When I was a kid, the grownups pined for the days of the Route 66 travel experience. The slower speeds with interesting sights. The small towns. The people you met along the way.
Heck, Disney made an entire movie about it. (One of my favorites, by the way).
Gone are those days. Since President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, we have 46876 miles of interstates. High-speed, efficient, utilitarian rivers of concrete. Even nostalgia can’t compete with convenience.
But the interstates get a bad rap. Nostalgia aside, driving long distances, even at high speed on artless interstates, can still be one of the most human experiences of our time.
That long drive (we’re talking 8, 10, 16 hours) necessarily traverses myriad lifestyles and perspectives in a way that the Route 66 approach never could. At least not in the same amount of time. Three hours at 75 mph can radically shift the geography, geology, and sociology of your experience.
Even a quick stop for fuel at a large and polished gas station/made-to-order sandwich shop/luxury restroom exposes you to the other. Three hours later, that same franchise has a different feel, if not a different look.
Sure, maybe it’s subtle. Maybe you really have to pay attention. Maybe you have to look around the corner and in areas easily missed.
Maybe I’m making it all up.
But isn’t that the foundation of perspective? How do I see it?
