Rochester, NY

From 7/18/04

On the road, a ’seeker’ finds fulfillment and meaning

MARK HARE

This may be a first. I was interviewed the other day by Andrew Harrison, a “seeker,” for a book he may write. But his life is more interesting than mine, so I interviewed him at the same time.

Andrew, 29, is a Greece native, but most recently a resident of Charlotte, N.C., where he sold security services to businesses. By conventional standards it was a pretty good job.

“A lot of friends would tell me they’d love to have my job,” he says. He worked from home, could sleep in when he chose, made good money and didn’t have to work long hours.

But in April, he quit. The job just wasn’t enough. He has a bachelor’s degree in writing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a master’s degree in mass media from the University of South Carolina. And here he was, selling security services.

“I’d lay in bed and wonder why I was not inspired or excited,” he writes on his Web site, www.iamontheroad.com. “Rather than waiting for an answer to hit me in the face, I decided I should try to find the answers.”

Andrew wasn’t happy. He wasn’t miserable, either. As I listened to him, I heard echoes of my own generation: We wanted “fulfillment” and “meaning” in life. Some made it so, others settled, many did a little of each.

Andrew had an idea. He had the money, the time and no obligations. He decided he’d drive around the country, seeking a future. He’s been interviewing people about their jobs and their lives, trying to find out what makes work more than work.

I was interview No. 56. We talked about writing as a way to make sense of the stream of events and people who pass through our lives. Writing forces a person to slow down, to make connections and to separate the mundane from the important.

In his online journal for the day, Andrew noted that, “I found myself talking for most of the first ten minutes. That is not normal for me. I’d rather be asking than telling.”

They don’t call me a master interviewer for nothing.

In fact, I was peppering him with questions because I am fascinated by his quest.

He’s already driven through Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nevada, Louisiana and upstate New York. He has plans to visit nearly 90 cities in the United States and Canada, recording conversations and snapping photos until his money runs out or he tires of the road. He stays with friends, or in hostels or campgrounds, travels light and lives simply.

Already he has interviewed several columnists, an executive coach, a Las Vegas strip club manager, the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, a retired Navy captain, a TV news producer, a high school guidance counselor, an architect, the University of North Carolina basketball radio announcer, an optometrist, a pastor and many more. Andrew expects to interview 200 people, but he says that “time and the road will tell.”

What have you learned so far? I asked. “When I first started, I questioned whether I’d find people that truly love their job. That question went away quickly. It’s true I’ve talked to people who are questioning their career, but for the most part, my interviews have been with people who are inspired. They carry the passion that I lacked.

“Some people are lucky enough to find it at a young age.” Others have to figure out what they are good at and what makes them happy, he says.

“More and more I’m learning I’d like to continue doing this: the meeting, the talking, the seeking and the learning.” Who knows? Maybe there’s a life in that – and a living. We’ll wait to hear.

mhare@DemocratandChronicle.com