On the road

I have been out of touch recently. On Sunday, I spent ten hours driving to Philadelphia to work a trade show at the Marriott. It was interesting to see spring blooming in various stages along the way. Pressed to reach my destination, I had no time to stop and smell the blossoms.
Downtown Philly is a big city with all the contamination and craziness. During the lunch break, I walked down to see the Liberty Bell. Other than the exercise of eight blocks down and back I tripped over winos, dodged those looking for handouts, and escaped from a prostitute. While standing in the security line with a bunch of waist-high school kids, one little ~ eight-year-old called out, "Ya know the Bell is made of gold." None of the other kids objected. I wanted to say it was made of pennies but kept quiet – gold is a better concept for youth. The Bell was so much smaller than expected. The funniest sight was a bag-lady with a staked claim at a bus stop. She had a wig that looked like a twisted mop. I couldn't help but stand aside and watch her directing passengers -- no one gave her a second glance but I am sure that she thought she controlled the world. Funny too was a character dressed and looking very much like Ben Franklin. He mingled with the convention crowd here at the hotel and many posed for pictures. He was having the time of his life.
I want to take some time on the return trip. To follow an older US highway route is the most fun. I will need to set up “Dashboard Debbie” aka TomTom GPS for non-Interstate navigation. Highway US 20 is a great route through New York State plus I have picked up sections through Indiana and Illinois. US 12 works well from Detroit to Chicago. Most of the old mom ‘n’ pop motels along the way are shuttered. Now and then you will see a red barn still standing with “Mail Pouch” or “Red Man” chewing tobacco ad painted on the end. Route 66 is a classic and in New Mexico last fall I had difficulty trying to discern what was old and what was new near Albuquerque. Maybe I need to get beyond all that.