In "Make School or Die ," airing Tuesday, June 18 , a snowbound Shepherd in search of the Old West of Saturday-matinee fame discovers that the motel is to Americans as the oasis is to desert nomads . But a motel so big it has its own zip code?
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[ Courtesy: Pete Delaney - 09-18-2016 ]
With recollections of a fictional movie American West fresh in our minds and with the last gasps of summer viewed at beautiful Estes Park; Colorado, there's a masterful narration to be heard as Shepherd describes the coming of winter in the Rockies. As the first blizzard of the winter of 1970/71 approaches he remarks "The whole area has a strange glow and just before the first snow it gets so silent."
The spectacular snowstorm then hits with a vengeance when Jean is seen dressed in winter gear at the side of the road at an elevation of 13,000 feet. He recalls Northern Indiana winters, where every weekday morning his mother would send he and his brother out the front door into the howling winds. "There was only one choice. Make school or die!"
But back in 1970, Shepherd finds an oasis from nature's wrath-an enormous motel called "Little America, Wyoming", a hostelry so big that it has its own zip code.
Shep trudges through the snow drifts ("I'm a dowdy figure, properly manned with my American Express card") and makes his way to the motels' huge buffet table.
Chewing down in front of window where he can watch his fellow travelers try to dig their cars out of the snow, Jean advises "I suggest you get on the road and see what it's all about. Do some fist fighting. Get that snow up to your knees."
We enjoy a quick look at the "slob art" in the gift shop as well as the luxuriously appointed guest rooms.
A close-up of a "return postage guaranteed-drop-in-any-mailbox" hotel key prompts Shep to say "One day I'm going to take my basket of keys and dump them into a mailbox. They will then know that I've given up the fight."
Additional Comments:
Music used on the show:
"Do Not Forsake Me" From "High Noon" Boston Pops
Muzak Version Of "59th Street Bridge Song"
