LettieLou and I have been reading away as usual, as well as updating the On The Road playlist and baking NYC Cream Cakes - I'm beyond proud they actually look and tasted (note, past tense) really pretty yummy :)
So, let's jump right back on in, shall we? Our boy, Sal's really starting to make some progress at this point - let's join him in the passenger seat with the window wound down and the warm breeze blowing in our hair - rolling along, on the road...
Read along with us HERE
Chapter summary:
After his earlier set-backs, Sal finally makes it to Chicago, which to him is the first of many obstacles on his route to San Fransico; he blows through almost as soon as he's arrived.
Meeting up with Eddie, we find ourselves with them amongst the ten-gallon hat wearers, apple-pie eaters and everyday hard workers of America's heart lands.
Sal either sleeps through or watches it all speed by from the window of a vehicle, letting one opportunity for experience pass him by after another.
Hopefully he'll open his eyes to the dream he's living soon...
Breaking it down - an excerpt:
LettieLou: I love this chapter
because he FINALLY starts to meet some characters
Lorabell: nod
LettieLou: who, besides the land,
are the stars of this book
Lorabell: i love the guys with the
big 10 gallon cowboy hats
LettieLou: LOL! me too!
Lorabell: oooooooh, love that - the
land is SO a character
LettieLou: thanks. :)
Lorabell: but even though it is vast
in geography and diversity, there is a uniting thread that runs throughout
like the Missisippi...
LettieLou: YES
he even says that...
when he describes the people
he talks about how these men could
be from any town
anywhere
Lorabell: YES
LettieLou: (page 13 for those
reading along)
"I walked, after a few cold beers, to the edge of town, and it was a long walk. All the men were driving home from work, wearing railroad hats, baseball has, all kinds of hats, just like after work in any town anywhere"
Lorabell: mhmm
he wants it all "now"
dude, look around
LettieLou: like he doesn't want to
be left out
Chatting it up - the complete breakdown:
LettieLou AND SO...
Chapter 3
:)
Lorabell: Chapter 3 :)
LettieLou: I have to start w/ my
favorite thing about the chapter
which is a bit weird
but I love how he describes the
smells of places
Lorabell: i don't think that's weird
smell is a very powerful sense
LettieLou: the Mississippi river...
the sawdust...
so visceral
Lorabell: it makes it more real
which is no bad thing
LettieLou: he does it so well
Lorabell: rather than "a
story" is feels more autobiographical
LettieLou: For example (and for
those reading along)
Lorabell: :)
LettieLou: Page 12
"I saw my beloved Mississippi
River, dry in the summer haze, low water, with its big rank smell that smells
like the raw body of America"
Lorabell: i love his language
LettieLou: me too!
And I know the smell he's talking
about…
the "river" smell
Lorabell: but it really takes you
there...
like, if you ever visited those
places...
you'd be transported into his minds’
eye, regardless of the time or who you are
smell is so powerful
LettieLou: absolutely...
smell and sound
Lorabell: and it can change the
scene from raw and heat to soft and breeze
LettieLou: exactly!
Lorabell: he's constantly describing
sounds too - i love that
again it adds to the
"realness"
you're sitting alongside him in the
truck he just hitched a ride in
bumping along in the night air with
the dust flying and engine roaring
LettieLou: his ability of
description is what made me fall in love w/ him. For example, the description of
the hotel room, I love
page 15
Lorabell: quote away, m'lady...
LettieLou: LOL!
i love what you said back there
about “bumping along with him” by the way!
i think that's what he intended
he wants the reader along w/ him
Lorabell: it totally happens
usually with books and stories...
you're reading along but it's like
you're hovering over or part of the furniture
with this, you're on the journey
LettieLou: yes... we're with him
"... spent a long day sleeping
on a big clean hard white bed with dirty remarks carved in the wall beside my
pillow"
he doesn't use flowery or uppity
language
just raw descriptive powers
Lorabell: nod he doesn't
sugar coat it
but you can almost feel the rough
cotton sheets beneath you
LettieLou: i feel like there's not a
high thread count here... LOL! he did say it was clean
LOL!
Lorabell: lol, yup
seen a few too many washes
but in terms of content of the
chapter
it's nice he's getting some distance
behind him
LettieLou: YES!
i feel some satisfaction
Lorabell: although i'm sad he
whizzes through Chicago so quickly
LettieLou: he's soooooo ready to get
to denver
where everyone is
up until he starts hitching, he
misses being ON THE ROAD
he's just ON A BUS
LOL!
Lorabell: but it's like he doesn't
appreciate some big opportunities
LOL
LettieLou: bingo
Lorabell: for all his dreams of big
adventure, he's sure skimming a lot of it
LettieLou: he does at first...
Lorabell: but i feel when he starts
actually hitching, it dawns on him more
LettieLou: I love this chapter
because he FINALLY starts to meet some characters
Lorabell: nod
LettieLou: who, besides the land,
are the stars of this book
Lorabell: i love the guys with the
big 10 gallon cowboy hats
LettieLou: LOL! me too!
Lorabell: oooooooh, love that - the
land is SO a character
LettieLou: thanks. :)
Lorabell: especially because, being
British, it's such a novelty for me too
and he's only from the east coast
Lorabell: but even though it is vast
in geography and diversity, there is a uniting thread that runs throughout
like the Missisippi...
LettieLou: YES
he even says that...
when he describes the people
he talks about how these men could
be from any town
anywhere
Lorabell: mhmm
LettieLou: (page 13 for those
reading along)
Lorabell: in that sense, do we think
he's dismissive of them at all? Like, he's not appreciating the experience as
he's living it as much as he could because he thinks these characters are a
dime a dozen... unlike Dean :p
LettieLou: That is a great point...
Lorabell: (sorry to interrupt you)
LettieLou: I think he's in such a
hurry to not miss something you know
you didn't
:)
Lorabell: YES
he wants it all "now"
dude, look around
LettieLou: like he doesn't want to
be left out
Lorabell: sorry, what were you going
to say before?
LettieLou: oh nothing... i was just
referencing the page i was looking at
Lorabell: quote away :)
LettieLou: "I walked, after a
few cold beers, to the edge of town, and it was a long walk. All the men were
driving home from work, wearing railroad hats, baseball has, all kinds of hats,
just like after work in any town anywhere"
:)
page 13
Lorabell: P.s. I'm also loving the beginnings
of his apple-pie in-take here... just saying ;)
LettieLou: I KNOW!
Lorabell: did the "American as
apple pie" thing come from this book?
LettieLou: I’m not sure where that
phrase comes from but I do love how he says it just gets better
Lorabell: because it works perfectly
me too
Lorabell: where's the quote...
LettieLou: on it
Lorabell: race ya
LettieLou: page 19!
Lorabell: damn you
LettieLou: nevermind...
Lorabell: no?
LettieLou: that's the cherry pie!
crap!
Lorabell: GOT IT
YES!
LettieLou: where is it? LOL!
Lorabell: "I ate apple pie and
ice cream - it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger,
the ice cream richer"
LettieLou: YES!
i love that line
Lorabell: you can almost hear it
being scooped out of the dish with thick vanilla melting on top
LettieLou: It's funny because it
seems that everything is better in Iowa. He talks about how pretty the girls
are, too.
Lorabell: noted
LettieLou: "The prettiest girls
in the world live in Des Moines"
Lorabell: maybe everything seems so
wonderful now just because he's realizing he's living it
LettieLou: B
I
N
G
O
Lorabell: lol
LettieLou: he's FINALLY experiencing
it!
Lorabell: everything always seems
incredible when you wake up to living your dream
however short/long
he's taking in all the sights and
smells he's been longing for
LettieLou: even experiencing it...
he still just wants to get to Denver and San Fran to be w/ Dean and Carlo
Lorabell: ugh, those guys
LettieLou: I'm like "dude,
they're not that great"
Eddie is way more interesting!
Lorabell: i'm kinda annoyed he's
rushing through all of this to get to them
they're so full of it
agreed
LettieLou: (for now...) NO SPOILERS
Lorabell: silly boy
LettieLou: heehee
Lorabell: ha
LettieLou: just
you'
'wait
Lorabell: eeek
LettieLou: i'm picturing Garrett in
some of the scenes to come...
good
lord
Lorabell: nom
gah, don't even
that boy fans self
LettieLou: i know....
i would totally ship that if stew
dumped roberto... (dear readers, don’t hate me for saying that! LOL!)
LOL!
Lorabell: HA
HAHAHAHA
is he with anyone?
LettieLou: not that i know of… I’ll
give him my number…
Lorabell: anyhoo
LettieLou: LOL!
sidebar
Lorabell: but, recapping - where do
we end up in this chapter?
LettieLou: Gothenburg
Lorabell: post Shelton?
i can't even thing what state it's
in
LettieLou: Nebraska
yep
Lorabell: brain freeze
i'm wondering if Shelton's meant to
represent anything...
LettieLou: i mapped out the entire
trip once... i need to look for it again.
Lorabell: a "dead end"
side of the heart lands
ooooh, get on that (mapping it out)
LettieLou: i know... i did it in my
stoner college days
theres no telling
Lorabell: ha
cough because that was so long ago cough
LettieLou: yeah yeah
looks around
me?
Lorabell: lol
nooooo
ps i was thinking about including a
recipe for hash brownies
lol
at some point :)
LettieLou: i'm sure i can find that
somewhere...
cough
Lorabell: oh i have one
i may have to down the dosage so our
readers don't lose 12 hours like i did
but that was BC weed
Lorabell: so, Eddie :)
LettieLou: yes...
say we close it up w/ discussing
Eddie
he's so awesome
Lorabell: also SUCKS they didn't do
the carnival thing because he didn't want to miss out on what Dean and Carl
were up to
Water for Elephants much
he's a shirt thief!
haha, kidding
LettieLou: I KNOW! but such a great
character!
Lorabell: and i kinda love how he
just fucks off
like "laters!"
and gets in the car
/truck?
LettieLou: and love that sal just
rolls w/ the punches
but he liked Eddie
Lorabell: ah, trailer!
LettieLou: he was good for him at
the time
Lorabell: he does in an easy going
way...
but is also too focused on getting
to San Fran at the same time
missing out on the Carnival, for
example
LettieLou: but it's funny to me that
at first sal was concerned that he couldn't be picked up because Eddie looks so
shotty
Lorabell: shotty?
LettieLou: dirty...
not put together
Lorabell: ah
LettieLou: sorry... i make up words
sometimes
heehee
Lorabell: lol, i wouldn't have known
i thought it was a legits word from
your neck of the woods
LettieLou: feel free to integrate it
into ur brit vocab
Lorabell: ooooh
i'll try and make it happen, UK side
#Fetch
LettieLou: Gretchen!
Lorabell: YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US
LettieLou: Have you ever heard of
the term "personal hell"?
Lorabell: sure
LettieLou: He says on page 21...
Lorabell: ...are you quoting or
asking?
lol
LettieLou: "I waited in our
personal godawful Shelton"
I think that's what he's trying to
say... that it' his personal hell.
LOL!
Lorabell: but why?
it's another town he's experiencing
along the road
i don't get what's so bad about it
LettieLou: right but it was just
another obstacle for him...
Lorabell: true
LettieLou: at least i think that's
how he saw it
Lorabell: a dead end on that part of
his trip
LettieLou: yeppo
eddie sure deuced out of Shelton
quickly...
Lorabell: having to restart down another
road
maybe because there are those places
that are just too far from everywhere
disconnected
LettieLou: and Dean, Carlo, and
Marylou aren't there...
Lorabell: rather than a stop on a
road
LettieLou: he only wants to be where
they are
Lorabell: yup, i think he feels the
furthest from his destination since he began there
it's so different from where they're
at
LettieLou: but you can bet that if
they were in Shelton and he were in Denver...
guess where he would want to be
Lorabell: mhmm
LettieLou: SHELTON
Lorabell: LOL
suddenly it's the life of the party
all ironically hipster cool
LettieLou: snaps fingers
Lorabell: lol
LettieLou: yeah man
Lorabell: gah, this is making me
long for summer
and i'm SUCH an
autumn/winter/Holidays gal
but I wanna be in a car, with the
windows down at night, warm breeze blowing my hair
heading somewhere that serves
crawfish ;)
LettieLou: I can only ever think of
stew when i hear about crawfish
her story was hilarity
Lorabell: HAHAHAH
and that gif
which i KNEW would happen
snort
i tried them for the first time when
I was in NO this past spring
we dont' have them here
fiddly fuckers
LettieLou: they are deelish
Lorabell: indeedy they are
LettieLou: Well, great third effort!
Lorabell: agreed :)
***
See you next time?
Save some room for Kristen's "Mean Apple Pie" up next ;)
- Lorabell
Solid breakdown girls! :)
ReplyDeleteJust a few thoughts...
Thankfully our dear Sal is finally starting to make progress! This chapter is where the road really starts to come to life. It's not just asphalt under truck tires, but this palpable thing, living and breathing.
I love the way you referred to the "bumping along." That's the perfect term for it. Don't you totes feel like you're in some big rig hauling ass down the freeway yelling over the clamoring motor?!?
He is finally moving not just literally but figuratively. One of my favorite passages in the chapter is when he acknowledges "the dividing line" in his life. The New York boy is becoming the West bound man. Kinda gives me a chill when he describes those few seconds where he doesn't even recognize himself.
Everything holds more appeal for him the farther West he roams. The pie gets better, the girls get prettier. Yet it almost seems he holds back, won't let himself really indulge until he reaches his destination and is with his boys. (Silly Sal, the journey is the fun part...live it up my man!) Then he knows...it's gonna be ON! ;)
Ah and who can forget the "rawhide oldtimer" on pg. 18-19. Can't you just envision this guy?!? I love Sal's endearing regard for this man who sort of personifies the West he is looking for.
Final thought...how cute is it that he sends his aunt a post card?!? Awww!
Until Chapter 4...xx
@TwiNurse02 Completely forgot about how he forgets himself when he first wakes up - I was so wrapped up in the description of the room and feeling like I was seeing what he was seeing - but love that too. He's so far away from home and outside of his normal life that he doesn't recognize who he is, but also makes me think that "who he is" is changing on his journey :) it's kind of the point in taking the trip I guess - to find who he is. Although, I recently came upon the idea that such things aren't about "finding" but "making" who you are :)
ReplyDeleteP.s. F-LOVING that you're reading along SO hard xxx