Forgotten Trail

I was traveling today between a small town in the center of the State and my hometown. It was a hot summer day… much like most of our South Carolina summer days. I looked up at the sky and searched for that hopeful grayness that relieves that intoxicating heat that overtakes my lungs.

The sky was heavy blue and the clouds that tried to form in the distance were pushed away by an unseen force. I knew my trip would be a long and windy one in my old friend the Jeep. I searched for an alternate route through the slower country lanes… hopeful for a shady route.

I turned off of the main road and could hear the rhythmic humming of the cicada as I slowed down to a second gear crawl. I peered over the hood and smiled as I felt the wind shift to the side of my face. Where would this road take me? I decided to take my time and feel my way toward home.

The first mile took me to a dip in the road that begged me to slow. I followed a hidden road between forgotten road signs. The texture of the road was different. The joints in the road had separated and sang a rhythm under my tires. Dry weeds spilled out of the cracks. The shade that spilled off of the pines flashed across my eyes and striped the old concrete road that once brought promise and prosperity between two growing communities.

My mind could see the smiling farm houses that once stood within walking distance beside this old symbol of progress. I could see the lumbering road equipment pushing up piles of farmland while the billowing diesel exhaust spilled out of the smoke stacks… the children walking behind the machinery searching for treasures in the freshly cut dirt while workmen keep a steady eye on them.

I’m sure there were scatterings of secret hand prints and names scratched within the concrete for miles. The younger adults drove their new automobiles into town and the older generation grumbled about the intrusion…

My journey into the past ended too quickly…and my road was coming to an end just as it had begun. I pulled to a slow crawl and stopped beside another forgotten road sign. I had to turn left or turn right… right felt the friendliest.

Shannon R Killman