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Welcome to our 67th monthly Zoom presentation. We can all be very proud of the amazing library of recordings that we are building. It’s truly a testament.

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to the diversity of the roadside. I’m Brian Gallagher, the President of the Society for Commercial Archaeology, and proud to be your host for tonight’s presentation.

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Welcome to all our guests. And any new people we have with us this afternoon and evening. We’re happy you took the time.

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to watch an SCA presentation, and I hope you enjoy the show.

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And for anybody watching the recording of this episode of the SCA’s monthly presentations, who is not a member of the SCA.

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We earnestly ask you to consider joining. Funding for the various activities of the SCA comes almost exclusively from our membership.

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Just visit our website at www.sca-roadside.org and follow the links.

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Now I have the pleasure of introducing tonight’s… or this month’s presenter.

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In the fall of 2021, Evan Stern. Grabbed a microphone and took 2 months to drive Route 66 from Oklahoma to the Santa Monica Pier.

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Along the way, he spoke with over 100 people.

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for his podcast, Vanishing Postcards. In the voices of Route 66.

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Evan combines personal reflections with select footage. from a few of the people he met along this journey to explore how the mother roads past, present, and future.

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are revealed through the people who live and work along it today.

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Kevin Stern is the host and creator of the podcast Vanishing Postcards, a documentary travelogue.

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The series invites listeners on a road trip exploring the hidden dives and frequently threatened histories.

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found by exiting the interstates. Featuring dispatches from the back roads, its second season was entirely centered on Route 66 and named the best American podcast.

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at 2024’s Indie Podcast Awards. An oral historian, narrative auto producer, actor, and singer.

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Evan is a native of Austin, Texas. He currently resides in Manhattan.

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Where he has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall.

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Lincoln Center and the Oak Room at the Algon Clare.

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Evan, would you like to start sharing your screen? And uh… Let’s hear your presentation.

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Sure thing!

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Let’s see… alright.

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Just give me a second here…

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No problem. You can see the screen, but… I see.

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Perfect, yes, it’s just give me a second here.

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Yeah, no problem. Wonderful.

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There we go, we’re in business. Uh, so yes, so thank you, thank you so much, Brian. It’s a great pleasure to be here tonight.

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Um, as you mentioned, I’m coming to you this evening from the island of Manhattan, so I apologize if you hear any sirens in the background.

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And as Brian says, I’m going to be talking tonight all about Route 66.

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Uh, but before we get into that, I’d like to begin with a few words from this guy. Um, and I trust that we have a few old folks in our audience tonight who recognize this face.

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Uh, this is Charles Karolt, uh, and believe it or not, despite my youthful good looks and full head of hair.

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I am barely old enough to remember Charles Karolt, too, and if anyone here tonight is unfamiliar.

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Charles Karolt was a CBS correspondent who came to be known as the Walt Whitman of American television.

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He famously served as the original host of CBS Sunday Morning.

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But I think most would agree that his greatest legacy was his show, On the Road.

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And as the story goes, he sparked upon the idea for the series in 1967, when flying above Ohio.

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He turned to his cameraman and said, by God, next time we travel someplace.

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we ought to drive and find out what’s really going on in this country.

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And for nearly 3 decades, he did just that, as he invited audiences to follow him on the road, in an RV.

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As he shared good news from our country’s heartland.

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And I really feel like his absence has left a great void in our media landscape, because whether talking to.

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bicycle repairman, ginger ale brewers, or postal workers. He had a remarkable way of spotlighting the common bonds and shared humanity that unites us.

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And when reflecting on his work, he once said.

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It does no harm every now and then to acknowledge the entire country isn’t in flames.

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That there are people in the country. Besides politicians, criminals.

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an entertainers. He also said the everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

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And he conversely pointed out that the interstate highway system has made it possible to drive coast-to-coast without seeing anything.

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But something he said that I often return to is.

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You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars.

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Now, I don’t know when he said this. Uh, my guess is it was somewhere north of 50 years ago.

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But the reason it stuck with me is because I don’t know how true it is anymore.

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Because in a fast-paced, rapidly homogenizing world, the kinds of burger joints he was talking about with career waitresses.

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and memories etched in their grime are getting harder to find.

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And when they close, we lose pieces of our unsung and frequently irreplaceable history.

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And I felt moved to revisit this quote tonight, because the past 5 years of my life.

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have been consumed with documenting and calling attention to places like these through my podcast.

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vanishing postcards. How it all came together is a really long story, but.

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I trace… you could say that its seed started when my YouTube.

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Algorithm kept suggesting travel vlog videos, you know. influencers filming themselves in familiar Instagrammable destinations.

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And they frustrated me because I rarely saw the ways that I like to travel represented in any of them, because more often than not.

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the people in these videos weren’t saying, look at this place, so much as they were saying, look at me.

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and how cute and fabulous I am in this place.

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So, in early 2020. I grabbed a microphone, flew home to my native Texas to see about capturing a few stories.

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I really didn’t have any kind of a grand vision at the time.

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But things quickly fell into alignment. And the project revealed itself to me as vanishing postcards, and I chose that title.

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Because each episode of the series provides a snapshot of a different place, and if there’s a common thread.

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in the places I visit in features that you don’t know how much longer a lot of them will be around.

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or they’re representative of fading cultures, histories, traditions that you just don’t hear so much about anymore.

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Well. To make a long story short.

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I found myself in Texas for over a year thanks to the pandemic, during which time the project snowballed.

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Resulting in a fully produced season that became something of a sleeper critical hit.

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And even before it was done releasing, people kept asking me, okay, so what’s next? You should do a season in Louisiana, there’s so much left in Texas to explore.

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How about Florida? Until I finally just blurted out in front of my parents, well.

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If I had unlimited resources. I think I’d like to drive Route 66.

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Now, how’d I come to this idea? I wish I could share some inspiring Genesis story, or Eureka moment.

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If there was one, though, I honestly can’t recall, yet it is absolutely something I felt called to do.

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Why is this? Well, what is it that calls.

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anyone to take a road trip. It’s a uniquely American concept driven by the idea of a quest. I think we can blame its origins on the pioneers who went west in search of wealth, freedom, adventure.

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A century later, this legend was cemented by authors like Steinbeck and Kerouac, who hit the road looking for many of the same things, and.

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it’s been perpetuated in Hollywood through movies like Nomadland, Cars, Easy Rider.

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Even Britney Spears’ crossroads. Now, was I seduced by similar grand visions? Well.

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let’s just say that name Route 66 is magic.

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And I wanted to explore where its myth comes from, and how its layers of history are revealed to the people and places found driving it today.

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So, again. In the fall of 2021.

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I grabbed a microphone, hit the road, and in a huge.

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leap of faith took about 2 months to drive 66 from Oklahoma to the Pacific coast.

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Now, I regret that back then, uh, time, money, circumstance, and a myriad of factors kept me from driving the entire length of the route, so my sincere apologies.

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to the good people of Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, though I’m going to be talking a little bit about.

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them by the end of this. Um, even so, if my car’s odometer is to be believed.

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I ended up driving nearly 7,000 miles. spoke with over 100 people along the way.

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and created 17 episodes worth of material. And today, I’m going to introduce you to just a few of the characters.

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I met along this journey, and share some perspectives.

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on how their stories not only reflect. the narrative of Route 66.

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But our nation as a whole. So before hitting the road, the very first person I spoke with for this project was the author Michael Wallace, who’s described Oklahoma as the crossroads of America’s Main Street, and.

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It was really important for me to begin there because I feel like Oklahoma.

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is where so much of 66’s identity was initially forged through figures like.

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The Jodes, Will Rogers, the Highway Commissioner Cyrus Avery.

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But before digging into any of that history, I felt it important to acknowledge that all stories.

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in this country begin with those who were here first.

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That’s absolutely true of Route 66. Its alignments often follow native trade routes.

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And driving it today, you will pass through more than 25 tribal nations.

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And if Oklahoma is the crossroads of America’s Main Street, then I think some poetry exists in the fact that.

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Depending on which direction you drive. either the first or last town you pass through in the state.

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is the town of Kwa. Now, quapaw is not a destination for most roadies. It’s a no-stoplight town of about 800.

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maybe 4 miles south of the Kansas line. But for many, the land there is sacred, as it represents the seat of the Kwa Nation.

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Now, at one point, the Quapon numbered as many as 10,000 in Arkansas, but following disease, famine, and the tragedy of forest removal.

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By the 1800s, they came dangerously close to extinction.

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As such, they don’t have the name recognition of neighboring tribes like the Choctaw, Cherokee, or Osage.

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The last of their full blood members died a few decades ago, and many of their ancestral memories have been lost.

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But when I met there who’s working to recover some, is an artist and educator named Betty Gadke.

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She’s on a mission to revive the practice of quapaw pottery, which she says is one of her people’s great artistic legacies.

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And here’s Betty in her own words. I started realizing that we have completely let this fall to the wayside, and quals are probably known for their pottery above everything.

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So, for this to happen, it was just heartbreaking, because like I said, you know, we don’t have a written history.

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So when, you know, say when the smallpox came through and we lost so many of our people, so much tradition went to the grave with them.

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And my grandmother was, uh, she lost both her parents by the time she was 8 years old, so she was an orphan.

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She couldn’t speak a word of English, she was only fluent in Ogapa, and she ended up being sent to the Carlisle.

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Uh, orphanation, Pennsylvania. she almost died there. I mean, she had an appendix attack, they didn’t do anything for her for a week. It is a miracle that she even lived.

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Grandma never talked about it. She would not, she would not share her language with us.

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And, you know, and I think a lot of that generation felt that way because they did not want us to go through with what they just went through. So… They did take that, a bit of that out of them.

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So it’s been a struggle to come back. You know, so… but my mother shared with me, and I never saw, I never witnessed it, but.

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from the Appendix attack. My grandmother had a hole in her stomach that she carried her entire life.

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And she died where you can put your fist into that hole in her stomach, so… Yeah, that’s… It’s what helps make me who I am.

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To know that we overcome that, we survived it, and what it represents is how tough we were.

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And how tough we are today. So I think that this work that people like Betty are doing to share the true art and stories of their people is hugely important.

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Because people have always driven Route 66 in search of a glorified non-existent past.

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I mean, as we all know, people make this trip today to hunt for neon and relics of its much-hyped mid-century golden age.

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But back then, a lot of travelers were enticed to make this trip because of Technicolor Westerns.

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And TV shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza that glorified the 1800s.

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And because of that, the Native American presence along the route was long exploited and misunderstood.

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And when I met who remembers this time well.

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was a man named David Yellowhorse. His family opened a trading post on the Arizona state line, just a short drive past Gallup that’s still in business today.

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And he remembers when he was a kid. Back in the 50s, 60s.

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Every now and then, they’d get… people who’d pull over and say, well, you know, my wife and I, we were afraid to stop because we’d heard about the Indians, but we’re glad we did!

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And so, after hearing this more than once, David told me that his dad and uncles put up a sign.

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It said, friendly Navajo ahead. We know Scout Pale Face.

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just wallet. Now, like Betty, David is a craftsman as well. He’s a 6th generation silversmith and knife maker.

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And he told me that one day a visitor showed up at his shop unannounced to let him know that his knives have quite literally made their way around the world.

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Here’s David. I never thought I’d ever, ever meet you.

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So, my name’s John Massey. And he said, your knives have helped us so tremendously in the war against terrorism.

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Excuse me? Here it goes. Let me explain to you, he says.

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I’m a retired CIA agent. What happened is we went over there looking for friendlies over there in Afghanistan.

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And there were tribesmen. uh, senior knives, and he said, oh my gosh.

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This… we gotta… this is what we got… he’s looking for something to take back to these tribesmen.

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He says, I took them back to them. And I showed them… I gave them these knives, presented them to them, and I told them, this is what our tribesmen do in the United States.

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you know, in a connection. And he says, we made… through your knives, we made the best friends with these guys, and they helped us.

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They helped us. So, Mr. Yellow Horse is a believer in the American promise, and his respect for the military is a recurring theme in his work.

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He has, uh, collections that pay tribute to the Navajo Code Talkers.

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And when I was with him, he showed me a knife he’d made that featured an etching of the Iwo Jima flag raising.

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And meeting David and seeing his work. caused me to recall a sign I noticed entering Gallup that announced its Rand McNally designation.

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as the most patriotic small town in America. Now, it’s interesting to note.

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that Gallup’s other title is the Indian capital of the world.

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So, given history. I can see where these names could strike some as maybe a little bit dichotomous.

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But if we take some time to think about what patriotism.

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really is. I don’t think these titles are contradictory or even coincidental.

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Because patriotism… encompasses love of country as a whole.

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Including all who lives here. It instills feelings of community.

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Respect for the land and pride and culture in roots.

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Well, I’ve met few for whom these issues are more intertwined than these original Americans I met driving our main street.

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And as I was working on the episode that featured these voices, I came upon a quote from an Aboriginal leader named George Erasmus who says.

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Where common memory is lacking. Where people do not share in the same past.

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There can be no real community. Where community is to be formed.

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Common memory must be created.

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In a broad sense, I think that. This is cru… that’s something that’s crucial for our survival as a nation.

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But it’s crucial for the survival of Route 66 as well, and two I met who were doing their part to call attention to a chapter of the road’s history that’s often overlooked.

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Our cousins Edward and Alan Threit. Their grandfather.

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Alan Threit Sr. Opened, built, and ran the only known Black-owned filling station on Route 66, which serviced travelers throughout the segregation years.

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And I met the cousins at the site of the old station, which sits on a bluff just outside the town of Luther, Oklahoma.

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It’s an old 1915 sandstone bungalow. And I’m really pleased to report that since our meeting, they’ve received a lot of attention and have renovated the station in advance of next year’s centennial.

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But at the time of our meeting, it admittedly wasn’t in the best of shape.

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And was the kind of structure, I think, real estate agent might have dismissed as a teardown.

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But they kept signs in its window that said, this place matters. And believe me when I tell you it does, because more than a stop for gas and refreshments.

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It was a refuge that hosted Black travelers, barbecues.

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Even Negro League baseball tournaments. And whenever I think about this encounter, I just can’t help but get chills.

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Because as we got to talking, their faces lit up as memories suddenly came to life.

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And here are a few they shared with me.

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It’s hard to describe. Okay. Defillin.

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when you look around, and when I say that.

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It was wall-to-wall Black people out here, I mean.

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That… that was a joy in that, all by itself, okay? A peach.

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You can’t… you can’t understand that. Our property… is right in the middle.

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A sundown towns. Okay, and I don’t know if you’re familiar with what is up downtown is, but… To come here, to have that peace, that… Where you don’t have to be concerned about anything. Hearing this.

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I asked how they were made aware of these towns growing up. Very easy.

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Because when you’re in a town. The other side out there says… Uh, I don’t know if this is… I can remember saying Necro Blacks.

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Don’t be called at the sun go down. You would like to think that these things… Run away, but they didn’t.

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You know, uh… A few years back, and let’s say.

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10 years ago, okay? I used to be the mayor in Luther.

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Okay. And I had a white guy tell me.

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Don’t let dark catch you in town. Okay. This is 10 years ago.

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Okay. Now, me being me, I made the point to be in town after dark.

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But you’re not gonna tell me, that’s just my attitude, okay.

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But, again, that just goes to show you, okay?

00:21:41.000 –> 00:21:45.000
That you would like to think that things have changed.

00:21:45.000 –> 00:21:52.000
And the air. But not that much, okay, not that much.

00:21:52.000 –> 00:22:03.000
So I felt it was important to include this clip because it reveals an unspoken but uncomfortable truth that remains present along Route 66 today.

00:22:03.000 –> 00:22:08.000
And look, I want to make it very clear that I recognize the important, valuable role.

00:22:08.000 –> 00:22:18.000
Nostalgia has played in its renaissance. Okay, I love burgers, milkshakes, Elvis, and Neon as much as anyone, and all of that imagery.

00:22:18.000 –> 00:22:24.000
absolutely played a huge role in my decision to take this project on.

00:22:24.000 –> 00:22:30.000
But more than once on this trip, I heard the 50s referred to as happy days.

00:22:30.000 –> 00:22:42.000
Well, those days weren’t happy for everyone. And as one who’s lived most of my adult life in Harlem, I can assure you my neighbors aren’t thinking about driving Route 66 anytime soon.

00:22:42.000 –> 00:22:48.000
They’re afraid to. And while the Green Book may no longer be published, you don’t need to.

00:22:48.000 –> 00:22:54.000
Go far… look far to find Reddit threads and online forums of Black travelers.

00:22:54.000 –> 00:23:06.000
Asking questions, sharing experiences, seeking advice. I’ve seen a few, and the concerns they have in advance of travel would never cross my mind.

00:23:06.000 –> 00:23:13.000
That’s heartbreaking, and it speaks to issues we have in this country that are going to take generations to untangle.

00:23:13.000 –> 00:23:23.000
But there’s power in sharing stories, and while I know some out there might be wary of touching on this history because they’re afraid it might somehow detract.

00:23:23.000 –> 00:23:31.000
from the fun of a road trip. As we’re well on our way to becoming a majority-minority society.

00:23:31.000 –> 00:23:37.000
I’d argue that those who care about 66’s future endurance should be afraid not to.

00:23:37.000 –> 00:23:43.000
And it’s not an either-or. And what’s more… I’d actually wager.

00:23:43.000 –> 00:23:47.000
that most actually do have it in them to hear these stories.

00:23:47.000 –> 00:23:53.000
Because, let’s face it. A drive down Route 66 ain’t a carnival cruise.

00:23:53.000 –> 00:23:57.000
It’s a journey, and. Experiences like this.

00:23:57.000 –> 00:24:05.000
That’s what travel’s all about. But let’s keep it real. Why do people take road trips? Because they’re a lot of fun.

00:24:05.000 –> 00:24:17.000
And while our country may not be perfect, that doesn’t mean it isn’t absolutely beautiful, and this trip reminded me of just that. I saw the Grand Canyon, I saw sunsets in New Mexico.

00:24:17.000 –> 00:24:23.000
I saw the Pacific Ocean, I even saw… The blue whale of Catusa.

00:24:23.000 –> 00:24:32.000
Now, where else are you going to get to see something like this? And Route 66 is rich with roadside oddities, like muffler men, the.

00:24:32.000 –> 00:24:37.000
world’s largest rocking chair, the leaning water tower of Groom, Texas.

00:24:37.000 –> 00:24:45.000
And all of these places are great for a stop, stretch, snap, and chuckle, but they were also built by people with hopes and dreams and almost.

00:24:45.000 –> 00:24:53.000
always reveal more than what meets the eyes. And this really came into focus for me at Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo.

00:24:53.000 –> 00:25:02.000
Now, if you don’t know it, Cadillac Ranch features 10 vintage Cadillacs buried half in the ground at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza.

00:25:02.000 –> 00:25:08.000
Today, visitors are invited to spray paint whatever they want on the cars, and over the years.

00:25:08.000 –> 00:25:16.000
The ranch has elicited much in the way of opinion. Purists will let you know that it’s actually no longer on Route 66.

00:25:16.000 –> 00:25:21.000
And scrolling Google, I remember I saw one review that dismissed it as nothing more.

00:25:21.000 –> 00:25:26.000
than a junkyard of scrap metal, and quite frankly, a disgrace.

00:25:26.000 –> 00:25:32.000
And I myself will admit, at first glance, thinking to myself, well, you know what, this is kind of silly.

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:40.000
Um, but… It soon occurred to me that the true art of Cadillac Ranch is found in its experience, and.

00:25:40.000 –> 00:25:48.000
Walking amongst its wreckage, surrounded by. couple spray painting, and families taking pictures.

00:25:48.000 –> 00:25:57.000
I was reminded of all things February 2005, when Jean-Claude and Christo filled Central Park with orange vinyl-draped gates.

00:25:57.000 –> 00:26:06.000
Um, now, I will admit to, at first glance, thinking that the gates were ridiculous and looked like something out of a construction site.

00:26:06.000 –> 00:26:12.000
But they drew people outdoors and inspired them to interact in the heart of the city’s brutal winter.

00:26:12.000 –> 00:26:19.000
And I saw something similar. to this happening at Cadillac Ranch.

00:26:19.000 –> 00:26:24.000
As people were inspired to exit their cars in the dreariness of I-40.

00:26:24.000 –> 00:26:29.000
Which is how I met a long-haired car hauler named Sean Timothy. Here’s Sean.

00:26:29.000 –> 00:26:37.000
Well, I drove in from Oklahoma City via Houston, via Austin. I travel as a professional transporter.

00:26:37.000 –> 00:26:50.000
moving cars. I live currently in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I heard about it this morning, uh… Happy to… interesting place to come, you know, I didn’t know what I was walking into, but… to see everybody with paint cans, it was really, uh…

00:26:50.000 –> 00:26:54.000
kind of an interesting parallel. Uh, there was a family that.

00:26:54.000 –> 00:27:10.000
spray-painted their flag from their home country, Syria, and that was really… interesting for me to see, you know, so I got a postcard for the Syrian family, and I’m gonna print it and get it to them. That feels like a really meaningful connection, so…

00:27:10.000 –> 00:27:18.000
knowing what I know about what’s going on in Syria right now is really… grounding reminder to be grateful for what we have here in the United States.

00:27:18.000 –> 00:27:26.000
Anywhere a community can come together in whatever… Um… whatever form that looks, I feel like this provides an opportunity.

00:27:26.000 –> 00:27:34.000
people to come together in the name of. are… it just puts people who wouldn’t probably talk before into the same space.

00:27:34.000 –> 00:27:40.000
And whether we’re open to it or not, you know, maybe a small percentage of people are actually open to meeting a stranger.

00:27:40.000 –> 00:27:49.000
But those are my people, so I’m coming here to meet like-minded people, I’m coming here to share ideas if anyone wants to talk on that level.

00:27:49.000 –> 00:27:52.000
Or just share a smile, and that… that means something.

00:27:52.000 –> 00:27:56.000
being around people, especially in a polarized country, you know?

00:27:56.000 –> 00:28:01.000
So are places like Cadillac Ranch a little wild?

00:28:01.000 –> 00:28:07.000
Maybe. Then again, maybe… They’re just what our world needs.

00:28:07.000 –> 00:28:14.000
I mean, I love what Sean is talking about here, not only because it reflects the personal interactions one gets through travel.

00:28:14.000 –> 00:28:19.000
But because it speaks to the power and value that art and culture have today.

00:28:19.000 –> 00:28:26.000
Because in this horribly polarized moment, they can provide a rare area of agreement.

00:28:26.000 –> 00:28:36.000
And while I am no Pollyanna, and am by no means naive enough to suggest that culture is somehow the answer to all of our problems.

00:28:36.000 –> 00:28:43.000
If we’re looking to bridge gaps. I think it can be an okay place to start.

00:28:43.000 –> 00:28:53.000
And in regard to culture, something I think that those who live and work along Route 66 understand is that cultural preservation.

00:28:53.000 –> 00:29:03.000
has great economic benefit. And few I met can testify to this better than Angel Delgadillo of Seligman, Arizona.

00:29:03.000 –> 00:29:17.000
Now, among dedicated roadies, Angel needs no introduction. He was born in 1927, just one year after 66’s commission, and is a living witness to all of its incarnations.

00:29:17.000 –> 00:29:23.000
He saw Dust Bowl migrants pass through Seligman on their way to California in the 30s.

00:29:23.000 –> 00:29:28.000
He saw tailfin Chevys pull into his brother’s snow-capped drive-in in the 1950s.

00:29:28.000 –> 00:29:36.000
He also saw what happened in the 1970s when his town and others like it were bypassed by Interstate 40.

00:29:36.000 –> 00:29:43.000
But well before many others. He recognized that a path forward for Route 66 ran through its past.

00:29:43.000 –> 00:29:50.000
So he gathered community members. formed the first Route 66 association.

00:29:50.000 –> 00:29:55.000
campaigned to get the stretch that runs through Arizona designated a historic byway.

00:29:55.000 –> 00:30:00.000
And in doing so, help plant the seeds for the Renaissance the road is enjoying today.

00:30:00.000 –> 00:30:06.000
So, here’s Angel, and a brief version of his story.

00:30:06.000 –> 00:30:13.000
But Jake, before we bypass. The town is legal was alive and well.

00:30:13.000 –> 00:30:20.000
History says that there was. 9,000 automobiles used in this tree every 24 hours.

00:30:20.000 –> 00:30:25.000
We will bypassion about 2:30, 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

00:30:25.000 –> 00:30:29.000
Traffic stock, just like it was for Bitcoin coming to town.

00:30:29.000 –> 00:30:35.000
business closed up. It was tough, but not long after.

00:30:35.000 –> 00:30:42.000
Angel began to notice there were a few drivers who still kept finding their way into Seligman and his barbershop.

00:30:42.000 –> 00:30:44.000
You don’t know what you have until you lose them.

00:30:44.000 –> 00:30:48.000
I says, what the are you looking for? I told myself.

00:30:48.000 –> 00:30:52.000
You’ve got a highway that you wanted. What are you doing here, sleeping?

00:30:52.000 –> 00:30:59.000
You find the ground on me. They were looking for America of yesterday.

00:30:59.000 –> 00:31:05.000
And therefore, I got my idea of… How to get the economy back to silicon?

00:31:05.000 –> 00:31:15.000
And my simple thought was. We asked the state to make Route 66 historic from Silicon to Cayman.

00:31:15.000 –> 00:31:20.000
And after forming the historic Rouse 66 Association, February 18, 1987.

00:31:20.000 –> 00:31:29.000
half a dozen of us became the nucleus. The state finally made it historic November of 1987.

00:31:29.000 –> 00:31:37.000
So, in Kim’s story. Remember, the beautiful thing is that we.

00:31:37.000 –> 00:31:45.000
How… and as many words, set an example. You can’t wish for, you can’t beg for.

00:31:45.000 –> 00:31:53.000
Even money can buy forward. But if you go out and you believe in yourself, you can get the job done.

00:31:53.000 –> 00:31:56.000
So, I’ll tell you, uh, I’ll just briefly tell you, last summer.

00:31:56.000 –> 00:32:05.000
I was in the town of Luano, Italy, which is a small town on the Ligurian coast, just between Genoa and Nice.

00:32:05.000 –> 00:32:11.000
we weren’t just the only Americans there. I’m pretty sure we were the only foreigners there, period. Will I go down to the square.

00:32:11.000 –> 00:32:19.000
Uh, one evening to check out a festival. And I looked on my side, and what do I see but a local couple in matching Route 66 t-shirts?

00:32:19.000 –> 00:32:24.000
Then I looked closer. said Sir Lignman, Arizona.

00:32:24.000 –> 00:32:29.000
And I’m pleased to say I saw Angel just a few weeks ago in Flagstaff, and he is.

00:32:29.000 –> 00:32:43.000
as spry and lively as ever. And today, each state along Route 66 claims its own association inspired by the model spearheaded by Angel and the people of Seligman.

00:32:43.000 –> 00:32:54.000
And historic designations and preservation efforts are ubiquitous. As are the countless who exit the highways each year in search of iconic shield signs.

00:32:54.000 –> 00:32:59.000
But what I, and anyone who’s driven the route will tell you.

00:32:59.000 –> 00:33:05.000
is that its heart and soul isn’t found. in its relics.

00:33:05.000 –> 00:33:09.000
It’s in people. like the Del Gadillos.

00:33:09.000 –> 00:33:22.000
Harley Russell, the redneck bard of Eric, Oklahoma. Brenda Hammett Bradley, who stays up till 3am each night making pies at her midpoint cafe in Adrian, Texas.

00:33:22.000 –> 00:33:32.000
And innkeepers, like Rosie Ramos, who for years greeted travelers behind her desk as the manager at Fender’s River Resort in Needles, California.

00:33:32.000 –> 00:33:41.000
We weren’t wealthy family, we were not a wealthy family when I was growing up. There was 6 kids, and my parents, and my parents worked for the church, and for.

00:33:41.000 –> 00:33:47.000
the Catholic school. We may not have had much, but my parents gave a lot.

00:33:47.000 –> 00:33:59.000
And I don’t mean financially or… in any other way, but I just mean they just gave a lot. They gave people a lot, no matter who they were, what they were doing.

00:33:59.000 –> 00:34:03.000
Um, if somebody needed a floor to sleep on it.

00:34:03.000 –> 00:34:13.000
You know, there was times I’d wake up, and there’d be… Somebody’s sleeping on our living room floor, and I’m like, Mom, who’s that? Oh, your dad wants to help this guy out, you know?

00:34:13.000 –> 00:34:22.000
After seeing that. It kind of made me feel, well… I don’t… it doesn’t make me feel anything, it just happens.

00:34:22.000 –> 00:34:26.000
It doesn’t matter if they tell you thank you or not.

00:34:26.000 –> 00:34:30.000
Because there’s somebody out there that knows what you’re doing, and you’re gonna be.

00:34:30.000 –> 00:34:37.000
blessed in your own way. And I think I am. I think I am. I’m 62 years old, and I’m blessed. I know.

00:34:37.000 –> 00:34:41.000
thousands of people I would have never met if I hadn’t moved here.

00:34:41.000 –> 00:34:46.000
So very sadly, Rosie died not long after I spoke with her.

00:34:46.000 –> 00:34:52.000
But it’s my hope that her presence in this series can play a small role in preserving her memory.

00:34:52.000 –> 00:35:01.000
And her passing underscores why I opened this season with this very brief quote from the photographer Jim Livingston.

00:35:01.000 –> 00:35:12.000
There’s so many stories on Route 66 that… Um, are gonna disappear. And so, one of the most valuable things, I think, about traveling Route 66 is to hear people’s stories.

00:35:12.000 –> 00:35:15.000
That may be the most magical part of Route 66.

00:35:15.000 –> 00:35:26.000
So Jim has photographed more than 1,500 people up and down the entire length of 66 in service of a portrait series he titled the I Am Project.

00:35:26.000 –> 00:35:33.000
Its concept is simple but powerful, as he asks each one of his subjects to com… to complete the prompts.

00:35:33.000 –> 00:35:49.000
I am… I regret, and before I die. And I found myself thinking about these questions again as I neared the end of my trip, which concluded at 66’s spiritual terminus of the Santa Monica Pier.

00:35:49.000 –> 00:35:53.000
I mean, you know, whenever you finish something big, you’re gonna get a little bit reflective.

00:35:53.000 –> 00:35:58.000
Uh, but I will say what I didn’t know then that I know now is that the road.

00:35:58.000 –> 00:36:06.000
never really ends, because every time I think I’m done with Route 66, Route 66 proves it isn’t done with me.

00:36:06.000 –> 00:36:14.000
Um, obviously, I’m talking about it tonight, uh, but I was speaking about it… I was sharing this presentation, uh, just.

00:36:14.000 –> 00:36:26.000
last month in Flagstaff, Arizona, and I’ve since been to Kansas, Missouri, and the great state of Illinois, where I was awarded a grant last year to manage an.

00:36:26.000 –> 00:36:36.000
extensive oral history project. On Route 66 in their capital city of Springfield. You can find it on YouTube.

00:36:36.000 –> 00:36:40.000
And I’m going to be going back there again next year. I know that already.

00:36:40.000 –> 00:36:48.000
Um, I’ve also since learned. that while Route 66 is no doubt special, and has earned.

00:36:48.000 –> 00:36:57.000
It’s legendary status. it’s really just one of thousands of roads we’re lucky to have in this country that encompasses city blocks.

00:36:57.000 –> 00:37:10.000
small-town main streets, country backroads. And I encourage everyone here to go out and find your own Route 66, because I promise you, there was one closer to home than you might realize.

00:37:10.000 –> 00:37:16.000
But not knowing any of this. gazing out at the Pacific.

00:37:16.000 –> 00:37:27.000
A part of me still expected to. have some meditative stroke of insight, like the closing montage of a movie.

00:37:27.000 –> 00:37:34.000
But I really didn’t hear much other than the waves, didn’t feel much other than the breeze, and so after I’d had enough.

00:37:34.000 –> 00:37:38.000
I turned around and started walking back down the pier.

00:37:38.000 –> 00:37:43.000
Which point I ran into a busker named Buddy Baloo that I’d met a little earlier.

00:37:43.000 –> 00:37:52.000
Now, Buddy is a retired dancer, and he performed for over 10 years on Broadway as a company member of a chorus line.

00:37:52.000 –> 00:37:57.000
And now he spends most of his days playing a trumpet for tips on the pier.

00:37:57.000 –> 00:38:03.000
And since I was in LA, I asked if he could play the love theme from Chinatown.

00:38:03.000 –> 00:38:08.000
But he didn’t know it, so instead, he started playing What I Did for Love.

00:38:08.000 –> 00:38:15.000
Now, as a theater kid, it might be sacrilegious for me to confess that a chorus line has never been my favorite show.

00:38:15.000 –> 00:38:23.000
And I’ve always regarded what I did for love as one of Broadway’s sappiest 11 o’clock numbers.

00:38:23.000 –> 00:38:32.000
But in that moment, it hit. just right, and… not because of Buddy’s connection to the song.

00:38:32.000 –> 00:38:37.000
But because to me, this trip was. a love project.

00:38:37.000 –> 00:38:43.000
And it was absolutely something I had to do before I died.

00:38:43.000 –> 00:38:48.000
And so, yes, it cost me money. Gain some weight along the way.

00:38:48.000 –> 00:38:54.000
But… I can’t forget, won’t regret.

00:38:54.000 –> 00:39:02.000
What I did for love. Thank you.

00:39:02.000 –> 00:39:06.000
Well… Evan, that was amazing.

00:39:06.000 –> 00:39:14.000
I don’t know if you had a… you haven’t been able to read the comments, because you’ve been giving us this amazing presentation, but when you see the comments.

00:39:14.000 –> 00:39:16.000
People are loving this, because it’s such a different.

00:39:16.000 –> 00:39:18.000
Oh, that’s great to hear.

00:39:18.000 –> 00:39:27.000
It’s a different take on… on the roadside. Excuse me, and we’re used to. Usually, it’s, like, motels, diners, beyond signs.

00:39:27.000 –> 00:39:34.000
It’s all about the hardware. But yours is… some of it gives us some really good pictures about the hardware, but it was about.

00:39:34.000 –> 00:39:38.000
Which you might call the software, the people that are behind all this.

00:39:38.000 –> 00:39:45.000
As you say, it’s the people that make it. This is… this was a very different presentation for the essay, and I must say.

00:39:45.000 –> 00:39:52.000
quite affecting, actually. It was, um… affecting and also very humorous. There’s a couple times I had my.

00:39:52.000 –> 00:39:56.000
my audio off, and I was laughing my head off at some of your comments.

00:39:56.000 –> 00:40:04.000
It’s very, very well presented, but you can… it’s quite obvious that you’re a practice presenter and your podcast and so on, because you’re very good at it.

00:40:04.000 –> 00:40:05.000
Thank you.

00:40:05.000 –> 00:40:12.000
I was really impressed. Um, you know, the interesting thing is we have a lot of really, uh, complimentary comments, but we don’t have too many questions, but I have.

00:40:12.000 –> 00:40:13.000
A question for you. And that is, next year, as you mentioned, there’s 100, uh.

00:40:13.000 –> 00:40:17.000
Yes, please.

00:40:17.000 –> 00:40:24.000
100th anniversary over 66. So, what’s… do you plan to do anything special for that?

00:40:24.000 –> 00:40:33.000
Well, um, I know I, um, I mentioned, uh, earlier in the presentation that last year I had the great privilege of spending a lot of time.

00:40:33.000 –> 00:40:39.000
in Springfield. uh, working on this extensive oral history project for them.

00:40:39.000 –> 00:40:46.000
Um, I conducted 17, uh, in-depth. interviews there, I was paired up with a local photographer.

00:40:46.000 –> 00:40:53.000
Um, and, uh, they’ve already reached back to me, and I know that I’m going to be speaking.

00:40:53.000 –> 00:41:02.000
at, uh, the miles of Possibility conference, uh, there next year to talk about that project and everything in greater depth.

00:41:02.000 –> 00:41:09.000
Um, and it was at, uh, that conference where I shared this presentation for the very first time.

00:41:09.000 –> 00:41:20.000
Um, in fact, I noticed that Reece Martin, the head of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, is with us. I could have warned you, Reese, not much has changed since you saw it a few years ago.

00:41:20.000 –> 00:41:26.000
Um, but it’s, uh, that’s where I gave this, uh, this presentation for the first time, how that grant came together.

00:41:26.000 –> 00:41:32.000
Um, and since then, I’ve been privileged to share this presentation at a number of places.

00:41:32.000 –> 00:41:36.000
Um, and I’m working to see if I can get a few more other gigs.

00:41:36.000 –> 00:41:40.000
Uh, that’ll take me back to the road doing it again next year.

00:41:40.000 –> 00:41:44.000
Okay, that’s great. Now, Dennis Gibson says, uh, I’ve been abandonishing.

00:41:44.000 –> 00:41:51.000
Postcard subscribers since meeting you. At the 2023 miles of Possibility conference, and I’m really happy.

00:41:51.000 –> 00:41:57.000
when a terribly rare new episode shows up, sadly, the most recent was over a year ago.

00:41:57.000 –> 00:41:58.000
Mm-hmm. I know.

00:41:58.000 –> 00:42:03.000
Hope that changes! Can you give, uh, Dennis any, any encouragement there?

00:42:03.000 –> 00:42:12.000
Well, yes, so it’s… it’s definitely a challenge, because vanishing postcards is absolutely my baby.

00:42:12.000 –> 00:42:20.000
Um, it will have a life again at some point, but it’s, it’s very challenging because it is a self-funded project, and paid work.

00:42:20.000 –> 00:42:27.000
is always going to take priority over that at this point. It’s just the reality of things.

00:42:27.000 –> 00:42:39.000
Um, so I am pursuing grants and funding opportunities. Believe me, they’re… Many ideas and many more things I would like to do with it, but what I can say is that I’ve been very privileged.

00:42:39.000 –> 00:42:45.000
Um, over the past few years, what’s been keeping me busy is I’ve been working as a producer for a show called Gravy.

00:42:45.000 –> 00:42:51.000
Um, which shares stories of the changing American South through the foods we eat.

00:42:51.000 –> 00:42:56.000
Although I’m primarily based up here in New York, I’ve become their go-to source.

00:42:56.000 –> 00:43:07.000
And I’m currently working on a story for them that’s all about Texas whiskey that’s gonna be really good. But you can hear… but if you go, uh, search through gravy archives, uh.

00:43:07.000 –> 00:43:15.000
There are some terrific stories that I’ve done for them that are absolutely in the same universe as Vanishing Postcards that I think that you’ll enjoy.

00:43:15.000 –> 00:43:21.000
Um, and I can also probably, um… uh, if you go to YouTube.

00:43:21.000 –> 00:43:26.000
Visit Springfield, um, you should be able to find, uh.

00:43:26.000 –> 00:43:29.000
the oral history project that I just, uh, mentioned.

00:43:29.000 –> 00:43:41.000
Um, I can also send that to Brian later, and, um, you can… uh, he can probably get it out to any of you who might be interested in checking that out in greater depth.

00:43:41.000 –> 00:43:47.000
Wow, great. Janice Roan, who is a SEA member, has a fabulous presentation. Thanks, Evan.

00:43:47.000 –> 00:43:53.000
And she notes that we will be going to the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica.

00:43:53.000 –> 00:43:57.000
Because the SE is holding their 2026 conference, or it’s actually a road trip.

00:43:57.000 –> 00:44:02.000
in LA. And so, we’re there for the 100th anniversary of the road.

00:44:02.000 –> 00:44:08.000
Yeah, so it’s all kind of coming together, so maybe she’s going to try and consult with you, Evan, as to what we should be doing.

00:44:08.000 –> 00:44:09.000
For the conference when we’re in Santa Monica.

00:44:09.000 –> 00:44:18.000
Oh, sure. Well, believe me, in LA and Santa Monica, you will find no shortage of things to see and do, and I think, um.

00:44:18.000 –> 00:44:26.000
LA is… I think it’s hugely important to remember that.

00:44:26.000 –> 00:44:32.000
LA, in so many ways, is an incredible… when we think of Route 66, I know we think about the.

00:44:32.000 –> 00:44:38.000
you know, driving through the rural parts of it and everything, but you gotta remember that so much of that legend.

00:44:38.000 –> 00:44:44.000
happened because of LA and people chasing the California Dream and Sunshine and stardom.

00:44:44.000 –> 00:44:50.000
Um, I… we never would have the song Route 66 if it weren’t for Bobby Troupe.

00:44:50.000 –> 00:44:51.000
driving that road out to LA to start his career in Hollywood.

00:44:51.000 –> 00:44:55.000
Right. Yeah, yeah, totally.

00:44:55.000 –> 00:44:57.000
And so, yeah, mm-hmm.

00:44:57.000 –> 00:45:02.000
Yeah, no, that’s quite remarkable. How did you… when you were driving.

00:45:02.000 –> 00:45:06.000
Uh, with your microphone. How did you decide which places to.

00:45:06.000 –> 00:45:11.000
to pull over and to try to engage the locals, or was just… was it just serendipitous?

00:45:11.000 –> 00:45:12.000
No, I did a lot of research in advance of.

00:45:12.000 –> 00:45:17.000
If you had a gas station or something.

00:45:17.000 –> 00:45:24.000
the trip, um, and I really wanted to make an effort to try to see if there were a number of stories.

00:45:24.000 –> 00:45:27.000
Uh, that I could find that had maybe been.

00:45:27.000 –> 00:45:35.000
covered a little less. And so, word of mouth was a great friend of mine. It went down plenty of Google rabbit holes.

00:45:35.000 –> 00:45:42.000
Um, you know, obviously there… you listen to this series, I certainly went to a lot of famous.

00:45:42.000 –> 00:45:45.000
places, but I was… I made a real point.

00:45:45.000 –> 00:45:52.000
More so than the sites, I wanted to find out which places had the good, interesting characters for me to speak with.

00:45:52.000 –> 00:45:53.000
Right.

00:45:53.000 –> 00:45:59.000
And that’s what it was all about. And I will say, too, I mean, I don’t talk about it in this program, but, um.

00:45:59.000 –> 00:46:10.000
One of my favorite places that I visited. was Miamma, Oklahoma. You go to Miami, there’s a British cemetery.

00:46:10.000 –> 00:46:13.000
that they have there, because in World War II.

00:46:13.000 –> 00:46:18.000
British Royal Air Force pilots were sent there to, um.

00:46:18.000 –> 00:46:27.000
for training. And while there, a number of them were killed in accidents and were never able to make it home, and they were buried there, it’s their resting place, but the town of Miami.

00:46:27.000 –> 00:46:36.000
continues to honor their memory each year. And it was just thoroughly moving to meet.

00:46:36.000 –> 00:46:40.000
the people there who are working to honor that story and that legacy.

00:46:40.000 –> 00:46:50.000
Wow. That’s fascinating. Now, I see we have one of our guests tonight is Risks, and I hope I’m saying that right, Martin.

00:46:50.000 –> 00:47:00.000
And he has a, uh, some… Route 66. Um, memorabilia, and behind him there, Riz, I just… I unmuted you if you wanted to say anything to, uh.

00:47:00.000 –> 00:47:01.000
Kevin or to the group.

00:47:01.000 –> 00:47:10.000
Oh, no, thank you. I’m here as an observer. Evan, I know you mentioned that I’ve seen this presentation before, but any chance I have to hear you speak about it, I take, because…

00:47:10.000 –> 00:47:17.000
You’re so passionate, and you went about this really wanting to get to the meat of the Rhodes experience, which is the people.

00:47:17.000 –> 00:47:19.000
And I had just commented,

00:47:19.000 –> 00:47:28.000
that, you know, that Miami episode, which I tell folks, Miami, Oklahoma is 5 years older than Miami, Florida, so they’re the ones that messed it up.

00:47:28.000 –> 00:47:30.000
Um, but, uh, that episode…

00:47:30.000 –> 00:47:31.000
Yep.

00:47:31.000 –> 00:47:36.000
I can’t even think about it without getting emotional, like, is just…

00:47:36.000 –> 00:47:41.000
Capture is such an important story that shows that this road has always been about connecting people.

00:47:41.000 –> 00:47:44.000
This road has always been evolving, and, you know,

00:47:44.000 –> 00:47:50.000
You can read all the books in the world, and it’s great, but hearing these stories from these people’s mouths,

00:47:50.000 –> 00:47:58.000
there’s no replacement for that, so I just have to say thank you so much for this incredible project and your continuing work.

00:47:58.000 –> 00:48:03.000
Well, Reese, um, you should… first of all, you should be my publicist, um, but, um.

00:48:03.000 –> 00:48:08.000
I will say, we owe… but it’s people like Reece who keep.

00:48:08.000 –> 00:48:16.000
the road going. And, I mean, I remember the first time I met Reece, he, you know, he’s the head of the Oklahoma Association.

00:48:16.000 –> 00:48:23.000
And I said to him, I said, you know, Reese, I think we’re the same age, and most people that I meet who are in your position.

00:48:23.000 –> 00:48:34.000
are significantly older. And I said, how is it that you got into this? And he said, well, specifically because we need younger people doing this, and Reese works.

00:48:34.000 –> 00:48:42.000
tirelessly for Oklahoma, and he’s also working now. doing excellent work with the National Trust.

00:48:42.000 –> 00:48:43.000
Um, and so Greece is very much a huge part of Route 66.

00:48:43.000 –> 00:48:46.000
Cool.

00:48:46.000 –> 00:48:50.000
And he’s in the series, too. You can hear him a few times, I think.

00:48:50.000 –> 00:48:55.000
Oh, that’s great. Well, you know, just before we end off, I was gonna… that was kind of a good lead-in to my.

00:48:55.000 –> 00:49:09.000
to the last question, and that was… Now, many of the people that you, uh, that you showed us… showed us, and they spoke to us tonight, were… you know, elderly, they’re getting up there. Some of them looked like they were really getting up there, which is great.

00:49:09.000 –> 00:49:22.000
still very active and spunky, as you said. But is there a younger crop of Route 66 enthusiasts coming up that you think will move into those positions as the days go by?

00:49:22.000 –> 00:49:23.000
Or will Route 66 kind of fade away when the old-timers are gone?

00:49:23.000 –> 00:49:27.000
Oh, something…

00:49:27.000 –> 00:49:32.000
Well, what I will say is, I believe and have faith that the road.

00:49:32.000 –> 00:49:45.000
will never die. I do sincerely believe that. Um, but at the same time, you know, as we enter the centennial, it’s a very exciting moment. There’s a lot of attention on it.

00:49:45.000 –> 00:49:54.000
But this renaissance isn’t gonna last. forever. Um, and so we need to make certain that Route 66.

00:49:54.000 –> 00:50:00.000
is… is telling a fuller, broader story than the one that’s currently being told.

00:50:00.000 –> 00:50:10.000
Um, we need to make certain. that, you know, as I said in the presentation, I mean, nostalgia’s hugely valuable and important and has its place.

00:50:10.000 –> 00:50:18.000
But we need to make certain that those, you know, these kind of middle-aged roadies aren’t the only ones that we’re talking to and getting excited about the road.

00:50:18.000 –> 00:50:24.000
Um, I know we could, you know, the movie Cars did absolute wonders for it, and.

00:50:24.000 –> 00:50:31.000
You know, you still meet, you know, kids today who are seeing cars and discovering it for the first time, so that’s a great thing to have, but.

00:50:31.000 –> 00:50:36.000
Um, you know, do I believe that the, uh, centennial.

00:50:36.000 –> 00:50:45.000
is, uh, Route 66’s funeral in no way. Uh, but we have a responsibility to make certain that its story just continues to evolve.

00:50:45.000 –> 00:50:50.000
I couldn’t agree with you more, and the SCA actually is in the exact same situation.

00:50:50.000 –> 00:50:57.000
Well, Evan, this has been a really remarkable presentation, and quite, uh, quite distinctive from some of the.

00:50:57.000 –> 00:51:03.000
Other ones that we’ve had, and I must say, very evocative and very enjoyable.

00:51:03.000 –> 00:51:09.000
Uh, and you can see the comments for yourself that I’m speaking for the audience as well as myself.

00:51:09.000 –> 00:51:14.000
Um, just before we go, I would like to remind everybody about next month.

00:51:14.000 –> 00:51:21.000
When on Wednesday, January the 21st at 8 Eastern and 5 Pacific, Will Durham.

00:51:21.000 –> 00:51:26.000
joins us to share his vision of creating a new museum in downtown Reno.

00:51:26.000 –> 00:51:31.000
Feature in his vast collection of Reno and Nevada’s Best Neon Signs. Now.

00:51:31.000 –> 00:51:33.000
SCA members will be receiving the relevant details and.

00:51:33.000 –> 00:51:40.000
registration link for the January talk by email, and everybody else can register through the.

00:51:40.000 –> 00:51:48.000
SCA’s website directly. I’d like to thank everybody that’s joined us this evening and this afternoon for spending some time with us.

00:51:48.000 –> 00:51:52.000
And you can expect an email shortly inviting you to join the SCA.

00:51:52.000 –> 00:51:57.000
And all the… enjoy all the benefits of membership if you’re not already a member.

00:51:57.000 –> 00:52:04.000
And of course, the recording of this session will be available probably tomorrow on the SCA’s website, so spread the word around.

00:52:04.000 –> 00:52:11.000
your friends and neighbors, and um… Uh, encourage them to watch it if they, uh, if you think they would be interested.

00:52:11.000 –> 00:52:14.000
Uh, just before we go, Evan, any last words?

00:52:14.000 –> 00:52:30.000
Uh, no, just, uh, thank you so much. It’s, uh, it’s always a pleasure to, uh, share the story of Route 66 with anyone willing to listen, so… In order for me to do this work, I have to have an audience, and I’m always grateful to have one, so thank you so much.

00:52:30.000 –> 00:52:36.000
Well, thank you so much, and I strongly encourage people to listen to your podcast, because if they’re anywhere near the quality.

00:52:36.000 –> 00:52:43.000
Of this particular presentation, they’re well worth listening to. So, thank you again.

00:52:43.000 –> 00:52:44.000
My pleasure. Take care, y’all.

00:52:44.000 –> 00:52:54.000
And, uh, we will… I will wish everyone a good evening, and look forward to seeing everyone next month.