Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times -- and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood... some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless. -- [The Sheltering Sky] As we get older, the end of our lives becomes more realistic. Our friends and family pass away, our ability to earn respect and a living evaporates like a dried up puddle and most of what we held so high in our youth is made meaningless. But there is one gem that remains with age -- something that grows from life's experiences -- and which gives meaning to the previous years of life. It's the wisdom that comes from experience, from seeing the changes over decades and witnessing the cycles of these changes. I recently took a trip across America, from New Hampshire to Oregon. I've done this many times in my life, on a motorcycle, in a van, an old Chevy Nova and, this time in an old jeep. While the roads, bridges and highways have deteriorated from the 1960s, something else has also happened.
 In my youth, a trip through America's heartland was something to behold. Punctuated by mostly small towns with friendly people, tasty breakfasts in roadside diners, the memories of these road trips were rich with culture -- different in each state -- from the brick industrial towns to the corn belt with its many small farmhouses and silos. There were stories to hear from friendly locals and hitchhikers. The week or two it took to cross the country was the adventure and the destination merely a place to relax before returning by some other, equally interesting route.
 It's all gone now. The highways now are full of potholes. Exiting to buy gas or find food reveals the exact same choice of greasy McDonald's, Taco Bel and Subway shops, run down and abandoned factories, and overweight people living in dilapidated squalor. The local stories, if you can hear them, tell of unemployment and money woes. By the time you have gassed up and given up hope of finding a supermarket you are anxious to hit the road again and hope that the next time you stop will be different. But it won't. The heartland of America is rotting. It's a cancerous and sad version of what was once a proud and beautiful nation. Even the beautiful, natural spots have taken a hit. Consider that things like Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon or the huge Sequoias are now merely roadside tourist attractions that require entry fees -- some quite expensive -- and often reservations. The "natural" beauty of these places is ruined by steel and glass "observation sites" or signs that advertise souvenirs. It's all tacky and commercial. All of this came to my mind as I read the news and saw a map of states that were considered Republican strongholds. While the East and West Coast are colored blue (Democrat), the center of the once great nation is red (Republican) and defines the rot that reveals the terminal diagnosis of America.
 In the center of this malignancy there are stories of mass murders, political corruption and now a drought so severe that it will likely be the last economic relapse to send America to the hospice. What can save us? Nothing, unless we can re-invent ourselves. We're overweight, uninformed, unhealthy, self-centered and full of anger and hatred for each other. We're kept this way on purpose and discouraged from change. Our jobs and hope are exported to foreign countries because business and profit trump patriotism and respect for the little guy. Yet this little guy sheds blood to keep business in power. Decades of contrived wars and conflicts have shifted our wealth and treasure to a handful of Romney-like billionaires, now poised to finish us off. Our youth are saturated with free internet pornography and self-indulgent cellphones and social networks. We buy guns instead of making friends... These are our so-called "freedoms". How many more times will you feel proud about America and its values? How many times will you have hope for a better life for your children and grandchildren?
Gary Vey / editor / (reply to: myristicin-at-hotmail-dot-com). COMMENTS: How true it is! I am a vegetarian and recently took a short trip -- 500 miles -- and found that there was nothing for me to eat anywhere unless I wanted to have lettuce and some tasteless tomatoes covered with dressing that was full of high fructose corn syrup. Supermarkets are impossible to find and are usually miles from the highway exit. And, yes, the scenery is great if you like old ruined buildings, decaying farms or churches advertising BINGO. FredP Yes, it is sad. My grandchildren know nothing of what life was like when I was young. We didn't even lock the doors to our homes and everyone looked out for each other. I found our old family house on google-earth and was shocked to see how run down it had become and how the whole neighborhood was a slum. When a child, my Dad used to keep the place in tip top condition with the lawn mowed and the house painted. Everyone did back then and this was not a wealthy neighborhood -- it was the type of homes built after WWII for the GI's returning home to start families. Yes, something has changed. No pride or self-respect I guess. I'm afraid I agree with the author that there is no returning to those days and each day that goes by gets worse. It's all over. It doesn't seem to be a thing related to political parties or presidential choices. They are all the same. Like different brands of cigarettes they are all bad and put the profit motive ahead of caring for the average guy. Deb22 Just be glad that you lived in a time when most people were decent and honest and cared about their work. When you are gone the memories of those years will be lost except in historical films and books. This was once a great nation that a person could feel proud to call their country. Scamp3 I hate to disagree with everyone but his country was never great and moral. There were always corrupt people in charge but we just never knew about it. The only difference is that back then the people in charge cared enough to hide what they did but now they don't bother because they know the people will do nothing about it anyway. Adel@ Go back to where you came from you islamic pig! Anon I live here in Australia on the East Coast and have travelled Australia quite allot. I have driven from Sydney to Cairns more times than I can remember from the late 60's to the late 90's, and been a passenger Adelaide to Darwin back in the 70's, through all the bulldust and cattle grids and flat plains for as far as the eye could see. The relevance's to your story are basically the same. Except where there was once bulldust and trees, now there is dirty great holes in the ground from mining and mass settlements set up for miner accommodation. The Easy Coast has faired worse with once little country towns now thriving tourist destinations full of hopeful people trying to get a job and mass unemployment as they all look for their fabled dream. The once beautiful cities that we were proud to call our own are now mass over crowded cess pits of greed and societal political correctness, crammed with every race that can swindle its way into the country and each section has its own race claiming its theirs. The destruction of the country for money and greed is just over awing and leaves one asking about the future, what future? Pat Wilkinson
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