By Mike Prepare dinner
Author-photographer Manfred Schreyer left his residence in east Las Cruces on Inauguration Day to start a year-long journey to hearken to the tales of individuals in each a part of the continental United States.
“All of us have one thing we wish to speak about,” he stated. “I wish to see what’s on the market.”
Schreyer will seek for the reality about America in 2021, as he travels the size and breadth of the nation. He’ll weblog all through his travels and, at journey’s finish, plans to write down a e book and produce a documentary movie of “who we’re as a nation” that he can promote to Netflix or Showtime.
It’s not by likelihood that Schreyer is touring at one of the troublesome durations in American historical past.
“It’s unhappy to see it disintegrate into an abyss,” he stated. “I simply love this nation. You possibly can solely actually respect it in the event you’ve been some place else.”
Schreyer, a local of Germany, was a highschool alternate scholar to the U.S. in 1975-76, and immigrated right here in 1984. After visiting the world on motorbike journeys, he moved to Las Cruces from Ohio greater than three years in the past.
Schreyer stated he plans to current a nonpartisan view of the opinions he hears about the place America is and the place it’s going. He’ll be asking about training, faith, poverty, well being care and politics, amongst different matters. And when he has heard somebody’s ideas on these wide-ranging matters, a continuing follow-up query shall be, “How do you come to that conclusion?”
“I wish to perceive,” Schreyer stated. “I believe that’s what’s lacking on all points. We don’t discuss. We don’t have frequent floor.”
A contract photojournalist and internet designer – he’s the proprietor of Mirage Artwork Images – Schreyer has been to 46 international locations and labored in lots of main cities.
“All of us need the identical factor. We wish to stay in peace,” he stated. “Ultimately, we’re good folks.”
Schreyer outfitted a 15-passanger van for his travels, full with a mattress, pc workspace, electrical energy (together with a 110-volt outlet), refrigerator-freezer and even a conveyable flush bathroom. The outside of the van sports activities a 2019 photograph that Schreyer took of the Organ Mountains. Attaching the photograph to the van was the work of Elite Automobile Wrap of Las Cruces, one in all Schreyer’s journey sponsors.
Different sponsors embody Las Cruces Horse Motel and Boarding, Enchanted Solar Realty, Di Mora Farmers Insurance coverage Company, Kasual City Put on, Blues artist Bob Dellaposta and artist Natalie Abbott, together with many non-public sponsors from throughout the USA.
Schreyer will start his travels with a visit via southwest New Mexico, Arizona and California, after which again via Las Vegas, Nevada, to Las Cruces. He plans to journey for 3 weeks and return to Las Cruces for every week all year long, besides throughout far-distant travels to the East Coast and the Deep South.
Go to www.mirageartphotography.com. You should buy an Expertise America 2021 tee shirt on the web site, and, if you want, donate to Schreyer’s journey fund. You possibly can observe his weblog from the web site and subscribe to his weekly e-newsletter.