Innocent critter squished on the highway of life

 We love a road trip. I love a road trip. In the past several years we have driven through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa , Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming,West Virginia, and Nebraska. 

Sure, we fly from time to time, but on the road is not just for jack Kerouac anymore. Please find a few of my recent discoveries while driving late at night as my family sleeps: 

1) America is truly beautiful. All of the stuff that people insultingly call ‘fly over America’ is astoundingly not. The coast is glorious on all sides. The prairies and the deserts, the mountains and the coastal redwoods; they are edifying. Corn in Indiana is so tall and so green. As is the sugar cane in Louisiana. The Mississippi is actually charming and inspiring in Hannibal, Missouri - just like mark twain always said it was. In New Orleans, it’s fat, filthy, and slow. Just like New Orleans, so it’s perfect. If you have the time and inclination, I highly recommend road trips as often as possible. 

2) for some reason, Casey Kasem and Delilah are still on the radio. You’re most likely to find them really late at night, when the roads are sparsely employed and the eyelids are heavy. Watch out for those long distance dedications. That’s a no doubt recipe to get your head nodding. Not in a good way  

3) there are a lot of really bad drivers out there. Selfish, and distracted, and dangerous. watch yourself out there. 

4)  Americans are generally thoughtful and kind;  especially, the further south you get. that’s no joke, either. Yankees and liberals will never understand that southern pride has nothing to with racism, Jim Crowe, or the confederacy. It’s all about manners, respect for others, and friendliness to strangers. And it is real. 

So, with these few thoughts in mind, I say to you, ‘get out there young fella.’ The roads are ready for you. Pick a direction and start driving. You can’t go wrong, well, unless you end up in Lubbock. It’s just really ugly.