Plattsburg sits pretty, with much of its old architecture intact. Main street bustles and the town is well manicured, featuring a row of delightful old homes, including Victorian gingerbread houses along the boulevard. The town’s elegant demeanor is what you’d … Read More
Glass half empty
Serious issues divide America. Flashpoints appear regularly. The most fundamental battle lines will be drawn over access to water. When you stand on the parched, cracked bottom of Lake Mead and Vegas asks South Dakota to divert the waters of … Read More
Calm before the chaos
A carny sleeps off the Midland, Texas morning. A ride called The Tornado stayed folded in its trailer. “…there was no motion. Nobody coming or going. There were no carnies or talkers or troupers, no roustabouts or ride jockeys, no … Read More
…in Order to form a more perfect Union…
The long green mall runs from Independence Hall to the National Constitution Center past a big bronze bell that has a crack. People love it. Not surprising. People are fascinated by cracks. The bell cracked the first time the clapper … Read More
Coat of Many Colors
Texas County. On my way to a speech in the hometown of Porter Wagoner, I paused beneath golden arches for lunch. Minutes earlier a radio bulletin informed me that Porter Wagoner’s most famous protégé had just died. I found a … Read More
Going to the Woodshed
I think I have a good memory. But I forgot this: Sixty-five years ago our family stopped at a Jersey diner on our way to board the Queen Mary for Cherbourg. I was nine years old, and had yet to … Read More
Embâcle much?
Crossing Illinois we came to the Embarrass River. AI says embarrass is French for obstruction or logjam. AI is mistaken. The French word for obstruction or logjam is embâcle. Every Francophile knows this. AI is too wealthy and soulless to … Read More
Lunch on the Hill
The road squeezed us between the Katy Trail and the Missouri River, eventually joining old Route 66, celebrating her 100th birthday. I just reached 74. Like a good mother, the road delivered us to an old favorite, Rigazzi’s on The … Read More
Finding Haven
From Washington, Highway 100 stretches toward Hermann like a clothesline, draping over bluffs and peeking down ravines at your road’s companion, the Missouri River. The river was the major highway when John Colter traveled upstream with Lewis and Clark. Later, … Read More