CompuServe Stories 1983-85

I felt a wistfulness developing, as my adventure moved into its second year. The tug of community… finding places that touched my heart and made me want to find a home. Previous homes had simply been default states, but what would it be like to live somewhere because you love it? What a concept… by…

By the end of my first year on the road, my CompuServe “blog” was amassing a huge population of readers… and back in 1984, merely being online was an effective filter. In my mind, my readers were all intelligent, trustworthy, and fun (and for the most part, that was accurate). As a result, the column…

This is one of my favorite moments in the whole 17,000-mile trip… unexpected magic. The story first appeared as Chapter 13 in the print edition of my online adventure narrative on CompuServe. That page is reproduced below, but the better version, with lots of photos, is the book chapter in Computing Across America, available full-text…

This odd little non-sequitur was one of my favorite examples of what I called the “lifestyle sampler” that resulted from spending a year and half on the road, staying in peoples’ homes. Through a fortuitous error and the magic of media, I ended up getting to know two wonderful people… both of whom are sadly…

I was unexpectedly enchanted by Austin, during that long pedal across Texas… and this post in my CompuServe series became fleshed out into a substantial chapter in Computing Across America, with lots of detail about the co-op culture, remarkable people, and the nature of community. This much shorter piece covers the BBS scene as revealed…

I had a very enjoyable visit in Slidell, Louisiana in mid-April of 1984, leading to stories in the Daily Sentry-News as well as shorter pieces in the St. Tammany Times and Times-Picayune. My host, David Smith, gave me a tour of the National Weather Service office… resulting in this piece in my Online Today series…

Little cultural snapshots as I pedaled through the Deep South in 1984… artwork above by some nameless staffer at CompuServe, though I was later criticized by them for it. by Steven K. Roberts Online Today July, 1984 (written early April, 1984) After four months in Florida, I was almost eager for a new state, for culture…

by Steven K. Roberts Online Today June, 1984 (written early March, 1984) NOTE: A more detailed version of this is Chapter 24 of Computing Across America. I awoke in my tent, confused about the insistent sound that pierced the night and shattered my dreams. I was still groping for the telephone with a sleepy right…

This actually took place in late January, 1984, and the story that became part of my monthly narrative in Online Today (below) ended up getting fleshed out into one of my favorite chapters in Computing Across America. by Steven K. Roberts Online Today May, 1984 It’s not easy to leave paradise. I managed to put it…