Book # 37

HIGHWAY 50

Ain't that America

By Jim Lilliefors

Since I live just off of highway 50, I was interested when I saw this book at the library. I never realized that Main Street in Delta was part of a highway that spans the United States from the east coast  at Ocean City, Maryland to the west coast at Sacramento, California. It used to go all the way to San Francisco, but they made it into an interstate from Sacramento to San Francisco (much to the dismay of highway 50 fans).

Published in 1993, the author never revealed when he actually took his year and a half long trip across the country, but whenever it was, it was a strange glimpse into the differences between the people that populate small town U.S.A. As he traveled across the country, he would stop in the towns and work for a day, a week, or until he was ready to move on. He worked on an oyster boat, at a coal mine, on an Amish farm. He was invited to be a deputy Marshall in Dodge City, Kansas, which seemed to be his favorite city of all he visited. (Green River, Utah was another favorite.) He went to a stock car race -- where he got to drive a race car around the track, a horse race -- where he lost every bet, and a tractor pull -- which he found very boring. He spent time in a Benedictine Abbey, toured the underground storage vaults in Hutchinson, Kansas, and visited every museum he could find along the way. He met many friendly people, and some not so friendly people on his journey. He met people that had never been anywhere but the town they were born in, and people who were wandering, as he was. 

He found that most of the people he met in the small towns along the way, had one thing in common. They like the slower pace and the simpler way of living. They resist change. They are protective of their lifestyles and are generally satisfied with their lives. I understand that feeling. I live in Delta. Some of my family don't understand why I have stayed here, why I like it here. Well, this is how I see it.... There are people who like living in the big city. I think they must like change, a faster pace, sensual stimulation, lots of people and things to do. I don't know, maybe they get bored easily. Then there are people who like living in the country, in the small towns that cluster around the agriculture, the mines, or other industries found far from the cities. I think they must like things predictable, living life at a slower pace, knowing a smaller amount of people, but possibly knowing them better. They are comfortable with entertaining themselves, or at least satisfied with a smaller choice of entertainment. They like breathing room.....quiet.....peace. That is why I like living here, just 2 blocks from highway 50. 

I do think the big city is fun to visit. I like to travel and see different places, people, things. And reading this book made me want to take my own journey across Highway 50 someday.

Until Next Time :o)