Divorce & remarriage from author Ben Bryant

Excerpt from Author Ben Bryant’s

divorce & remarriage memoir,

Chapter 27: On the Road (1990)

This all happened several years before our divorce.

“On Monday, 4 June 1990 Elizabeth and I set out on a six week car trip to points west. Our Saab was loaded to capacity with luggage and product: three or four boxes of audio cassettes and another box or two of Concert and Love is the Power* videotapes as well as our sound system…  I was amazed at the amount of stuff we were able to jam into that seemingly small car.

* Circumstances Beyond My Control, Chapter 26

“… Taking turns at the wheel we both relished just being together with no distractions and actually enjoyed the passing USA immensely. Driving into St. Louis and seeing the landmark arch at sunrise was spectacular.

“Speaking of the passing USA: If you’ve never driven across this country I highly recommend it. I have no idea how many times I’ve flown from coast to coast and innumerable points in between but I have driven all or a part of the land seven or eight times, not counting the Norman Luboff  bus tour* and let me tell you it’s an experience not to be missed. The plane flight, when repeated a few times, shrinks our country in your mind. It takes five or six hours and makes it easy to forget that when my generation’s grandparents were born it took nearly seven days and when their parents were born it took four to six months. 3,000 miles is a long way when you’re walking beside a wagon and don’t know what you’ll find on the other side of the next hill. …

“When you drive across the country you are truly able to appreciate its size, grandeur, diversity and beauty. Did I say size? I did but it bears repeating. There’s not as much diversity as there was in 1948 when [my parents] Lucy, Bish and I made the trip on the fabled route 66 in our new Chevvy.*  The MacDonalds-ization of the world has homogenized the land in an appalling way but in 1990 there was still a distinctly different feel and character to the regions that made the time and effort worthwhile.

“… We had our longest hop, nearly 700 miles, on Wednesday: St. Louis to the little town of Shamrock, Texas, about fifty miles east of Amarillo. The further southwest we went, the hotter it got. By the time we passed through Oklahoma City it was in the high 90s. And Texas was even hotter. The car’s AC was working hard to maintain a reasonable amount of comfort but getting out to gas up was a challenge.

“Having had an early start we pulled into our Shamrock motel a little after 6:00 and we were pooped. The small pool looked delicious and five minutes after we checked in I was immersed. The water had to be eighty degrees. Elizabeth, who loves to swim, decided that a cool shower in the air conditioned room was more desirable than a dip in that tepid pool.

“After a little rest I walked – I suppose in the Texas panhandle, one moseys – I moseyed over to the office and inquired as to where I might find the best restaurant in Shamrock. After some discussion between the two young ladies one of them informed me that the Dairy Queen was just down the road. What the hell do you do when the best restaurant in town is a Dairy Queen?”

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