By James Calemine
Sam Shepard hated to fly. He drove everywhere. In his 1977 Bob Dylan book–The Rolling Thunder Logbook–Shepard explained to Dylan’s manager his aversion to planes. Shepard also co-wrote “Brownsville Girl” with Bob Dylan on the album Knocked Out Loaded.
Many of Shepard’s short stories involve travel. “Wyoming: Highway 80 East” counts as a good example. The story was published in Day Out of Days: Stories during 2010. The story’s first two sentences set the tone: “The long haul from Rock Springs to Grand Island, Nebraska, starts out bleak. After two runny eggs and processed ham I hit the road at 7:00.”
Shepard describes nineteen degree weather, freezing snow, jackknifed eighteen-wheelers and only one radio station with a preacher declaring the world went to hell in 1961. One can easily web search Shepard’s accomplishments, but the devil’s in the details when you read his stories. Shepard died in 2017 at 73. A long drive with Sam Shepard can still be enjoyed if you read his work. Take the highway…
RELATED CONTENT
Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song