Honoring a True-Blue Visionary ~ Michelle Loughery

Written by Lorrie Fleming – January 2018

. . . The Sky’s the limit…Michelle’s incredible dream takes a positive hue, driving the color wheel to a new beginning! Route Blue Highway, a movement to celebrate the creative art of the ‘hand-to-land’ initiative, entwined with a heart-to-heart spirit. So true are the famous words of wisdom of a great philosopher ~ “What lies behind you and what lies ahead of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside you”! {Ralph Waldo Emerson}

A history lesson is a voice from our past that echoes a passage to the future bequeath to us through a gateway built by the wisdom & experience of early travelers along life’s highway. Akin to Michelle, following the braided paths of women trail blazers who ventured & braved our early ‘open’ roads, one intrepid adventurer wrote “My advice to timid motorists is “GO”!  These early pioneers of travel paved the way in time for others to embark on a similar journey.

Michelle’s vision of travel goes far beyond the landscape, in her viewpoint, ‘Route Blue Highway’ draws a map to a sense of place that captures the hearts of all humanity on a never-ending journey through a viaduct of art, carrying stories in a timeless visual journal.

This unique “Ribbon of Blue” is a bridge to our past, encompassing an amazing journey that awaits at each stop point of discovery. Sometimes, it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination (Drake).

Henceforth, “Here’s to you”, Michelle for faithfully believing in your aspirations and working your magic to create this dedicated highway for humanity of all hues that’s paved with purpose, powered by people and etched in the permanence of “art’!

{I leave you with excerpts of a mission statement from my colleagues of the Route 66 Association of Illinois ~ “Preservation is the means by which the past is linked to the present for the future. Our association combines creative thinking with a ‘can do’ attitude” …}

Written from my heart, through the power of blue,

Lorrie

“One for the Road”