Turnpike Driving and Highway Philosophy
Airdate:
Tuesday - October 22, 1963
WOR Show Original Airing
First Spoken Line After Theme Ends
Fellow dreamer - how is the dream coming tonight
Show Description
After spending the whole weekend traveling up and down the east coast on non-turnpike, Shep talks about driving on the back roads of the country as opposed to the Turnpike.
He talks of a friend who is a "turnpike person" and their favorite color is Howard Johnson orange because it represents safety. This guy asks how people get across the road since there are no overpasses or underpasses.
You see America in a whole different way. Never take a person from another country on the Turnpike to show him the countryside. At one time you would drive all through the countryside trying to find the turnpike and now you can't escape it. There are signs that lure you on in very subtle ways. The turnpikes are all built high - above the rubble of life. There's a certain guy who believes in the expressways as a way of life. Heaven is a giant Howard Johnson and Hell is an eternal detour on the outskirts of Providence on US Route 1.
Signs you see on the different highways.
Driving in the dark through Ohio at 5 in the morning a Greyhound bus comes up behind him and scares him out of seven inches of growth barreling past.
Shep finishes with a story about how once a 57 Ford with equipped with a Continental customizing kit, and whip antenna, comes up to an S curve just ahead of Shep, drifts out and he drives right through the fence into oblivion. Shep pulls to the side of the road with 2 or 3 others and they get out to see when another plum color Buick comes around the bend and WHOOP! through the fence without touching the sides. Someone says "Why don't we just let them all kill each other off. Why don't we just stand here and watch!"
Comments
• Walt is the Engineer
Good show about the pros andcons of driving on turnpikes vs driving on back roads.
