"Travels with Charley," by John Steinbeck

"American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash - all of them - surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered in rubbish. Everything we use comes in boxes, cartons, bins, the so-called packaging we love so much. The mountains of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use." John Steinbeck remarking on the cities he sees and visits on his journey

My lifelong reading repertoire includes John Stenbeck whom I have extensively read, although I keep coming upon more obscure novels that have recieved little fanfare. One of those Steinbeck obscurities is "Travels With Charley" (1962). It is an autobiographical account of his retirement journey in an RV across the United States. It is completely unlike his novels, and his true character and personality comes through like a fresh ray of sunlight on a cloudy day. He is amusing, witty and generous. Most of all, he is an average guy out on a journey to discover the country, the people and himself.

An example of Steinbecks wit is this remark of a man he'd met on his journey - "The guardian of the lake was a lonely man, the more so because he had a wife."

At one point in his journey while passing through Minnesota Steinbeck remarks that he couldn't wait to get to Golden Valley, Minnesota, because any town with the name "Golden Valley" must be one of the most wonderful places on earth. He clearly spells out his disapointment in the west metro suburb of Minneapolis.

Steinbeck analyses the town, city or state in a Foucaultian discourse of goings on. Like his characters in his novels, he digs to the base of the soul of the human being, and their environments. He points out contradictions and sometimes even states to obvious, but does this with so much poignancy that you sometimes say, "yeah, I know," or " I've met someone like like that," or "I've been to a town like that."