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Richard LeBlond: “Homesick for Nowhere”

Introduction to Richard LeBlond. 1:37 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Music: Billy Torello. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Recorded via Zoom: 11/16/2022, Miami.

RICHARD LEBLOND is a retired field biologist. His essays and photographs have appeared in many U.S. and international journals, including Montreal Review, Weber – The Contemporary West, Lowestoft Chronicle, Still Point Arts Quarterly, Concis, and Trampset. His work has been nominated for “Best American Travel Writing” and “Best of the Net.” His first book, “Homesick for Nowhere,” was published in 2023 by EastOver Press.

Editor’s Note: I first met Richard LeBlond in the Fall of 1970 on the northern tip of Cape Cod, when he picked me up hitchhiking on Route 6. At the time, LeBlond was an administrator with the Cape Cod National Seashore. We have been friends ever since.

You should read LeBlond’s short essay, “Drinking with Truckers,” to get a sense of his writing before you watch our video conversation below.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 8 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

DEVELOP A VOICE: 0:31 sec.

Where did you grow up and what is your first memory of art of any discipline?’

DEVELOP A VOICE: 3:30 min.

How did you get started in journalism?

SERENDIPITY: 1:28 min.

When you were writing for your captain in the navy, did he edit what you wrote or did he adopt the voice that your wrote for him?

CRITICAL THINKING: 8:19 min.

Tell us about your evolution from the navy to Cape Cod and beyond.

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 3:10 min.

Did you write about the revolt you witnessed in Greece?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 2:58 min.

What format did you use to tell the “114” story?

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 2:07 min.

Do you have any thoughts about using your stories as the basis for movie screenplays?

COMMUNITY VALUES: 3:00 min.

Tell us about saving Shankpainter Pond in Provincetown from a development scheme.

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 1:35 min.

What do you know now that you wished you had known when you first started to figure out what you would do with your life?

DEVELOP A VOICE: 0:42 sec.

Which writers are your role models or influencers?

DRINKING WITH TRUCKERS

I have just returned from my annual journey west. In a radical route change from North Carolina to Oregon, I spent my second night in Albert Lea, MN. Had dinner at a bar where there were six other customers – all truckers, ranging in age from mid-30s to maybe 60. They were so familiar and relaxed with one another that at first I thought they were locals, but learned that none had met any of the others before that evening. I complimented them on that, and before my evening was done they had bought me three whiskies, on top of the dinner ale. We spent much of the evening talking about favorite places to drive through, and about good and bad drivers, of both trucks and cars. At one point, I, in my infinite cluelessness, said: “Whoever is both a veteran and an old hippie, raise your hand.” I was the only one who did. But about half an hour later, we started talking about rock ‘n roll – the Stones, Led Zeppelin, you know, classic late 60s/early 70s hippie music. “Wait a minute,” I interrupted, “I want a recount of the old hippie vote.” “Hippie wasn’t the problem,” one of them said. “Old was the problem.”