Contemplating the Library

One of the biggest admissions I make in the book is that Roger has never read a book in his life. Well, actually, he’s read one—he did a book report in sixth grade on The Babe Ruth Story. He only did that because he was forced to by his teacher. As he talks to Otto, Roger almost seems to be flaunting the stark admission. He’s almost proud that he’s never read a book. This is a true statement. I never started to read on a consistent basis until I was in college. I caught up rather quickly, I believe, and still read about 25 books a year to this day. So you can say I caught up and then some. But I put this part into the book because it seems that much of America is comprised of non-readers—people who slip by in a lazy manner without taking the time to crack a book or learn anything. So I threw my own dirty secret in there, hoping to shake the cobwebs off some peoples’ brains via a like-minded pea head. The moment at the library in Hanford, California on Day 24 is shown as a spark of discovery, a light bulb going off.  “I never comprehended a library before.  Its purpose eluded me. Every one always seemed like a museum of paper, with tedious compilations of esoteric details.  But I found out something: If you put in the effort, books’ll meet you half way.  They called out.  They felt exciting to handle and touch.” Otto adds, “What you read adds up. You gotta get your head together in a place like this once in a while. Most words last longer than the author does.”

"It's All the L.A. Area."

When the guys are in Wyoming and catch a ride with lonesome Bill, he describes his home region: “Have you ever heard of Santa Monica? It’s one of those neighboring towns to L.A.  You don’t know where one stops and the next one begins.  All the town run into each other.  We just call it the L.A. area.” That’s what I tried to convey when we got there—the jumble of sights piled on top of one another—as the guys finally arrive there starting on page 228. “Houses and more houses assaulted the senses, increasing proportionately with exits, billboards, cars, construction, and a coffee-lemony smell.” It sparks the guys to skip the glob altogether and park themselves at Disneyland for a few days, and then go to Huntington Beach. Roger, however, uses his feud with Otto to backtrack into the jungle.  On Day 31 he invades more of the area they missed:  The Hollywood sign, the movie lots of Burbank, Beverly Hills. “I got to Wilshire Boulevard and hailed down a guitarist in an old Rambler. But in the process he screwed me up.  He brought me to a tight, curving ramp on the Glendale Freeway, which was the wrong freeway. I fought my way onto the Long Beach Freeway, but before I knew it I was on the Santa Monica Freeway and headed in the wrong direction again.” That is the L.A. area, where one town runs into another. Definitely one of the most challenging spots I’ve ever hitchhiked.

Exchanging Letters With Paul McCartney's Handlers

Here’s what I sent to Paul McCartney at his townhouse in New York on February 3, 2015, along with a copy of my book:

Dear Paul, When I was 17, a friend and I hitchhiked cross-country from New Jersey to California and back. On the trek back, we got picked up by a driver in California who also carried two other hitchhikers: a guy I came to call ‘Detroit,’ and a guy whom I call ‘Paul McCartney.’ (he looked like you, and acted like you—a Beatle haircut, bohemian and free-spirited, always humming music) I would like you to have a copy of the book, so you can enjoy yourself as portrayed in literature—accurately, I believe! A cool thing about these two characters (Detroit and Paul McCartney) is they appear a SECOND time in the story, further down the road. That had never happened to me before in 25,000 miles of hitchhiking. So enjoy the ride. The two sections are pages 278-287 and then on pages 324-349. Thank you.

Here’s what his handlers wrote back to me on February 13, along with my returned book:

Dear Mr. Lobb, Unfortunately, due to complications that have arisen in the past, we have a firm policy not to accept, review or forward unsolicited material to Sir Paul McCartney.  Also, please be advised that neither Paul McCartney himself nor his representatives have reviewed your request and that Paul McCartney is not aware that you have sent your unsolicited request to our office.  We hope you understand.

Yours truly,

-MPL Music Publishing Inc.

WPU Soundtrack Album

Fooling around a few years ago, I compiled a We Picked Up soundtrack album, using 21 songs which are mostly named in the book (but some that aren’t) which help categorize where the guys were at in their travels, or songs to help explain their emotion or mental state.  The lineup is:  1)  “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King  2) “Indiana Wants Me” by R. Dean Taylor  3) “Nama” by the Rascals   4)  “Questions 67 & 68″ by Chicago   5) “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder  6)  “Hello, Mary Lou” by Rick Nelson  7)  “Navajo Gift Dance Song” by Traditional Native Voices   8)  “Strangers In the Night” by Frank Sinatra  9)  Theme From “Bonanza”   10) “Do You Know What I Mean” by Lee Michaels  11) “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” by Tony Bennett  12) “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Dionne Warwick   13) “Surfer Girl” (vocals only version) by the Beach Boys   14) “I’ve Got Enough Heartache” by Three Dog Night   15)  “99 Miles From L.A.” by Art Garfunkel  16) “Bring the Boys Home” by Freda Payne  17)  “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney  18)  “Wichita Lineman” by Glen Campbell   19)  “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Loving on Your Mind)” by Loretta Lynn  20) “Honeymooners” theme song by Jackie Gleason, and 21) The Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa) by the Grendadier Guards Band.  It’s an eclectic mix, granted, but isn’t a trip across America the same?

The Gas Stations

If this were a book about driving cross country rather than hitchhiking, the various gas stations we visited might’ve played a more prominent role.  It’s not much of a smattering, but I can think of six different stations I mention:  Amoco, Shell, Texaco, Mobil, Esso, Chevron, and Union 76.  Looking at these companies’ histories reveals quite a bit about American big business’ greediness. Amoco, originally called the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, was founded in 1910. In 1998 British Petroleum bought it and it became known as BP Amoco.  Quickly enough, though, the Amoco moniker was removed all together, though the company continued to abide by Amoco’s grading system. Shell, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is part of Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands and one of the largest companies worldwide. Since 1999, the word ‘Shell’ no longer appears on the yellow shell. Texaco began in 1901. For many years it was the only brand of gasoline being sold in all fifty states. It had a catchy motto, “Trust your car to the man with the star.” Mobil was also birthed at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States.  Through much of the 1940’s and 1950’s it was the biggest selling brand of gasoline. It merged with Exxon in 2001, though is still sold under the name ‘Mobil’ or ‘On the Run.’ Esso, meanwhile, was a phonetic spelling of its pre-1911 name, Standard Oil (SO=Esso). In 1972 the brand was replaced in the U.S. by Exxon after it bought Humble Oil. Ironically, the Esso name is still used worldwide, but not in the U.S. Chevron, based in California, is the third-largest oil company in the world. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. It acquired Texaco in 2000. Finally, Union 76, known for its orange ball with blue numbers, is owned by Phillips 66. After merging with Conoco, the gas was known as ConocoPhillips. For decades it was only a western brand, but has slowly infiltrated the northeastern market.

Charles Atlas

Did you pick up the reference to Charles Atlas? It’s on page 292, when Roger and Otto are in the Mojave Desert with ‘Ted and his mother.’ The old Ford breaks down and needs to be pushed by hand to the approaching gas station. I write, “It was a sweating, stinking affair. My back and legs practically buckled. Pushing uphill on the interchange ramp was a feat worthy of lifetime membership in the Charles Atlas He-Man’s Club.” A quick look at Wikipedia says, “Charles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano (1893 – 1972), was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas’s name and likeness. It has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all time.” I’m not sure if that included what I remember as the “He Man’s Club” —maybe that comes from my remembrance of the Little Rascals comedy reels which I accidentally mixed in. (True enough . . . what I was thinking of was from 1937, titled ‘The He Man’s Women Hater’s Club’). But whatever, the sentiment to superhuman strength is there. I certainly remember the Charles Atlas fitness program designed for the “97-pound weakling” who gets sand kicked in his face at the beach by a bully, decides to take action by signing up for the body building regimen, returns to the beach, and beats up the bully to the admiration of all. The point is, that’s the kind of strength it took to push that dead car through the desert.

"I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King

The community chorus my wife and I sing in, at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, is practicing a medley of songs for its spring concert titled, “American Pop Forever.”  We sing a verse and chorus each from about forty songs, from the so-called great American songbook.  Most of these songs don’t go very deep into the catalog, as can be inferred. But one song I love is “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King. As you know, that’s the opening song in my book, first out of the gate, kind of a theme song for the whole book. It helps to alert the reader that, “This isn’t a buddy book. It’s for everyone, and we're on the move. It’s about endurance, strength, and overcoming.” It also shows just how animated and passionate Roger is about music. Otto can only watch and say, “Go, hepcat, go.” The song sounds fresh and alive today as it did when it came out in 1971, “the new one by Carole King,” as I write.  It has an aggressive beat, banging hard on the piano, words probably referring to the libido, at a time when women weren’t so open about their sex drive. Carole King was at a point in her career of making a name for herself as a performer, after remaining relatively hidden as a songwriter with her ex-husband Gerry Goffin throughout the 1960’s. She wrote numerous great songs. Tapestry was her second solo album. This hard-driving gem, actually the flip side of the 45 “It’s Too Late,” has an external and internal framework that a travel story needs, and a hippie-organic optimism, helping to make the album one of the biggest sellers of all time. It’s perfect for the opening musical number of the book.