{"id":28060,"date":"2020-09-01T19:20:19","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T23:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=28060"},"modified":"2020-09-01T19:20:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T23:20:19","slug":"find-some-two-lane-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2020\/09\/poetry-in-motion\/find-some-two-lane-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Find Some Two-Lane Fun!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SeptPoemPic\"<\/a>I sure love running the big roads. Those wide-open interstates offer relatively uninterrupted travel and plenty of room to set the cruise and mind my own business. But as much fun as the big road is, I still have a heart for the roads less traveled \u2013 the old two-lane highways. These smaller roads may slow me down a bit, but they also add a refreshing perspective to my daily routine. The little towns and businesses along those back highways really seem to take me back in time, especially the little diners and truck stops that cling to the wholesome home-style vibe. The big chain truck stops have their benefits, for sure, but I find it especially refreshing to walk into an old truck stop that time hasn\u2019t touched. One that isn\u2019t a cookie-cutter replica of the last place I stopped. I also appreciate an older establishment that bears some representation of the local community they\u2019re a part of (maybe some pictures and memorabilia adorning the place that give me a snapshot of where I\u2019m at). Perhaps they don\u2019t offer amenities that are as up to date as the overgrown convenience stores on the big road, but their charm and character make them unforgettable. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been to Shoemakers Truck Stop near Lincoln, NE, the Boise Stage Stop east of Boise, ID, or the Giant Truck Stop near Gallup, NM, but even though they are big establishments, I remember them being different than the rest. Jubitz in Portland, OR and Iowa 80 in Walcott, IA are some other big places with a different vibe, but the little dirt parking lots, with a waitress and a cook, and a family atmosphere, with local pictures on the wall, win my heart every time. I encourage you to take the time and swing into that little dive you\u2019ve been flying by \u2013 I bet you\u2019ll meet someone you\u2019ll never forget, and you\u2019ll probably be back, too!<\/p>\n

THE DIVE<\/strong>
\n By Trevor Hardwick<\/strong><\/p>\n

I could tell when I came in here,
\nThis is not the kind of place I thought it\u2019d be.
\nThere were pictures on the wall,
\nThat I assume were likely taken locally.<\/p>\n

The lady with the coffee pot, the apron,
\nAnd the pen above her ear.
\nShe welcomed me inside and said,
\n\u201cHave a seat, and I\u2019ll be right with you, dear.\u201d<\/p>\n

I slid into an empty booth,
\nA fly was buzzin\u2019 between the blinds and glass.
\nI glanced around the room,
\nAnd felt like I had traveled to the past.<\/p>\n

The jukebox in the corner,
\nTook nickels if you\u2019d like to hear a tune.
\nI heard it play Don Williams, then Haggard,
\nThen Johnny Cash and June.<\/p>\n

An old plaid shirt and padded vest,
\nWas at the counter, stirrin\u2019 in his cup.
\nWhile a greaseball in a paper hat,
\nWas cookin\u2019 food and shouting, \u201corder up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Some lighted numbers, one through ten,
\nWere hanging from the ceiling by the bar.
\nMeant to call the server when an order\u2019s up,
\nI guess that\u2019s what they are.<\/p>\n

I half expected tile floors, menu screens,
\nAnd cashiers in a row.
\nInstead, I found an old-school dive,
\nThe kind I figured vanished long ago.<\/p>\n

An actual land-line telephone,
\nAffixed to every table in the joint.
\nAnd a \u201cload board\u201d screen hung on the wall,
\nDisplaying drivers loads they could appoint.<\/p>\n

A friendly face would fill your cup,
\nAnd drip a little extra across your plate.
\nShe\u2019d treat you like a friend,
\nRegardless if you came from out of state.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been awhile, I realized,
\nSince I had taken time to simmer down.
\nThis fast-paced world we\u2019re living in,
\nHas got me blowing past these little towns.<\/p>\n

It sure feels good to come in here,
\nAnd patronize this little mom and pop.
\nA perfect little place to pause,
\nIn a world that never really seems to stop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I sure love running the big roads. Those wide-open interstates offer relatively uninterrupted travel and plenty of room to set the cruise and mind my own business. But as much fun as the big road is, I still have a heart for the roads less traveled \u2013 the old two-lane highways. These smaller roads may<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-poetry-in-motion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28062,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28060\/revisions\/28062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}