Summary

The first chapter of Sedaris’s diaries begins on September 5, 1977. Writing from Sacramento, California, the author and his friend, Ronnie, hitchhiked across the west coast working as day laborers. These early entries remain short and concise, generally including only the author's current location and the nature of the work he has procured. Sedaris continued to travel across the US and moved from Sacramento to Mount Hood, Oregon, Odell, Oregon and into Vancouver, British Columbia. Sedaris’s main focus of these early diary entries revolve mostly around his lack of finances and his ongoing worry about having enough money.

In Vancouver, Sedaris bought a black jacket and pair of heavy wool trousers. Walking down the street in his new clothes, feeling confident and fashionable, a man looked over at him, then said to his friend, "Who's the faggot?" (12). Sedaris's response is immediate and he writes, "Then...