Let's Go, Jane!

The other day I thought about a movie I’d seen a while back about a woman who lived in her van. I remember the movie being really sad. She worked odd jobs, traveled from place to place, occasionally crossing paths with other people who were equally disconnected. She was lonely and depressed. 

The movie was called Nomadland. The official description read, “A woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.”

I looked it up, and found that it was more recent than I remembered. The movie came out in late 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic. I must have streamed it at home in early 2021. It is a testament to both the state of the world and how different my worldview was at that time that I found the movie so depressing.

I watched it again this week, and this time it didn’t seem sad, it seemed really beautiful. Yes, there’s poverty and marginalization and isolation. But there’s also the triumph of the human spirit, and the ability to heal and rebuild after the loss of a loved one. My impression the first time I watched the movie was that the characters were living in their vans out of desperation, because they had no other choice. This time I saw stories about people who are living according to their own rules. I saw self-acceptance and freedom and peaceful solitude. I saw the beauty of the landscape. This country is so vast and so beautiful.

I’m thinking about naming my van Fern, in honor of the main character, played by Frances McDormand. It seems fitting, given my own botanical leanings. Carey was quick to point out that you can’t name a vehicle before meeting it, so I will keep that name in my back pocket. But I suspect when it is time to go looking, I’ll be looking for a van to fit the name, rather than the reverse.

This was another quiet week on the home front. There’s not a lot of adventure to be found in the dead of winter and during the school year, and my next trip isn’t until March. I thought maybe I could bring in some stories of other people who are already living their life of adventure. Interview a few van dwellers and digital nomads. I want to tell the story of nomadic life, but with a different lens than that of the movie. A celebration.

Interviewing people who are ahead of me on this journey will have the added benefit of allowing me to learn from their mistakes, and find inspiration and ideas. To that end, I will start reaching out to the readers who have responded with comments about their friend or cousin who lives in a van. I welcome your suggestions and introductions!