It was Friday, already scorching hot, and the sun’s heat shimmered on the highway ahead. My car, Erifnus Caitnop, pointed her nose toward Columbia, and we both looked forward to some rest after a grueling week on the road. By … Read More
The Bridge to Nowhere
I was running late. Hannibal was still an hour away. So I took a short cut. My Pontiac was making good time on the backroads, slicing down straightaways that squeeze between flat soybean fields, fallow before spring planting. Oncoming cars … Read More
When Harry Met Elvis, Sorta
“Give me the Elvis.” I hadn’t expected to encounter food fit for the king. Not here, within a wedge shot of so much history. But that’s what makes the journey so rewarding. I finished my Elvis, a peanut butter sandwich … Read More
Paradise found!
Almost everybody has a mental image of paradise. I took a picture of it. If you look closely, you’ll see the spirit of John Milton. Or maybe that’s Milton Berle. Truth is, nobody knows for sure.
Signs of global warming
Quaint. Nostalgic. These painted ladies sat like Loreleis beckoning heroic Pontiacs and Mustang stallions to gorge on their drug of choice, their deadly tailpipes weaving a sweater around Mother Earth.
Ray’s Diner
It’s hard to overlook Ray’s Diner. On Broadway in downtown Excelsior Springs, Ray’s low-slung exterior shouts the words “Ray’s Famous HamburgerS” stretched across the diner’s face in mismatched hand lettered fonts over an awning that screams in candy cane colors. … Read More
It goes through Saint Louie
Here is a historic highway, a narrow concrete time capsule, complete with ghosts of gas stations pumping out charm and skeletons of roadside diners serving up simpler times. Route 66 is all attitude: Freedom. Adventure. Kicks.
For what it’s worth
It’s an irony, for sure, that Worth County has the lowest per capita income in the whole state. The lack of economic development assures miles of green rolling farmland, and not much congestion. Where I found them, the people were … Read More
“Don’t go in there,” she said.
But he didn’t listen. And now he hangs forever behind the door. And on nights when the moon is full his fingers twitch in a vain effort to flip the bird while all his friends frolic without him on the … Read More