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Route 66
The story was the same for many towns in the south west
The railroads needed water stops across the desert and built them
Route 66 and the National Trails Highway breathed life into them
John Steinbeck's Joad family memorialized them
Interstate 40 ripped the hearts out of them
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What Price Progress?
It's one thing to see
An old mining town
Fall into decay
After giving up
Her treasure
It's quite another
To see a place die
For no other reason
Than progress
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Vapor Lock
I remember sitting in the back seat
of various old cars
the only air conditioning
was four windows down
at sixty mph
burlap desert bags
full of water
hanging in front of the radiator
hood slightly open for air
blistering heat
threatening us
with vapor lock
and overheating
cactus, yucca, Joshua trees and rocks
mostly nothing though
except for the silence and solitude
of the desert
one arm out the window
flying my hand
like a plane in the hot wind
the only real relief
to be had
resided in the little towns
and even smaller places
like Amboy
Cadiz
Chambless
Danby
Essex
Fenner
Goffs
and Needles
.
