The all new 1955 Studebaker station wagon, authors collection

At any age dealing with a world that has changed dramtically since last Thursday can be confusing as well as a source of anxiety. Still, for us folk that are old enough to remember battles with a sister or two in a station wagon without air conditioning during a desert crossing, helping pa change a tire along the highway, family vacations that included lots of roadside picnics, or the sound of a gas station bell that anxiety and frustration is magnified.

In recent years at the end of the day life has often left me feeling as though I have walked in during the middle of a French film, dubbed in Russian with Japanes subtiitles. Added stress comes from knowing that there will be a test about the movie in the morning before I have had coffee.

But this frustration and axiety is tempered with the realization that I am one of the fortunate few. I enjoy what I do for a living, and life in general. And that is in spite of the fact that most days include a few minutes of various news programs, or imitation news programs, valiant attempts at trying to navigate the labyrinth that is building a social media network, and attempts to figure out how to fix or work with issues created by the latest update from Microsoft, Facebook or Apple.

My days are always full and never boring. Hours are spent creating content that, I hope, is informative as well as fun, road trip inspiring, and perhaps even profitable. There are mind numbing encounters with bureaucrats and an assortment of frustrating but productive projects such as installing a wiring harness in The Beast, taxes, or fixing a water leak in a wall. But all of this is simply a part of the grand adventure that we call life.

So, aside from ongoing bouts of confusion, a baffling politcal climate, and ample opportunity to be confused, what do I see in the cyrstal ball? What do I see in the future for Jim Hinckley’s America?When it comes to peering into the future, I have learned that such an endeavor is akin to a one eyed blind man playing darts and hitting the bullseye. In other words, over the course of the past half century or so I haven’t been overly successful with accurate predictions of what the future holds. In December of 2019 did any of you have any inkling that we were on the cusp of an apocalypse or an unprecedented political circus complete with clowns, hucksters and side shows?

This screenshot from the Kingman Main Street walking tour website highlights the website with audio link, before and after photo and 360 degree photo illustrates the multifaceted nature of the project.

With that said, here is what I see in the future for Jim Hinckley’s America. Even though I feel Like Don Quixote jousting at windmills, the battle with facebook will continue in an attmept to have our account unlocked. For reasons unknown, I have been unable to move the needle for the podcasts (Wake Up With Jim and Coffee With Jim). Reach and interaction on live programs is anemic at best. And so arrangment has been made with podcast guru Stan Hustad to develop another podcast in limited partnership.

I have another book due for release in a few weeks. That will be the second one this year. They are manifestations of how my time was spent during the apocalypse. And promotion of the books will keep me busy this summer and will be a component for the fall Route 66 tour scheduled for October. As is our custom that advennture will include speaking engagements. My work with tour companies is picking up. Still it is but a shadow of what it was before 2020.

In a few weeks I will begin work on phase two of the narrated self guided historic district walking tour project spearheaded by Kingman Main Street. This has been a most fascinating and rewarding endeavor. Phase one is already enhancing the visitors experience in Kingman. It is also proving to be popular with Kingman residents.

I have been giving a great deal of thought to the fast approaching Route 66 centennial. Surely I will have The Beast on the road before that date! On a serious note as tourism offices and community organizers develop events to capitalize on and celebrate that momentous event, there is a noticable uptick in inquiries about my availability for appearances. So, I see some travel in the very near future.

With the restrictions imposed by Facebook, I have been educating myself about development of our YouTube channel. This is something that has been neglected so the Facebook issue is a sort of make lemonade out of lemons opportunity.

Author Jim HInckley speaking at the 2019 Miles of Possibility Conference. Photo Penny Black

As we have learned in the last few years, everything is subject to change a moments notice. Still, we have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. And we have to make plans. So, bottom line. At Jim Hinckley’s America we will keep telling people where to go and finding new venues for sharing the adventure.

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