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Side by Side: Raisa and Lee Hit the Road
The year was 1970. The Vietnam War was still raging. Nixon was the president and the draft was still in effect. America was divided in half. After drawing a high number in the national lottery, I knew I wouldn’t be drafted.
Against this backdrop, I talked Raisa, my wife of one year, into fixing up our VW bus and making an extended voyage across the USA and parts of Canada. We were would-be hippies, setting out for a full year of getting to know each other and our world. We didn’t have a lot of money and were inexperienced campers. We relied on a Rand McNally road atlas to find our way. But that didn’t stop us. As we soon found out, even heaven has its ups and downs.
Side by Side is the story of a personal journey of self discovery and a budding romance, but it is also a raw portrait of America in a time of cultural upheaval. The world was changing, and our travels gave us a perspective on this world that few would ever have.
Against this backdrop, I talked Raisa, my wife of one year, into fixing up our VW bus and making an extended voyage across the USA and parts of Canada. We were would-be hippies, setting out for a full year of getting to know each other and our world. We didn’t have a lot of money and were inexperienced campers. We relied on a Rand McNally road atlas to find our way. But that didn’t stop us. As we soon found out, even heaven has its ups and downs.
Side by Side is the story of a personal journey of self discovery and a budding romance, but it is also a raw portrait of America in a time of cultural upheaval. The world was changing, and our travels gave us a perspective on this world that few would ever have.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2023
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December 28, 2025
Lee;s an old friend. The book is him and it was great to be back in touch after many, many years. It was a quick easy read, though the book could have used some better editing. His tenses are all confused, the story garbled in spots and some simple factual errors. For example, he talks about the Colorado River emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Well, there are two Colorado Rivers and the one he was talking about flows into the Gulf of California when it has enough water, His trip reminded me of the paralells in our lives. One story in particular, the aborted trip to the floor of the Grand Canyon, was the exact same experience I had with my wife. Raisa is an absolute Queen and I'm glad to know that they still have each other. I would have liked more detail on each of the major stoops. They left so much to see, particularly in southwest and west; Arches, Zion, Glacier, Yosemite to mention a few. Did they ever go back and pick them up? If I sound critical it's only because I devoured the book in one day and wanted more.
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