What would Granny say today? A STORY WORTH TELLING
“Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”
— Willie Nelson (1980)
The road trip: 1957 It’s 3:15 a.m., the dog days of summer and we’re preparing to depart Pittsburg.
“Got the thermos full of coffee?” The questions before every trip were always the same, as were the answers.
“Yes,” Granny told my grandfather as she closed the car door. Then came her turn: “Suitcase in the trunk? Did ya get a new map at the Texaco? How ‘bout the oil and the tires?”
“Yep,” Granddad said, looking at his pocket watch — the same watch he used to check freight-train schedules for 55 years working for the railroad.
Meanwhile, I sat sleepily in the backseat with a pillow, ready to resume my nap the moment we rolled on the road trip across North Texas to Seymour for the annual summer trek taking me home after two weeks with my dad’s parents.
My grandfather’s early departures were to get miles behind him before the highways started baking. The six- to seven-hour journey covered about 300 miles and air-conditioned cars were a luxury in 1957. Plus, breakfast at Floyd’s Cafe in Greenville was his favorite.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike had just opened, and the Interstate 30 expansion east to Greenville was still just on paper. Traveling through McKinney and Denton dodged Dallas, but presented two-lane roads, traffic lights, stop signs and reduced speed limits.
In those days, “reduced” meant dropping below 60 mph during the day and 55 at night.
The modern era road trip: easy peasy Remembering my last road trip—a drive o Kentucky for a family reunion last summer—started me thinking about how the open road has changed since those trips with my grandparents.
My mom’s DNA included a fierce “travel gene.” If someone says, “road trip,” I respond, “Gimme five minutes to pack.”
You needn’t worry about packing much now. With today’s network of dollar stores and mega-centers, one can practically travel without stowing anything.
Just pick it up along the way.
Road maps? Won’t find one today. Cars come with built-in global positioning satellite capability and “autopilot” driving assistance.
Vehicle prep is also equally effortless. If a “change oil” or “low tire pressure” light pops up on the dashboard, simply slide into a mega-center and pull around to the automotive department. You’ll be back on asphalt before you can ask, “Is there air in the spare?”
Who even owns a thermos now? Every two-lane road today boasts enough convenience stores, doughnut shops and drive-thru Starbucks to keep any caffeine addict buzzing through three time zones.
A different kind of travel gene
I am incredibly thankful for the travel gene I inherited from my mom.
My dad’s family had a travel gene, too, but one I am glad skipped me.
That gene ensured my grandfather never missed an early morning arrival, but it also made him obsessively punctual on the return leg. The rigid agenda for his journeys allowed for an early arrival, lunch and an afternoon of visiting before supper. But the next morning, on the exact schedule, they were on the road back to Camp County.
Looking back at road trips as a kid versus traveling today, I can’t help but wonder what my grandparents would think.
I can hear my sweet little Granny’s response now.
“Well, ain’t that something! Next thing you know, somebody will invent a car that can drive itself.”
Contact Aldridge at mailto:leonaldridge@gmail. com”leonaldridge@gmail. com. Other Aldridge columns are archived at leonaldridge. com.
