Letters From the Deep End: Building It Anyway

First published on my Substack, https://plungesociety.substack.com, October 18, 2025

I’ve been writing about my own journey for years now. The ups and downs, the open road, and the dreams that won’t quit even when everything else falls apart.

I’ve been as transparent as I can about all of it. The moments that have been incredible, and the ones that made me feel like giving up. Because that’s how life is, that’s the whole picture that we all experience.

Now, I’m going to take, what is to me, a big step.

From Theory to Reality

I’m going to create the first episode of From Bay Floors to Backroads. It’s time to take it from idea into 3D reality.

It’s strange to even say that out loud. For so long, this idea has been something I talked about, and something I’ve written about here several times. But it’s time to bring it into the world.

Am I freaking out a little? Yes.

Am I doing it anyway? Also, yes.

When I got back on the road in April, after my mom passed, I told myself I was starting fresh. But really, I was starting over. Again.

Since then, I’ve released my memoir Messy, Wild & Free, and thrown myself into learning all

I can about visual storytelling.

I’ve worked alongside a film crew, where I watched, listened, and learned.I’ve spent hours behind my own camera—fumbling, practicing, failing, and improving.

And with almost no disposable income, I’ve been building the foundation for what’s next. All while trying to work through the emotional weight that followed being my mother’s caregiver for 2 1/2 years.

I even created a pitch deck back in June for From Bay Floors to Backroads and tried to open a door into a well-known nonprofit that supports the trades. So far, I’ve had no response. But

I’ve learned that silence doesn’t mean you stop.

It means you build it anyway.

Two Projects, Same Mission

Everything I’ve been working on over the last few months has been leading to two projects that sit at the center of my heart: From Bay Floors to Backroads and Showing the Way.

Both are deeply important to me. They might seem different at first glance (one is centered around the trades, the other around everyday people making a difference) but they share the same soul.

Both are about bridging divides.Closing the spaces between us.Reminding us what still connects us.

Because I believe love, dignity, and connection are still alive in this world, and we need to be seeing it as often as possible.

I’m starting with From Bay Floors to Backroads because I believe it’s a natural first step for me. A kind of gateway into other things. My hope is that it opens the door to a some type of partnership with Ford Motor Company and the nonprofit I mentioned above.

If that happens, it will put me in a stronger position to expand Showing the Way, the series that spotlights those who make the world better through compassion, empathy, and service that often go unnoticed.

Two different projects, but with the same purpose.

I’ve actually created two episodes of Showing the Way, as a “proof of concept” sort of thing. The idea was certainly validated with each episode having several thousand views. I used only my iPhone and basic editing software, but people enjoyed them nonetheless. Still, I have to increase the quality of my videos and that’s my plan moving forward.

We Need Witnesses

Back in the summer, I listened to a podcast (The Hopeful Pioneers) where Sarah Yourgrau, a two-time Emmy-winning producer, narrative strategist, and social anthropologist, said something that immediately got my attention:

“We can’t be what we don’t see.”

That line stuck to me like glue. Because that’s what I’m trying to do. I want to show people what’s possible.

For years, I’ve shared my own story but along the way I’ve come to realize that my real work is shining a light on others. To turn the spotlight on people who, through their life and actions, are creating a better world rather than adding to the division and destruction.

As Sarah says, if we don’t see those stories, we start to forget they exist.And right now, we can’t afford to forget.

The world is loud with rage.And I get it. It’s okay to be angry. Hell, sometimes it’s necessary. But rage alone doesn’t build anything. It may burn hot, but by itself it leaves only ashes.

We have to take that fire and turn it into something that lasts.Something that connects instead of divides.Something that gives us hope again.

Buckminster Fuller said it best:

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

That’s what I’m trying to do here.Build something new.

On the Road Again

In a couple of weeks, I’ll load up my twelve-year-old car (181,000 miles and counting) and head across the country to film the first episode. Admittedly, I’m a bit more nervous these days setting off on cross-country trips in my old car, but hopefully it can hold on a while longer.

I’ve bought some decent microphones and a small lighting kit.

I couldn’t really afford them right now, but I couldn’t afford not to get them either.

Because this isn’t a hobby. It’s a calling. And I’m not going to half-ass something I consider so important.

I’m a novice at all of this. A wanna be filmmaker with a camera I’m still learning to properly use. I did some videography back in the 90s, but technologically speaking, that was forever ago.

It’s scary to put everything out there for the world to see — your vision, your skill level (or lack thereof), and your heart. But you can’t let fear stop you. You just have to go anyway.

The hard truth is, when you’re trying to connect with people in positions of influence, the ones who could help amplify the kind of positive stories I’m trying to tell, it’s incredibly difficult just getting their attention, let alone their support. And I get it. They have people pitching them ideas every day. It must be hard to know what’s worth looking into.

That’s exactly why I’ve decided to create something tangible. Something they can actually see. Besides, dreams don’t materialize when you’re just waiting for something to happen.

You have to be that something and get things moving yourself.

Of course, that adds its own layer of anxiety, because I know I’m still a beginner. But I also know I have to make something real — and make it good — if I’m ever going to have a chance.