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Route 66

6/16/2020

15 Comments

 
Author Suzanne Burke provides another Fiction in A Flash Challenge for anyone feeling the creative urge. Her photograph this week is the historic ROUTE 66 road sign. I've decided to respond with a historical glimpse back to its origins.  
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John Steinbeck famously called Route 66 "the mother road, the road of flight" because thousands upon thousands fled the Dust Bowl for the hope of something better. His Grapes of Wrath captured the dire poverty that so many experienced and helped later generations understand why there was an epic journey West.  

Though the road is now decommissioned, it basically follows Interstate 40 from Santa Monica to Oklahoma City where it changes to Interstate 44 through Missouri and Interstate 55 to Chicago. For those of us who have traveled this road, there's a reverence for its history. My tanka poem (5-7-5-7-7 syllables) tries to capture that sentiment.

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15 Comments
Jan Sikes
6/16/2020 08:53:59

A beautiful expression of the prompt, Gwen. I distinctly remember traveling this famous route each summer as we traveled to California to visit relatives. I remember the Burma Shave signs along the road and the snake farms. :) Thank you for sharing!

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Gwen Plano
6/16/2020 11:14:05

Thank you, Jan. I had forgotten about the snake farms until you mentioned them. Oh my goodness! ♥

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D.L. Finn
6/16/2020 09:29:47

That was poweful, Gwen. I could imagine them walking clinging to their few possessions.

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Gwen Plano
6/16/2020 11:14:50

Thank you, dear Denise. Have a wonderful day. ♥

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Vashti Q link
6/16/2020 11:45:04

Hi, Gwen! A lovely and poignant Tanka. I never traveled Route 66, it must have been a beautiful and dangerous road to travel. I've always associated this highway with the movie Thelma & Louise. :D xo

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Gwen Plano
6/16/2020 12:06:56

Thank you for the reminder, Vashti. I loved that movie. Have a great day! ♥

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Mae Clair link
6/16/2020 12:11:44

I was unfamiliar with the history of Route 66, Gwen. What a great blog post! And your tanka was stunning, painting such a vivid picture in my mind.

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Gwen Plano
6/16/2020 12:27:27

Thank you, Mae. My dad grew up in the Dust Bowl and extreme poverty. He traveled to California as soon as he was able, following Route 66. Though he shared stories, I only really understood when I read Grapes of Wrath. ♥

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John Howell link
6/16/2020 14:04:27

Well done Gwen. Looks like the end of the road.

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Gwen Plano
6/17/2020 03:46:55

Thank you, John. I think it was the end of the road for quite a few. Thankfully, for many, it offered a new beginning.

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Suzanne Burke link
6/16/2020 15:02:40

Thanks for your powerful contribution to this weeks challenge, Gwen. I'll be featuring it on my site on June 19th.

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Gwen Plano
6/17/2020 03:50:27

Thank you, dear Suzanne. Hope your day is perfect! ♥

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Karen Ingalls link
6/17/2020 05:04:22

Growing up my family traveled many parts of Route 66, but not the area of your beautiful photograph. Your Haiku describes what I was feeling as I looked at that barren, dusty, and hot area. Well done.

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Gwen Plano
6/17/2020 11:12:15

Thanks so much, Karen. All the best!

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Jill Weatherholt link
6/19/2020 13:28:29

Nicely done, Gwen!

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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