where to go..?

I was driving with no destination in mind and decided, since I was hungry, to stop at IHOP and have some breakfast. I wanted the feeling of warm food in my stomach before heading towards some place… There were not many people in for breakfast yet, and I guessed it was the reason why I got food sooner than expected. I do not look much at the menu anymore, I just order my usual: scramble eggs, hash browns, one sausage link, one bacon strip, toast and coffee. Simple, no numbered selections bullshit!

It is summer time, roads are dry and the sun hangs out for a long time. It has been a long cold and wet winter in Oregon and I could not think of a better way to rest my thoughts than driving around and getting to know Oregon, a bit more. I have not done any driving by myself, but I know that being alone and on a long road is relaxing, especially if it is a route not many use. Back in the restaurant the waitress brought me food and said, “What are you up to honey?” “Well, that is why I came in; to eat and figure out exactly what it is I want to do”. I replied. We talked about many things and by the time I was explaining to her more details about my ‘nowhere trip’ more people showed up at the restaurant and that was the end of our conversation. I finished my breakfast, paid my bill, left some tip and headed out to my car. The gasoline tank was full, I had a map next to me, my cell, my face in the mirror and the music was on. As soon as I turned the key something inside the car silently awakened the engine. I don’t know why but I just know that driving clears my mind and life becomes a mystery.

I can’t complain. I am well, have a job, have good friends and a place to sleep. I read the news and yes, I am happy and have always been regardless of what life has offered me. Either way, it was not long ago, I was inside a very old car back home in Reynosa, Mexico: a blue 1973 Chevy Impala. I will never forget this car, bought for us, my brother and me, by our older brother, Juan, for fifty bucks somewhere in Texas. For sure, I knew this car had seen better days. The seats were rough, not much leather left to see just metal springs, and everything else was falling apart by years of use and abuse. But it was our car, our first one! Of course, back then roads in Mexico were not as friendly to cars as today, I hope! Ditches were deep and such a great thing to enjoy if you majored in geology or were conscious about earth’s insides. We used wire to tighten the loose car body to minimize noisy reverberations and also to be able to carry things inside the trunk, like gallons of water for the thirsty radiator. I remember we could only drive the car for 10 miles before refilling the radiator, but sometimes things don’t work out and we would run out of water and…how ironic compared to people we see today with an empty container asking for gas. We were asking for water. Nevertheless, I remember we spend some money, but not much, fixing it. We worked hard to make the appearance of our first car, covered with holes and rust looked like they were not there by placing body fillers, bumper stickers, small metal or wooden parts from inside of it to keep out dust and warmth in the winter time. Ramon worked at a television company and knew lots of electronic technicians who installed a sound system and lights for the old car we once own, -the best sound system the neighborhood has ever seen or heard-, After that the noise was hardly noticed in or outside. Suddenly, one day and after many tries, it did not want start again, then, we let it rest for a while and sold it to a junk yard.

So there I was parked outside IHOP in Springfield, Oregon, never really knowing when or where I was going to. But I had choices: either take interstate 5 north towards Seattle, Washington or south towards California or route 126 towards the ocean or East towards the mountains, the national forests and the high desert. Well there I go..

Fidel Guerra.
Summer of 2015.