Or it could be that my folks were just working too hard to go anywhere. The net effect was that when I was a kid, family road trips were few and far between.