For The Record- 21. June. 2025

Road trips, Michigan, and (Intermodal) memories

You got to roll with it, baby!

I hear it before I see it: that sort of muted version of music that is coming from down the block…somewhere. The closer I get, the clearer it is, this (solid) cover of the Steve Winwood classic. I finally find it: in one of those bars with roll-up doors for walls that, this time of year, basically become gazebos with a liquor license. Booze-fueled or not, the crowd inside seems into it. From the outside, I am, too. Suburban dad achievement: unlocked.

Before I knew it, my family was down the block. I cross a rainbow-painted crosswalk and watch as a guy in a truck with a w/Trump flag doesn't see me. We are nothing if not a country of contradictions. Meanwhile, the four of us have survived the hell that is Chicago traffic and the dystopian landscape of Gary, Indiana. This is our reward.

This is Saugatuck, Michigan, and we're in it.

---

The rest of this column is currently available for paid subscribers only. You can access the rest with a free, one-week trial, or subscribe starting at just $5 per month.