A day in the life of…. I wandered into the office around 4:30 AM. Old habits die hard.

The idea was born of inquiries received from fans of Jim Hinckley’s America. Apparently a whole lot of folks think I live an interesting life. Others harbored illusions that the life of a travel writer was one grand adventure after another.

The idea became a reality when I hit a brick wall with the Jim Hinckley’s America Facebook page. With no reason given the page was locked. And I was unable to resolve the issue. So, the Decade With Jim project was kicked off on Instagram.

A Day In The Life Of

It was a promtional vehicle. It provided an opportunity for sharing adventures. And it provided people that actually thought that my life was interesting a vicarious peek behind the curtain.

Restoration of access to the Facebook page, with no reason given, an intense travel schedule, and a push to meet deadlines consumed my time. A lack of discipline might also have been a factor.

In any case, that project fell by the wayside. But the inquiries continued. So, here is a day in the life of …

4:30 AM

The habit of rising before the sun was ingrained in childhood. It was set in stone with years of farm and ranch work. So, around 4:15 the feet hit the floor.

I wandered into the kitchen, started the coffee and headed for the office. First, email.

Another inquiry about nudist colonies on Route 66. Is this a trend? In years past I would recceive one or two of these a year. But in 2024, I received five!

Next, responded to inquiries about my availability for an interview. As we draw closer to the Route 66 centennial the number of these requests is increasing. I expect that trend will continue well into next year.

A fan had purchased a book in Oatman, and found that the New Mexico section was double printed. I apologized for the issue, asked for his mailing address, and reached out to the publisher for a replacement.

Shortly after the first of the year a Norwegian company retained my services to assist with development of a Route 66 centennial tour. In the in box were a number of responses to questions asked of museum directors, CVB directors, and hotel managers. Those had to be answered.

Perused social media accounts, Instagram, Facebook and messenger. Responsded to questions and comments. Made notes for follow up to a few of these. Took a gander at some of the Route 66 groups to see if I could answer questions and provide travel tips or provide assistance.

5:45

A cup of hot black coffee. Breakfast – oatmeal, flax powder, dark chocolate chips instead of sugar, mixed fruit, nuts and seeds. Enjoyed the company of my dearest friend with discussion about pending projects, brainstorming, and some laughs.

A quick look at a few news channels including DW from Germany, and some from Canada and Australia. Tragedy in California, apparently that is another opportunity for some politicians to sow discord and division for personal gain, and to advance agendas.

As expected, the some of the American propaganda channels masquerading as news programs were spewing half truths, and stories that stoked divisions. Others were making a valiant effort to simply present the news.

The propaganda seemed appropriate as the morning reading was a few chapters in Putin by Phillip Short. Interesting. This biography is a thought provoking look at Russian society between 1950 and 2000, and insight into the evolution of Russia’s autocratic leader.

All of this gave way to thoughts of President Carter. Leadership in any era is rare. Leadership by example is almost as scarce as snowballs in Amboy on the Fourth of July. And the example of leadership in the life lived by Carter stands in stark contrast to the leadership void that plagues the country today.

Shower, shave and a shower clog that had to be resolved.

7:00

Temperatures don’t deter me as much as winds. I can enjoy a morning walkabout if it is 20 degrees or 100 degrees. But when winds howl I loose interest.

So, instead of a walkabout I turned attentions to the office storage clost that is becoming a library. As I started on this project in December, it seemed a good time to finish.

Painting was the focus. And I spent some time looking at videos about dressing up concrete floors by emulating stone or using stencils. This closet/library seems like a good place to practice before turning to the living room floor.

That is another project that is long overdue. After all, while repairing damage from a water leak I took that room down to the concrete more than a year ago. Another reason that I think my dearest friend is overdue for sainthood. She has patiently put up with my projects for more than four decades.

12:00

Dinner. A turkey, Swiss cheese, spinach, and tomato sandwich and onion rings. Check emails and text messages.

Cleaned up paint brushes and rollers. Started organizing books. Answered or returned a bunch of phone calls. Filled a white board with project notes and agenda items. Checked on a friend that is in the hospital. Spoke with a friend in Wisconsin about his ongoing search for a pick up truck. Checked on some friends and business associates in southern California.

13:30

Back to the office. Scheduled a few days of posts for Facebook and Instagram. I usually do this on weekends but got behind as a few projects on Saturday and Sunday had demanded immediate attention.

Wrote and published four blog posts for clients. Wrote three more that will be edited and published today.

Started work on a couple of short Jim Hinckley’s America promotional videos on Vimeo. Created graphics for the videos, for Coffee With Jim, and for social media posts on Canva. And then I turned my attentions toward creating audio for the videos using AI made available on Notebook LM.

Confirmed guests for upcoming Coffee With Jim podcast guests. Stats indicate a steady growth in engagement and reach. Glad to see that as it gives our promotional partners a bigger bang for their advertising dollar. And it indicates that we are providing people with the information they need, and the road trip inspiration that they want.

17:00

Dinner with my dearest friend, breaded chicken breast with pesto, peas, red beans and rice.

Then back to the office. I received a note from one of the editors working on the Route 66 centennial anthology at 16:30.

It started with, “Can you adress these issues?” There were a couple of questions pertaining to the need for source material confirmation. And there was also a requsst to rework an intro for chapter nine. The topper was this line, “I need to turn in my final draft tomorrow, but I can leave the two queries (this one and question about the Chief Griffin translation) in the manuscript for the answers to be added in later.”

Are you still giving tought to becoming a writer when you grow up?

After resolving those issues, I finalized a Kingman Main Street proposal for reviving and developing the Route 66 Walk of Fame as a Route 66 centennial project. That will be submitted today. Stay tuned for details.

I wrapped up the day watching the 1993 film Red Rock West starring Nicholas Cage with my dearest friend. As we have been watching some British programs in the evening – Midsomer Murders, Jonathan Creek, and Liverpool 1 – the movie seemed a bit flat.

21:30

Bed time. Spent about 45 minutes reading Dunkirk: Retreat to Vicotry by Major General Julian Thomas. And so ends a day in the life of Jim.

Sorry, it wasn’t more exciting. And I hope that your dreams of living the exciting life of a travel writer weren’t dampened.

Stay tuned. Jim Hinckley’s America is a shared adventure, and in coming weeks I have some exciting adventures to share. And I have some interesting people that I think you should meet.