Me

I’m Eli. I’m a janitor.

When I was eight years old, my father bet me $50 that I couldn’t memorize all the presidents of the United States. I did it in two days. (I had too much time on my hands. In all honesty, I still do.)

Fast forward twenty years. In 2025, I was a high school teacher, and I wanted to get my students to go out into the world and learn about…well, about what interested them. So I decided to be an example, and learn about what interested me. And what interested me?

My party trick. I could still memorize all the presidents in order. But I didn’t know anything about them. And I sure wasn’t about to let that slide, so I made a list of sites for each president that I wanted to go to - houses, libraries, etc - and started making road trips. Then came the videos - little two-minute reels on social media about the sites I was visiting. For a while, I had a little following. Things seemed to be going well.

Then something happened.

Five years of teaching gave me severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress. On a Friday in November, I quit on the spot. I had no plans. No jobs lined up. Very little mental health to build back onto. (I do not recommend quitting your job this way.)

Eventually, I did find another job. I built my mental health back over the course of several months, and I still am. When I got to a spot where I was comfortable with my new life, I started looking at the future. What were my plans before I hit the reset button on my whole damn life?

Well, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it?

Welcome to the updated Presidents’ Tour.