Here's the second part of Car and Driver magazine columnist Patrick Bedard's interview with a longtime gas station owner on Route 66 in Williams, Ariz., and the car-repair scams that his employees foisted on the public for decades. An excerpt: My mind leaps to the possibilities. (“Sir, your radiator is leaking real bad!”) It would … Continue reading The mother of sucker traps, Part 2
Month: January 2009
“Big Fat Stupid SUV”
Bill Burnett's song here has Route 66 content near the end. Lyrics are here.
My, how times have changed
Today, "Route 66 Backroads" author Jim Hinckley sent me a link to a 1949 edition of the Negro Motorist Green Book. The guidebook says it provides a "list of hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, beauty shops, barber shops and various other services can most certainly help solve your travel problems. It was the idea of Victor … Continue reading My, how times have changed
“I have a dream”
NOTE: I posted this two years ago. Now, with a black man about to become president of the United States, it's worth looking at again. This is the full version of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. So what does King have to do with Route 66? Well, there's this … Continue reading “I have a dream”
“House of the Rising Sun” in Baxter Springs?
The answer to the question: Sort of. The story behind this is complicated. So bear with me. I just finished reading Ted Anthony's excellent 2007 book, "Chasing the Rising Sun," which traces the tangled and twisted origins of the famous song, "House of the Rising Sun." It's nearly certain that you've heard the tune. But … Continue reading “House of the Rising Sun” in Baxter Springs?
An online rest stop
Douglas Knight, a photographer based in Amarillo, Texas, has alerted me to his new Route 66 Rest Stop site. It's a place for him to display his photographs from Route 66 and to sell them. He's also selling keychains, magnets, bookmarks and other merchandise. His stuff also is being sold at the National Route 66 … Continue reading An online rest stop
Suicide Bridge
The LAist has a story about the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, Calif., which once carried Route 66 on the way to Los Angeles. Here's a startling fact about the 1913 bridge that gives it its nickname: Six years after the construction the first suicide took place, and it is now estimated that more than … Continue reading Suicide Bridge
Hello from Japan
I don't know who this pianist is, other than he's from Japan. But this arrangement of "Route 66" is superb.
New song takes place on Route 66 in Texas
The Gourds, a folk-rock band out of Texas, has a song, "All the Way to Jericho," on its new album, "Haymaker!" that takes place on Route 66 in the Lone Star State. The Jericho in the song, according to a review in Pitchfork Media, refers to the notorious Jericho Gap of old Route 66 in … Continue reading New song takes place on Route 66 in Texas
Changes in Route 66 Preservation Program
Changes are afoot in the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Longtime program manager Michael Romero Taylor has moved on to a new post at the National Parks Service's National Trails office. His cohort for the entire tenure of the program, Kaisa Barthuli, will become the acting program manager until it sunsets late this year -- … Continue reading Changes in Route 66 Preservation Program