As you leave the Heartland, may the Road Spirit envelop you and keep you safe.
Route 66 stretches out before you. May it rise up gently to meet you and may the wind be steady at your back. May the sun be warm and welcome on your shoulders and may soothing rain wash the dust from your face. May your hunger be satisfied and your thirst quenched.
May you always have the last burst to pull you onward and upward through the flatlands, the mountains, the plains, and the deserts. May you see the longing, the hopes and the dreams, in the eyes of the stay-at-home vagabonds, who pause to watch and wave you on. May you bond, becoming brothers and sisters of the road, as your tires sing "Sixty-six, sixty-six, sixty-six, sixty-six..."
May you stop to absorb the ever-changing views and vistas, burning them deep into your memory. Listen as the wind whistles past and you will hear the voices of the children singing, "California, Here I come" over and over and over.
May you finally stand at the ocean, barefoot, letting the cold water wash sand from beneath your feet; hearing the roar; smelling the ancient, long-buried sea treasures; feeling the cold, salty spray mix with the tears on your face.
May you understand that you now belong on the road.
It is enough...
Terri Ryburn-LaMonte
107 E. Sycamore St.
Normal, IL 61761-1604
copyright 1996