Nobody knew I-15 from
‘Vegas to San Bernardino, nobody,
like Marvin Alton. If someone asked what Tourist to Las Vegas bus to take, the
answer would always be, “Take Marvin Alton’s bus—he knows the road like nobody
else.”
That was 1960s then
70s, then 80s, and 90s. Roads change and
Marvin got older. Son Buddy made him
retire when diabetes got bad, eyesight with it.
So there Marvin sat,
a crumpled up old man in a Lincoln Escalade, watching the new road before him
and the desert on the sides. The radio
thing played Big Band music with Sinatra and Dean crooning the miles away.
Off in the desert,
bus stop breaks stood abandoned. Windows
broken, roof falling in. Place after place. On the planks and adobe bricks,
Marvin’s poor eyesight picked up “ MEMS
DESPOE”. What the hell?”
Just when he worked
the letters through his head, another spray painted words popped up:
AWARE! Kids are just plain stupid..
Then, DES on the POE!
AWARE…JEREMY. Miles went by while Marvin
passed the words over and over while Sinatra sang.
The Baker, CA exit seemed a good place to take a break. DQ was a new building, its big red and blue sign intimating, "Stop Here! You'll die if you don't!!"
Buddy helped Marvin to the toilet and then back into the car. Diabetes and ice cream don't like each other.
The Baker, CA exit seemed a good place to take a break. DQ was a new building, its big red and blue sign intimating, "Stop Here! You'll die if you don't!!"
Buddy helped Marvin to the toilet and then back into the car. Diabetes and ice cream don't like each other.
Marvin settled back
in the Lincoln as a tour bus pulled in, new model with DVDs in the seat
backs. A group of teens rushed in, and
then rushed out.
Marvin chuckled as the
chocolate-dipped cones lost the chocolate in chunks, and the bus driver could be
heard swearing and shouting.
Just what I’d
do…Some things change but never change.
The road moved on and so did Marvin.
We lived in Victorville, CA, for seven years. Our children were born there and started school during those years. A pleasant, almost cool, summer day would be about 94 degrees. July and August were never mentioned.
We lived in Victorville, CA, for seven years. Our children were born there and started school during those years. A pleasant, almost cool, summer day would be about 94 degrees. July and August were never mentioned.
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| Mojave Desert: Source |
Poor Marvin...relegated to the passenger seat.
ReplyDeleteWhen one has been the driver all his life, sitting in the passenger seat would be awful...control taken away.
DeleteThank you for sharing Marvin's story with us :)
ReplyDeleteSlice of life, just a slice of life.
DeletePoor Marvin. He should find joy at home. We all face that day when they take our keys away. Ha
ReplyDeleteGood to see you again. I hope Marvin can find that joy, has built up more than just a bus route.
DeleteWould suck to have to be a passenger or to ride a desk for those that never did. Crap, that is hot too.
ReplyDeleteMojave Desert is for people who truly love desert living.
DeletePoor Marvin. Poor, poor Marvin.
ReplyDeleteHeat like that is something to lie down and avoid. I think I am a reverse bear. I would dearly love to be able to hibernate in summer.
I am so with you on that. Summer has always been my enemy.
DeleteSad Marvin doesn't get to drive anymore.
ReplyDeleteAll things come to an end...
DeleteFeeling very sad for Marvin now, it must be hard to give up after driving a tourist bus all those years. Sad to watch the buildings decline too. That picture you have makes me want to get in there with shingles and nails, brooms and buckets of paint.
ReplyDeleteThat part of the desert was once (about 150 years ago) busy with miners and prospectors, with stores and supplies. Slowly, the mines mined out, the building rotted away. Those buildings to me are monuments to a past time when people looked at the desert as a place full of possibilities.
DeleteBut, I would not mind at all to go with you in winter, and explore those old buildings. What stories we would discover.
I was thinking there'd be one of your famous comical twists at the end. What am I missing? What did those letters in all caps mean? I'm tired...obtuse, maybe.
ReplyDeleteI didn't go in that direction because during the drive through that place, there was such a sense of depression and loss. When I wrote about Marvin, that is what I gave him. The desert is such a place, and the road is one looooonnnnnggg straight road that stretches on and on and on.
Delete