Central West Virginia's Guide To Life

TWO-LANE FOR LIFE
By Lisa Hayes-Minney

10/07 - Readers Responded

The Two-Lane Life-style isn’t perfect by any means, but often, that’s what makes it so interesting.

Along the same line, there was just no way to know how Two-Lane Livin’ would be received until the first issue was printed and released.

Likewise, printing from a digital layout is much like a ‘shot in the dark’ the first time through. There are conversions and transfers and modes -- and until you see the printed result, you don’t really know how those digital creations are going to come out.
So, truly, we had no idea of how Two-Lane Livin’ would look until we had 10,000 copies of it -- and we had really no idea how readers would respond.

Two-Lane Livin’, although not perfect, triggered an overwhelming response. Frank says I’ve created a monster... See, he’s in charge of delivery, and we’re increasing this month by 2,000 copies.

Delivery of 10,000 copies into 14 counties took six days. (Of course, we also like to shop, visit, dine, browse, and geocache along the way...) We were on the run for three days delivering before we were home long enough to check for any feedback.

On day one, in came three teacher requests via email to use Two-Lane Livin’ in their high school class rooms as a teaching tool. On day two, the day one delivery locations had already run out of copies - and were asking for more.

On day three, I found an online chat room where people were searching for copies in a day four distribution area... People, online, reporting no sign yet of Two-Lane Livin’ before we could even get there!

Delivery is a fun adventure, but the hours in the vehicle were long hours, hard on our middle-aged backs (as was loading and unloading 1100 pounds of magazines...) The repeated trips from the air-conditioned vehicle, into the miserable August heat, into air-conditioned stores and offices just sucked the sap right out of us.

On that third, still miserably hot evening, about eight o’clock, we were getting out of the vehicle after a long day’s run when we heard a motor - specifically a Harley motor - coming up the driveway.

It was Little Joe, a local character, on a brand new bike, with 126 miles on the odometer. Joe bought a new, quieter motorcycle for his upcoming adventure along Old Route 66, the legendary two-lane of the nation.

See, Joe moved here seven years ago so his son could attend school in a small, rural school system. When he first arrived, he was, ummm... A bit boisterous for the region. But, he mellowed (a little), and we grew to accept him as a neighbor.

Now, Joe’s son is decorated soldier back from the war, and Joe is going home to once again ride with his brothers, the Hessians, out west. When he began packing and parting with things, he gave us his canoe, simply because he knew we’d use it. We were, of course, thrilled.

But on that day, we were tired, hungry, hot, covered in newsprint ink, and here comes boisterous Little Joe, on a new scoot.

Upon his arrival, Little Joe (who, you can see by his photo, is actually big and burly) excitedly jumps off his new ride and throws his sweaty arms tight around me.

“I saw your magazine at the restaurant, and I read the whole thing from cover to cover,” he said, talking fast and picking my feet off the ground. “My coffee got cold -- twice.”

Then he turned to Frank and grabbed Frank’s hand, shaking his arm like a noodle. “I didn’t skip anything. Usually I skip stuff, ya know? But I liked it all. Two-Lane Livin’ - loved it. See my new ride?”

Joe didn’t stay long. Within moments, he was riding off down the driveway, literally and figuratively, towards the sunset.

As I watched him go, I realized it was a moment I would remember for a long time. It was a moment when the imperfections of the world come together to make a perfect picture.

See, that’s when I knew. Teachers, senior citizens, workers, business owners -- even bikers -- all found something in Two-Lane Livin’ they enjoyed. I could not feel happier, or more relieved, and Joe brought me that moment, before he rode off into the west.

Quite likely, I will never see Little Joe again. And yet, he left us his canoe and the deep impression of that perfect moment to remember him by.

That’s Two-Lane Livin’. It isn’t picture perfect, but so often, it makes a perfect picture.

Since I moved to Central West Virginia fifteen years ago, I have often had memorable moments I would never before imagined. Watching a mud turtle lay her eggs. Coming upon a cow blocking the road. Lying on a roof top on a summer night watching a meteor shower. Standing in a hillside cemetery at a funeral, watching hawks soar back and forth across the sky. Stopping at a roadside stand to pick up watermelon and corn...

Watching a friend ride down gravel road, towards the sunset on a new Harley, on the launch of his odyssey West.

Perfect moments can come from imperfect people and places, and although our first issue of Two-Lane Livin’ wasn’t perfect, the response from our readers was. So, we are increasing our print run to include 12,000 copies each month Advertisers now get 12,000 exposures instead of 10,000, and our next edition might include four more pages!

We had more than 40 entries in the Find-the-Graphic contest! Be sure to check page three to see if you won, and then try again this month. Also, thanks to all readers out there who wrote to tell us the dippy bird’s real name. See page five for our favorite responses.

Always, feel free to share your thoughts on Two-Lane Livin’ with us. And, don’t forget to submit your November events to our calendar by October 19! It’s free, but you’ve got to get the information to us in time.

Somewhere, out there, riding towards the West, there’s a biker who, whenever possible, is traveling along The Nation’s Two-lane, old Route 66. Ride on, Little Joe -- and read on, Readers. We hope you like the second as well as the first.

~ Lisa