The Fabric of History

I have this old pair of boxers that are made of a Route 66 fabric. The fabric is fairly common. I used to have a chair and ottoman upholstered in it; I've seen purses and hand bags made from it. Anyway, I came across those boxers today and read one of the old postcard captions: "We're traveling on Route 66!"

Big deal. Nowadays we can cover the mileage of the entire Route 66 in under 4 hours and $400. We can travel from Chicago to Bombay-- more than 8,000 miles all the way-- in less time than it took to drive Route 66 from Chicago to Joplin, Missouri.

Then again, I guess that's exactly the point: We can do everything today without much wonder. Nowadays, to come home and really wow someone with your travel adventures you have to return from Antarctica or some other remote inhabitable or damn near impossible to get to location. Chicago to LA and return is a day trip. And that's too bad.

Maybe it's a good thing that our children are growing up in an age of opportunity, where the world is a small place, where Hawaii, Europe, South America, and even Africa, are familiar, the geographies of spring break and summer vacations. These are the places "everyone goes"and maybe that will one-day lead to the world becoming a connected community.

But back in the 40's and 50's, in the time before freeways and economical air travel, travel was an undertaking and a road trip was an adventure. Air travel was costly and operated (or not) at the mercy of the weather. A trip by rail was more comfortable but didn't offer a whole lot in terms of time saved. Back then, owing to the effort required, travel was undertaken with eyes wide open, expectations high, and a sense of wonder and adventure. Nowadays, the greatest sense of wonder is often whether or not an upgrade will be provided; the greatest sense of adventure occurs when the front desk doesn't find your reservation.

It's a pleasure, a luxury, and a good thing that we can so readily explore the reaches of the world. I just doubt we'll ever live to see a fabric that aims to recall the wonder of travel in this current era. More likely, it will recall a time in history when travel was dependent on fossil fuels: planes, trains, and automobiles, all burning petroleum products. We should be so lucky, to have our oil dependence relegated to the fabric of history.