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USA250 Journal Project
Personal Chronicle: July 4, 2025 – July 5, 2026
A gift for reflection. A record of now. A story for what’s next.
Name: Mitch Laramie
Age: 59
Location: Dothan, Alabama
Occupation: Retired Auto Worker
Political Affiliation: Working-Class Republican
📓 Mitch Laramie – Journal Prompt Response
Prompt: “Who am I?” and “How did I get here?”
“Who am I?”
I’m a man who don’t say much unless it matters.I’m the guy folks call when the mower won’t start, the roof’s got a leak, or they need help moving a fridge. I don’t ask for thanks—just don’t like to be idle.
I’m Tanner’s dad. Lucas’s dad, too. Even if I haven’t earned that title lately.
I’m the last one to leave the job site. The first one to stop talking when things turn emotional. The kind of man who believes in showing up—even if I don’t always know how to show out.
I’m a husband who got left behind, but not without reason.
I’m trying to be better—but quietly.
“How did I get here?”
I gave thirty-five years to a plant that shut down with a press release. Built a life outta sweat and socket wrenches. Didn’t ask for much more than to raise my boys and have a cold beer after work.
But time kept changing—faster than I could.
The world started talking in ways I didn’t understand. And the parts of me I didn’t know how to say right? They turned into silence. And silence turns heavy if you let it sit too long.
Debbie left when the quiet filled the whole house. Lucas left before that, after telling me the truth and not liking what he saw in my face.
Now I got the garage, the radio, and a few folks who still knock on my door.
That’s how I got here.
Still standing. But ask me if I’d change things?
…Yeah. I would.
Journal Entry — Mitch Laramie
July 15, 2025
Dothan, Alabama
Hell if I know exactly what happens when a country breaks open.
But I’ve seen what it looks like when the seams don’t hold.
I seen it at the plant—back when the machines still ran loud and steady—
before they shipped the jobs to God-knows-where
and folks like me had to start over at damn near 60.
Seen it when the guys I grew up with started talkin’ like strangers.
Like the TV had crawled in their ear and set up camp.
Seen it when my son told me I don’t listen.
That I don’t see him.
And truth is—he might be right.
When a country breaks open,
it don’t always explode.
Sometimes it just leaks real slow.
Pride turns to pain.
And you can’t duct tape dignity.
I been thinkin’ about that.
About how easy it is to look away.
To blame the next guy.
To talk tough when deep down you’re just scared.
Maybe what we need now
ain’t more noise or finger-pointin’.
Maybe we need to sit on porches again.
Ask real questions.
Shut up long enough to hear the answers.
I ain’t sayin’ I’ve got it all figured out.
But I sure as hell ain’t pretendin’ it’s fine anymore either.
— Mitch
Family, Friends & Associates
Debbie – Wife.
Tanner – Son.
Shay – Tanner’s girlfriend.
Ella – Tanner and Shay’s 6-year-old daughter.
Lucas – son.
Andre – Lucas’s partner.
Bo Carter – Best friend.
Pastor Drew Callahan – Pastor and friend.
Ms. Reenie Jacobs – Friend.
“Red” Wallace – Former union representative.
