May 24, 2011
I left on my area of employment cooking crackllins to venture out into the wilds of the american interstate highway system. The true gauge of the condition of the american people and how tough living has become.
Standing alongside of highway 6 heading west in Louisiana the traffic was steadily coming and going into the cut rate tobacco and beer store. I was flying a sign written on cardboard with word DALLAS on it. Large enough for the local fishermen heading towards the Toledo Bend Lake to see. Most vehicles were coming from the Texas side of the long two lane bridge to load up on beer and ice. It was breezy and overcast. Standing there smoking cigarettes for about a hour finally a man picked me up and gave me a ride for about thirty miles. The miles aren’t really important to me anymore. Only the hours of sunlight and hours of darkness.
Standing at a intersection of 4 roads for a while in the warm humid air, there was a constant flow of trucks towing little boats designed for shallow water fishing . Across from me was a coffee and hamburger stand in a old gas station. Coffee was the attraction that caught my eye even though I knew it would be the watered down version so common to american taste.Two older ladies sat on a picnic bench in the shade talking. It was a lazy saturday or sunday afternoon It didn’t matter to me what day it was, once on the road time and day disappears. .
Two cups of coffee later a pickup driven by a young hispanic man pulled over and asked where I was headed. Of course I”ll say Dallas in case there is a chance of a straight through ride not just a short 5 mile ride. As it turns out we went about 40 or so miles to the intersection of highway 59 north. The ride was fine he spoke in broken english and we got along fine with a little discussion about his work and my traveling destination goals while in the background spanish music came from the radio.
End of the border. West of Calexico, California on the border!
Jean Andre Vallery
