Fiction, Essays, and Other Things

  One particular scene from Pixar’s Cars (one of the most charming tributes to America’s Highway the movies have produced) stands in my memory. Learning to love the Podunk town of Radiator Springs where he currently finds himself sentenced to labor after a night of reckless driving damaged the town’s crumbling roadway (yes, the references to Route 66 are many and subtle), Lightning McQueen, the daredevil racecar, cuts loose and takes off for a drive through the desert with his new friend Sally, the resident Porsche. Mostly they frolic through the desert landscape characteristic of Radiator Springs until the scenery changes to a pine forest where they splash through puddles. It’s a beautiful scene, capturing the diverse landscapes of Route 66. And so, as I made my way to Williams, Arizona, the desert gradually became a forest with pines thinner than I was used to seeing. I loved the wide variety of vistas offered by the road, but the pine forest gave me a distinct comfort remindi...