I spent a few weeks driving Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago. Along the way, I started formulating a story idea and sought volunteers from my Facebook followers. I’d split the story into tiny fragments on postcards – three sentences per postcard. You can follow new posts on Instagram @mpgwrites. The latest posts in the story will show up here.

Card 25: Evacuating, aren’t we all? Fleeing from something, some slight real or imagined? Could it not be understood as unfortunate but necessary that I had to burn California to erase you? Card 24: I watched the news today, oh boy. I thought all they’d find was ashes: you, the furniture, the house, but the reporter said they found enough teeth to run dental records… What’s a girl to do but keep running? Card 23: Two beams from the World Trade Center are stuck in the ground outside of Winslow. I don’t understand that level of morbid, performative grieving. A lack of empathy comes in handy in our line of work. INTERLUDE FROM THE AUTHOR 2 - here's a few more pics crossing the border from California into Arizona. More story soon! #threedeadbirds #noir #postcardstory [INTERLUDE FROM THE AUTHOR] It's been a crazy start to the year, which slowed down my progress here (that and some people not sending me postcard pics...). Here's Needles! I'd always wanted to see this place since reading about Snoopy's cousin Spike as a kid.. #route66 #california #postcardstory #threedeadbirds Card 22: I know it’s lame, but I was standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona when I left you a voicemail you’ll never hear. Your phone is a charred lump of plastic and your ears probably melted before the rest of you went up. I call every morning to let your digital ghost know that I regret nothing and that I miss you. Card 21: I OD’ed with him and lost everything in a fire. Woke up in a capital-H Home. Funny how things repeat themselves: Me, you, fire. Card 20: Needles, CA - Snoopy was from here, or his cousin or something. I dated a boy once who said we had to stop here and get drugs. Needles, he thought that was funny - I guess I did too, once we found some. Card 19: I was afraid to stand too long between the lions. I was afraid when I left home this morning, too, but look at me now, almost out of California and still smelling campfire. Reports say the burn is at 7000 acres now.