May 24 2020

Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962)
By John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck is already a well-known, prize-wining author and journalist by 1960 when he sets out "in search of America". He stars in his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, heading north to Maine, before starting a circuit around the continental US, a trip that will take about four months, in a truck concerted to a small RV.  He has a few must-see destinations: Deer Isle, ME [?]; Niagara Falls; Chicago; his home town of Salinas, CA; his in-laws' home in TX; New Orleans.  The rest of the trip, he stops when he's tired, sometimes staying at a roadside hotel for a shower, but usually living in "Rocinante" (named for Don Quixote's horse) with his large poodle Charley for company. Interestingly, it seems that the planned stops are disappointing (especially Steinbeck's hometown, which has mushroomed from 4000 residents in he's childhood years to 80K in 1960 - but particularly difficult was the stop in New Orleans where Steinbeck sees the effects of school integration firsthand when white adults harass a small black child accompanied to the school door by police officers).  Much more enjoyable are the author's serendipitous meetings with locals.  None seem to recognize the famed author; the story really shines when he meets a farmer or hunter, often inviting them to share a whiskey-laced coffee on Rocinante's dining table.  In the end, while Steinbeck opines on may topics - environmental issues, the interstate highways, wealthy, prejudice - he doesn't offer so much a finding of America as a fear that it is becoming too homogeneous and urbanized.

Like Steinbeck, I spent the year 1960 on the road.  Actually, it was 1959-1961, living all around the US with my parents and two siblings, as my dad had taken a 2 1/2 year position as a traveling auditor for his company.  I can identify with so much of what he sees, especially in CA and, to some extent, New Orleans.  The old US highways, with their greasy-spoon cafes and mom-and-pop motels hadn't yet given way to the interstate systems.  Wish I'd thought to write a book!