My story is about a young woman named Carolyn who travels the Oregon Trail in 1850. She falls in love on the journey. This is an interview from with the young man she falls in love with.
Why do you play the fiddle?
Because it makes me happy.
What do you mean?
I can’t explain it. I need to play the fiddle. I need to play dances. I need to play when I feel sad, when everything is broken. I need to know there’s hope. Music always give me hope.
Why did you leave Ireland?
Because everyone I loved died in the famine. I didn’t know people could be so cruel. I didn’t know until then that people who had plenty could drive others off the land when they were starving already. But I also found out that people who had next to nothing would share what little they had at their own costs. Ah, before those days I was a happy-go-lucky boy who played at the local pub for dances and loved the prettiest lasses who stepped the highest. Now I look for the real person, who they are behind their face.
Where are you going?
Wherever my feet lead. Where the future looks brighter. I thought I’d go to California to make my fortune. I found most of the men were gamblers and some were scoundrels. I found Carolyn going to Oregon. I hear the best farm land in the world is in Oregon. It rains all the time. Never a drought. Never a famine.
What’s the most important thing about this journey?
I’m going somewhere. I’m moving. I’m running away from the hard times. I hope I’m running to the good times. I always have hope.
What is your name?
That’s for you to find out. You’ll know when you see it.
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