Starting Over

There were no fewer than four moving trucks (mine included) on that Monday. Everyone loading up and getting out of California. Like the Joads in reverse. I had a good drive, considering the distance and the fact the air conditioning worked in none of the four Motel 6es in which i stayed. The second night, in Tucumcari, N.M., I was talking to Mom and she asked me what I was going to do that evening. “From the looks of this place,” I said, “probably re-enact No Country for Old Men.”

After that night, I drove into Texas and just outside Amarillo I got pulled for doing 85 in a 70 mph zone. When I’m dealing with a state trooper I usually add “Sir” to everything and twang up the Southern accent a notch. It also didn’t hurt to mention I was on my way to South Carolina to care for my sick grandfather who had fought in two wars. I got off with a warning. Remind me to thank my grandfather for his service. They weren’t called The Greatest Generation for nothing.

Some things you might have missed this weekend: