Interlude

Mid-morning, the highway,

somewhere between the Cameron Trading Post

and the Kaibab National Forest.

Arizona.

The air-conditioner in the van works as well as

it's able in the heat of the day, already nearing 90 F.

A few passengers talk softly to each other.

Most are sleeping or simply resting

their heads on pillows, waiting for the next

destination to bring them to life again.

The driver has turned on the radio.

Not too loud. A local country music

station twangs gently in the soft heat.

The volume just barely above the need

to strain to hear it.

Between the Top 40 country songs

the strains of a 1983 Talking Heads tune 

is barely heard, volume no louder than before.

Did we lose the country station?

I don't hear static.

Home...

Is where I want to be...

Pick me up and turn me around...

Definitely not a country tune by any standard.

A soothing voice.

A satisfying melody.

How wonderful that it coincides with my

current fascination with Talking Heads

and David Byrne.

I wonder why this song came up from the depths.

Amidst the bland country songs.

The scrubby trees and sandy ground speed past my view.

A few low mountains can be seen in the distance.

The terrain is starting to change.

I'm somewhere between sleeping and awake.

Not wanting to close my eyes, because I

want to take in the scenery, so different from home.

But still not wanting to be fully awake, because it's

good to take advantage of rest while travelling.

The music flows, Byrne sings about home.

Home is where your love is.

Home is constantly shifting.

Home is new ground.

Home is always just out of reach.

Home may never be yours.

Until you decide that it is.

The song fades out.

A new country song takes its place.

An aberration. A sturdy pop song in a sea

of cliched country tropes.

But it was nice while it lasted.