Globe Corner Blogs

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

“I took to the open road in search of places where change did not mean ruin and where time and men and deeds connected.” And such is the reasoning behind Blue Highways, a travelogue of a man and his van, traveling around the perimeter of the United States solely on backroads, no federal highways allowed. William Least Heat-Moon named his van Ghost Dancing, an homage to the resurrection rituals of Plains Indians–he left home in part for personal reasons. But he also went to see the parts of America few people ever see, except those living there. He wanted to travel from Simplicity, Virginia to Whynot, Mississippi and onward.

Perhaps what he accomplished could not be done today–the trip was taken in the late-70s–but it seems worth a shot. The people Least Heat-Moon met and talked to at length is the meat of the book; his actual travels merely the backbone. He has an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a town and has an insatiable curiosity that gets him deep into the relations of people to each other in the town, the relation of them to the rest of the country, the peoples’ personal philosophies, and often, the story behind the name of the place.

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National Geographic map of Canada

I like to think that through our sale this month we are promoting tourism to Canada. More Americans should go there. A lot more. I, myself, am quite a fan. Almost every August of my life has been spent in part in Canada. Every time I tell someone where I am going I am met with: “Canada?!” Then they assume I must be going to Toronto, which many US citizens seem to consider an American city that simply wandered too far north in a moment of confusion. When I correct them and tell them the true location of my favorite place on earth, I am met with more bafflement, now mixed with mild disgust: “Lake Erie?!?” Yes. I stay on the Canadian coast of the Great Lake in a tiny fishing town — it’s almost directly across the water from Cleveland, but I usually leave this fact out to avoid further astonishment. Nonetheless, the whole matter befuddles many, so allow me to illustrate the reasons why I love our neighbor:
1. Loonies.
2. Ordering a “Blue” (Labatt’s) at the bar. Continue Reading »