North End

 The North End of Hartford was destroyed today.

A Nuclear chemical type blast roared through that sectio of this New England City

Fire Burns Fire Burns but no body cares

The Center of the blast took place within eyeshot of Constitution Plaza just four blocks away from the State Capitol And..

WTIC Radio is on its commercial break during the 7th inning of the Boston Red Sox game and New York traffic is tied up on the Major Deegan Expressway

..and on your TV set CNN is spewing its usual lies and propaganda

FIRE BURNING FIRE BURNING

Repeating.. a Chemical Nuclear Blast  took out the North End of Hartford

The Fire took out all the Puerto Rican shops on Main Street-Gone in a heartbeat were shops housed in buildings that stood strong for 100 yeard

From there the Fire took a WICKED urn and began taking route down Albany Avenue East to Tower Avenue

And in Denver..Traffic on Interstate 25 is particularly snarly..no doubt the Denver Broncos lost a game they should have won and in the halls of corporate business and governments plans are being made to enslave you and make you feel good about it as it happens

I repeat Hartford's North End was destroyed today by FIRE

DESTRUCTION FIRE 

FIRE MASS SCALE DESTRUCTION

BURNING DOWN VINE STREET 

BURNING DOWN SISSION AVENUE

No one seemed to care about the calamity awaiting..them

Meanwhile in corporate headquarters tucked away in actions akin to a football strategy  Hannity says he'll go right while Rachel Maddow goes left playing on the same offensive team

While the North End burns

Marketplace is telling you where to invest your real estate and the Backstreet Boys want you to spend hundreds of dollars to see if they can recapture the glory of their youth.

In Nashville the Grand Ole Opry wants to ban Steve Earle and Sturgill Simpson again

.

More just in. Carville's Ranch House in the North End is Gone

We're not sure of the origins of the blast

Some say it was from a foreign power while others say to look right hear at home

So while we dont know many details we do know

Fire Brought down this part of a Nsw England city

What once housed the remnant of New England's talented tenth is gone forever

and this once vibrant town is now reduced to ashes and where only rates and cockroaches can survive now

But that's the way it is in America in the Final Part of the 21'st Century

Travelling the Alcan Pt 2

 It recently came to my attention that the Alaska Highway, otherwise known as the Alcan is now completely paved. I feel a little sad about that.

The Alaska Highway was built during World War II by the US Army, though most of it is in Canada. It used to be an unpaved highway through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory ,over 1500 miles of it.
For years there would be talk about paving it,but the discussion would always end when it would come down to who was going to pay for it. The U.S. would say because most of it was in Canada that the Canadians should pay for the paving,and the Canadians would tell the US: "You built it,you pave it." I'm glad a war didn't erupt between the US and Canada over this dispute. As far as I was concerned,they could continue disputing who was going to pay for it and leave it unpaved because in my book,the Alcan was the spot for the great North American Adventure.

First of all,how many highways have a book dedicated to it? The Milepost was a mile by mile guide for the Alaska Highway,and was considered a must have if you planned to travel it. It was especially important to know where the gas stations were. Back before it was paved,the Milepost told you things like expect your windshield to be cracked,and shut all your vents if you were travelling during the summer because the dust could clog up all the vents in your car. Right away,this tells you that the Alcan was not for the casual traveller.

You also know you'll be travelling through some of the most breathtaking landscapes on the planet.mountains lakes and small forests. We were going to need some of that landscape to view as we were both still shaken up following our incident at the Canadian border. Trent said "I'm never going to smoke marijuana again!" I thought we both could have used some after our scare and near bust.

Every so often a person comes into ones life for a very short period of time but in one's ways and actions becomes memorable for the rest of time. Such is the case with Doug Shand. In 1974 almost every hippie had some sort of hitchhiking adventure whether it was by hitchhiking or picking a hitchhiker up.

We picked up Doug in Lethbridge Alberta. He had hitchhiked from Winnepeg where he lived and was heading to Tok Alaska. We were giving him a huge boost as we go through Tok on our way to Anchorage. Doug had a reserved wit about him as he shared with us stories of living in Winnepeg. David and I were both glad we picked up Doug. Doug even got Trent out of his no marijuana pledge

In Dawson Creek BC,the beginning of the Alaska Highway,we were informed that it had been raining heavily along the highway and by the time we reached Fort Nelson BC,the highway could be closed. We were told to proceed at our own risk. We sure as hell weren't going to turn around,so forward we went with plans on arriving in Anchorage in a few days.

We got to Fort Nelson. By the time we arrived,the rain had stopped,but the rain had done its damage and the highway was washed out. At the time,the population of Fort Nelson was barely 1,000. Close to that many people were stranded there. I don't know it was like for the retirees riding in their Winnebagos,but for us college aged kids,this was like a 3 day party!

The General Store quickly ran out of food we witnessed the Canadian government airlifting food into Fort Nelson via helicopter.Everyone stranded was given food vouchers. Rainbow Family-like food camps quickly sprouted,and at night,the bar never seemed to run out of beer.

Doug loved pointing out the difference between the beer guzzling Americans looking to get drunk and the Canadians sipping and enjoying the moment.

The local high school offered shelter but no alcohol or marijuana was allowed in so David Doug and myself made it work crashing in the station wagon

Finally,the road dried up and there was going to be a convoy leading out of Fort Nelson. David,Doug and I tried to be at the head of the pack by hiding the car in the tall bush before the convoy was to begin,but the Mounties busted us and sent us to the middle of the pack. Just days before,this road was mostly mud..now it was kicking up dust. You knew why the Milepost told you to close your car vents now. Our windshield got cracked shortly after the convoy got started. The reason we attempted to get ahead of the convoy was to avoid what we knew would be excessive dust caused by so many vehicles travelling this road at the same time. There was so much dust,we could barely see the car in front of us when the convoy came to a sudden stop. Story goes is some animal cut in front of the convoy. We stopped before hitting the car in front of us,but that didn't stop the cars behind us smashing into us. For whatever reason,we found ourselves as part of a 30 car pileup. None of us were hurt,but the car was in pretty bad shape.

Doug chose to leave us at this point. He had to get on and knew nothing about cars and didn't feel he could help us. David and I knew nothing about cars either,but somehow by tinkering with wires,we got the car started,and in a speed adled not turning the car off even when filling it up ride we made it into Anchorage  two days later. The 1964 Ford Falcon Stationwagon died upon arrival at the Alaska Methodist University parking lot.

For a moment after arriving in Anchorage I said to myself I'll never drive the Alcan again..but soon enough another chance to drive it came again. This time in early winter.  But that story is for another time..

Travelling the Alcan

...the phone call came from David Trent my college roommate who was spending the summer with his parents in Kansas City just like I was spending my summers at home in Hartford Connecticut.

I was surprised to get a phone call from David. This was 1974 and in 1974 a phone call from Kansas City Missouri to Hartford Connecticut cost extra money!

David said "Get a plane reservation now! You're coming out to Kansas City and from there we'll drive back to Anchorage"

David my roommate was an Army brat who after parents spent time stationed in Alaska turned down an opportunity to attend Yale University to attend Alaska Methodist University a small liberal arts college of about 400 students which was at the time struggling to maintain its accredation.

For David like myself the Alaska experience was part of our education.

Certainly returning to Anchorage had its appeal. As nice as it was being with family once again, Anchorage represented..Freedom! This freedom was sweet..5,000 miles away from home. I could never entertain guests till wee hours of the morning drink beer and smoke copious amounts of marijuana at home without some sort of domestic conflict

At the same time Anchorage was 5,000 miles away from Hartford. I wasnt going to be able to visit home often like other college kids and my mother had been looking forward to me spending the summer with her and her other sons

"But David"  I said "I have a job and I told my mom I'd spend the summer at home"

David said "Quit your job" I have two tickets for us to see Crosby Stills Nash and Young..one's for me the other is for you

  Life with its Turns and Twists

One moment I'm generating leads on the telephone for aluminum siding salesmen in the Greater Hartford area and the next moment I'm on a plane heading to Kansas City to see Crosby Stills Nash and Young at Royals Stadium with the Beach Boys opening as an added bonus.

David's car was a 1964 Ford Falcon Stationwagon. It already had a lot of miles on it when David bought it. Frankly I was surprised that the car  made it from Anchorage to Kansas City as it was because when a car has that many miles on it one never knows when that car may pass away.. and dies. 

I began to wonder about it again as we were stuck in traffic on our way to Royals Stadium. It was hot outside! Would it overheat?? But in the spirit of 1970's hippiedom when fellow concertgoers saw the Alaska plates on the car and thinking we had driven all the way from Alaska to attend the show many allowed us to cut in front of  them in the traffic thus we never had to answer to an overheating question

I cant say I was much of a fan of the Beach Boys. To me their music and image was a throwback from a previous generation impacted by World War II I was doing my best to throw off all vestiges of those eras but then I heard some material by the Beach Boys played by the underground FM radio station WHCN in Hartford. That material impressed me. They were obligated to play all their early 60's hits but one thing could be said for certain: I was witnessing one of the groups that are a part of American pop culture history. I could appreciate that.

Crosby Stills Nash and Young.. In addition to material from their albums each had a set from their solo material. Stephen Stills was a much better guitarist than I'd ever given him credit for especially impressive that he was chain smoking throughout the show sticking his cigarette on his guitar when he was singing

There was a long day ahead of us the next day, the plan was to be at the Canadian border in another day but there was no way we were leaving this concert till the last note was played and the lights were turned on brightly at Royals Stadium to signal it was time to leave.

Next thing you know  David and I were blazing away from Kansas City in his 1964 Ford Falcon Stationwagon 1500 miles to go to hit the Canadian border and another 1500 before we reach Alaska

Travelling from Kansas City I couldnt help but notice how many times we had to stop for trains. Seemed like a lot of trains in this part of the country were carrying cattle and those cattle trains were long. It was hot in this part of the country and there were long waits for trains in this scorching cattle country heat. I wondered if we'd ever get a break from this heat . I asked David who knew the lay of the land here much better than I if there was an escape from the heat forthcoming David replied "It's probably not going to get much cooler till we hit Alaska"

There were two things to do while waiting for those trains or traveling through wide swatches of nothing for that matter. 

1. Keep the music playing. David Crosby's "If I Can Only Remember My Name" album seemed to repeat itself often but there was also Miles Davis' "On the Corner" and Gil Scott Heron singing about Winter in America and H2O Gate Blues..after all this was 1974 and Tricky Dickie was about to receive his due and..

2. Keep blazing away. It was important to have enough marijuana to last us to the Canadian border.That wasnt going to be a problem for in addition to the weed David secured for us in Kansas City kind folks at the concert upon hearing we were heading to Alaska gifted us with a few extra treats. We knew it all had to be consumed by the time we hit the Canadian border..but if you knew David Trent..or if you knew David Daniels you knew that would not be much of a problem..This Ford Falcon Stationwagon was ganja powered heading North

We smoked our last joint in South Dakota just before entering Montana. Earlier we pulled off the road to find a car wash  in order to vacuum the car as we didnt need some random roach or pot seed getting us into trouble at the border and the border was coming up on us quickly. I savored the last hit. As far as I knew this was going to be the last weed I'd get to smoke before reaching Anchorage and Anchorage was a few days off . I burned it down to my fingertips before tossing it out the window. Or did it blow back in?

Sweetgrass Montana was the name of the town. It was at Sweetgrass Montana where our car was to be searched before entering Canada. Seemed like some cars and trucks were passing through with barely an inspection to be had. Could the white long haired hippie and the black afroed hippie have the same experience as the other travellers?   I couldnt tell if others ahead of us had to leave their vehicles for their inspections I know we were politely asked to leave David's 1964 Ford Falcon Stationwagon that despite my worries had made it smoothly to this point with only the Alaska Highway and Anchorage to go.

As I stood next to David a few feet from the car my only concern was how this station wagon could handle the rigors of the Alcan. In an instant the concern changed from whether the car would make it to Alaska to whether WE would make it to Alaska.

An officer approached us holding a black film cannister. "DO YOU GUYS SMOKE MARIJUANA?" The cannister he was holding was full of pot seeds. "UP AGAINST THE WALL!" Our ID's were stripped from us as we we searched. Other officers were now in the process of tearing up the car in search of any other evidence that could land us in jail.

..and tear up the car they did. The cassette player that provided us music through all the cattle country heat-rippied out of the car. Speakers were torn apart too. Our baggage was taken apart clothes thrown on the ground.  All they needed  was one more piece of evidence to throw the both of us in jail.

I thought for a moment back to that joint we smoked in South Dakota. Did that joint truly fly out the window or did it fly back in through the other window? If it did fly back in David and I were going to jail and I could say for certain that it didnt fly in. In my mind I began to develop a contingency plan in order to get bailed out.

Didnt need the emergency plan as they found nothing else and the officers left it to us to clean up the mess created by them in tearing the car apart. It took us awhile to put the car back into travelling shape again and changed the tone to what had been a rather carefree jaunt through America's Heartland. But now the REAL adventure is about to begin