In lifeproofhouses they
hover overthe young,sop upa littleof whatthey shut
out.Only theyoung bringanything in,and theyare not
youngverylong.(ThroughthebarsofEastSt. Louis
lies the dead frontier, riverboatdays.) Illinoisand Mis-
souri,miasmaofmound-buildingpeoples,groveling
worshipoftheFoodSource,cruelandugly festivals,
dead-endhorroroftheCentipedeGodreachesfrom
Moundville to the lunar deserts of coastal Peru.
Americaisnot ayoung land:it isold anddirty and
evil before the settlers,before theIndians. Theevil is
there waiting.
Andalwayscops:smoothcollege-trainedstatecops,
practiced,apologeticpatter,electronic eyesweigh your
carandluggage,clothesandface;snarlingbigcity
dicks,soft-spokencountrysheriffs withsomething black
andmenacinginoldeyescolor ofa fadedgrey flannel
shirt....
Andalwayscartrouble:in St.Louis tradedthe 1942
Studebakerin(ithasabuilt-inengineeringHaw like
theRube)onanoldPackardlimousineheatedupand
barelymadeKansasCity,andboughtaFordturned
out to be anoil burner,packed itin ona jeepwe push
toohard(theyarenogood forhighway driving)-- and
burnsomethingoutinside,rattlingaround,wentback
tothe oldFord V-8.Can't beatthat enginefor getting
there, oil burner or no.
Andthe U.S.drag closesaround uslike noother drag
intheworld,worsethantheAndes,highmountain
towns,coldwinddownfrompostcardmountains,thin
air like death in thethroat, rivertowns ofEcuador, ma-
lariagreyasjunkunderblack Stetson,muzzle loading
shotguns,vulturespeckingthroughthemudstreets--
andwhathitsyouwhen youget offthe MalmoFerry in
(nojuicetaxontheferry)Swedenknocksallthat
cheap, tax free juice right outof youand bringsyou all
thewaydown:avertedeyesandthecemeteryinthe
middleoftown(everytowninSwedenseemstobe
builtaroundacemetery),andnothingtodointhe
afternoon,nota barnot amovie andI blastedmy last
stick of Tangier tea and I said, "K.E. let's getright back
on that ferry."
But there is nodrag likeU.S. drag.