Story 28: Getting Our Kicks On Route 66

Several years ago. my brother Bruce and I decided to travel on the famous Route 66. At that time Bruce was living in Chicago, and it seemed like a good way to see America and also visit some relatives along the way.  If we hadn’t run out money, twice, we might have made it all the way to California, but who really knows?  Back then the only credit card I had was a Sears card, but then again I was also debt free.

  Bruce was living with a former unpleasant girlfriend and after a few days in his too small apartment and their frequent arguments, joyfully we got into our rental SUV and started the journey.  We visited many interesting sites including: Lincoln’s tomb, Wrigley Field, The St. Louis Arch (quite a claustrophobic elevator) as well as Utah, whose many blond women made me wish I was a Mormon.  In addition, we also went to the Oklahoma City saw first-hand the devastated Murrow building, and let’s not forget relatives in Arizona and the beautiful Saguaro cactus fields.

  Driving there however was not without incident. Several times we almost got into accidents.  On one occasion, we were driving in Oklahoma in the right hand lane when all of a sudden we saw a man in the middle of road facing us and filming us.  Fortunately, I was able to swerve around him in time, but it made me think, “Why is he doing something so dangerous?”  We never got the chance to find out.  Later in the trip, we thought our problems were over, but after cresting another hill, a group of Latino men were in the left lane pushing a tractor.  We barely escaped hitting them as well.

I was very stressed from the experiences of driving out west, but apparently not everyone feels the same way. My brother noticed a bearded man in a white robe probably Sikh sitting outside our hotel one night quietly meditating.  I could have used some of that good karma and peace.

Life Lesson 28: Life is a journey that we can either rush through haphazardly, or take our time to enjoy.  You never know when a small experience will quietly change your life, and sharing it with others can make it even more special and memorable, especially time with those we love.