Thrilled to Receive Advance Copies of Lucky Ride!

Thank you Unsolicited Press and our cats Dickens and Pip for helping me unpack.

You can read the first chapter of the irreverent ’60s novel here: https://terrytierney.com/lucky-ride/

The upcoming release date is 12/31/21, but you can preorder from the publisher and book retailers, including local bookstores and Amazon.

https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p285/Preorder%3A_Lucky_Ride_by_Terry_Tierney.html
https://bookshop.org/books/lucky-ride-9781950730933
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/195073093X

Did Kerouac Drive a U-Haul?

My mind conjures Jack Kerouac every time I embark on a road trip, even one driving a U-Haul truck from Kansas to California. If Kerouac made this trip I imagine Neal Cassidy would do most of the driving with the box frame buffeting in the wind and allowing Jack little sleep.

Every rut awakens clangs and screeches but the truck holds together as if it were designed to instill a fear of disintegration and encourage the drivers to keep their speed under control. Just in case, the engine has a governor at 75, ensuring that other travelers and most semis will further pummel the U-Haul in their wakes.

I wonder if the interstate highways were in better shape during the idyllic fifties of Kerouac’s crossing. We pass expanses of road work between miles of worn pavement with the occasional surprise of a smooth surface and fewer decibels of tire noise. My kidneys welcome the respite though we know it won’t last.

I also ponder how much Kerouac would recognize the towns and landscapes strung out along the freeway. The gentle hills and sinuous rivers of the plains are still there, though suburbs have gorged on farmland like concrete kudzu. They sprout with the sameness of box stores, national brands, and three-bedroom abodes, though the scenery is still striking.

Along the front range near I-25 outside of Denver mountain peaks emerge from the fog and rise above the clouds with ghostly promise. I find it hard to keep my attention on the road, a weakness Cassidy never shows, but some of the structures in rural towns and ranches must have populated his vision.

Rusty beams and leaning walls mark abandoned farms where people once raised crops and cattle. Some larger, well-kept houses, and irrigated fields reveal the continued richness of the land, but many of the acres do not include a house, only the sheds and corrals of corporate ventures. The American dream of owning a family ranch seems more a myth than ever.

Kerouac would certainly be aroused by the increasing disparities of wealth and race along with the political separation between rural and city. He would be surprised by the lack of hitchhikers and our greater distrust of others.

On Kerouac’s road the social chasms were apparent but they seemed less stark. I sense in Kerouac, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, and other beat writers an underlying belief that America will figure it out, even if it means transcendence more than political action, though political action is certainly a tool.

I want to believe there’s still hope for the American experiment of democracy and social equality despite our missteps and continued problems. That we can still load up our U-Haul and strike out across the country, trusting in the future. I want to believe Kerouac and Cassidy still share our road.

Check out my road novel, Lucky Ride: Lucky Ride

Day Without Sunrise

No sunrise this morning, just a dirty yellow glow, blood orange at the edges. Perpetual smoky twilight. Photos in the news hardly convey the ominous colors and the absence of sun.

Today is our second day at home in Northern California after our four-week road trip to Kansas, which included ten days of driving and one day on United Airlines. I always enjoy traveling, and despite the smoke I’m glad to be back.

Walking our dog Pearl this morning (carefully in the dimness), I saw my first Biden-Harris sign after all the Trump flags in Kansas and rural Colorado and Utah. We even spied a Trump banner flying from the back of a Werner semi on the interstate.

Michael Moore is right; Trump motivates his base. Anyone concerned about overt racism, rising fascism, immigration rights, the environment, free speech (the real free speech), minority rule, and economic equality should be worried. Stay healthy and don’t forget to vote.

The yellow twilight flashes its warning.

Rain Follows Us to Arizona, Blame George Harrison

Recalling the odd yellow clouds and rain in Nevada earlier on our road trip, this storm is equally unexpected and much scarier.

North of Flagstaff on Highway 89 we see signs of water shortage—no campfires allowed, no charcoal. Ominous clouds cling to mountain peaks, but we’re driving at a lower elevation across the high desert listening to The Beatles.

As soon as we hear the riffs for “Here Comes the Sun,” the rain spits then gushes. White knuckling the steering wheel, I pull off the road and park three times. I creep out between cells only to coast off again.

Having experienced many whiteouts from snow, this was my first water-out, and I hope my last. Fortunately the cars on the two-lane highway drive slowly and many stop on the shoulder near us. No accidents as far as we know.

Wish we could drag the rain home to California to help quench the horrible fires.