From the outset we observed a staggering amount of roadwork underway. Good for the economy, we thoug

The couple never found what they were looking for. In the song, they were left lost and hopeless. car rental discount chicago Now, 43 years later, the same quest has been ignited in the hearts of many Americans, be they in New York City, Milwaukee, Denver, Seattle, or Oakland:
In September, my husband and I headed east to the nation's Capitol – driving for the most part off the interstate and whenever possible along state byways – hoping to get a pulse on what is happening across this big country of ours. We were on our way from California to participate in the opening days of Occupy DC, which, together with Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy groups throughout the U.S., is seeking truthful answers to these pressing questions.
What we witnessed as we traveled were not new discoveries. We'd read about people commuting from rural areas to urban centers to work, shop, and play, and about small towns losing ground to their nearest metropolis. We'd read about U.S. industries moving to China and about the collapse of our manufacturing. We'd been saddened by rising unemployment figures and the millions of families losing their homes to foreclosure and bank thievery. We'd watched the corporatization of our society, from private interests buying up community resources, such as municipal water systems, to running car rental discount chicago lunch services in the public schools (where pizza may soon be considered car rental discount chicago a vegetable!) – by the same interests that have taken control of all levels of government. We'd lamented the demise of family farms and the homogenization of our food supply by agro conglomerates.
From the outset we observed a staggering amount of roadwork underway. Good for the economy, we thought. Huge bridge projects, interchanges, repaving, massive highway expansions – some going on for 25 miles or more. Expensive equipment and vehicles idle. Hundreds of thousands of orange plastic road barrels (averaging $50 a piece) from sea to shining sea, but strangely very few workers! We'd assumed that with the country's high levels of unemployment, great numbers of people would be out on the job. Not the case. The network of prisons, military installations, and fencing was also ubiquitous.
Neatly trimmed lawns. Well-maintained homes. Quiet. Empty. Residents work in St. Louis, we were told. The gas-mart employee couldn't name a locally-owned spot to get a cup of coffee although she pointed out the Burger King, Subway, and Dairy Queen along the Interstate. Or did she mean McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, Wendy's, Taco Bell, or KFC? That's generally car rental discount chicago what's available car rental discount chicago next to America's superhighways. Similar story regarding accommodations. A litany of predictable choices.
Lone surviving diner: Stinky Coco's (named after the owner's cats). Three young guys running the place were trying to "do it right" by buying from local organic farmers and ranchers (their spinach feta cheese omelette with crispy home fries still makes my mouth water). I like to think theirs is the new direction we're heading in, but they're struggling right along with their community fighting for survival.
Shoreline 90% wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. Biloxi's scenic route along the Sound has been attractively redesigned. Its marina is new. Some flood damaged car rental discount chicago homes were reconstructed in the antebellum style. Others were never rebuilt, leaving beachfront real estate patched with vacant lots. A good number of Biloxi's large casinos had reopened after Katrina, although its population has dropped 10% since then.
Evidence of Katrina's flood damage in the city still remains. At the French Market we introduced ourselves to preacher Charles Garrison, who recited a poem he d written that likely speaks to many in these times of uncertainty:
Long time resident of New Orleans, Charles shared his personal survival drama with us when we asked. He explained why many of the poor did not return after Katrina: a substantial number of condemned properties were not rebuilt; this decreased available housing, causing prices to double or triple. The market had rendered coming home impossible.
Most attractions around here are owned by private corporations, he related. They pay people $50 cash a day to dress up like in the 1880 s. To walk the streets of Tombstone, ride the teams, make it all look real.  Heck, some of these folks are still living in the Old West.
Marlene's is an American classic, still able to draw in a fair number of clients from the freeway onto Old U.S. Highway 40 in spite of its modest sign, dwarfed by enormous billboards, one after the other, advertising car rental discount chicago standard car rental discount chicago fast food fare. Marlene serves honestly priced home-cooked meals. Homemade pies. Service is friendly. Her restaurant adjoining the family s museum displays artifacts going back generations.
We met Marlene Crane and her husband Joe, who spun out fascinating yarns replete with local history. Wandering through their impressive collection of Americana, I could see how inventive and resourceful car rental discount chicago the old-timers were – as we Americans still are once we loosen the grip of standardization and corporate control of our lives.
The dark power at first held so high a place that it could wound all who were on the side of good and of the light. car rental discount chicago But in the end it perishes of its own darkness, for evil must itself fall at the very moment when it has wholly overcome the good, and thus consumed the energy to which it owed its duration.