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Travelogue From an Unruly Youth
Traveling the North American continent via freight train brought freedom, passion, romance, adventure, and danger -- a heady concoction for someone in his early 20s. The writer journeyed along a "pipeline to freedom" on a bed of steel, ties, and gravel, never sure where his path would carry him from day to day. Yet part of the cost to those nomadic highs was leaving behind a woman who cared dearly for him, and that severing continued to reach him even as he blasted magically across the map on a unique geographic and spiritual quest. After long months and thousands of miles of changing landscapes, however, his lover was unable to believe or to wait any longer, and the path back to the relationship was blocked, creating a circle of pain and loss. Then, nearly 30 years later, the unforeseen arrival of a letter caused the world to shift again. D. C. Jesse Burkhardt's "Travelogue From an Unruly Youth" carries us into a hidden and unconventional world, weaving a romantic tale of roadside mystery and the universe-altering power of love.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 24, 2019
Riding rails
A young man riding rails with his buddies...authentic portrayal of what it was really like to travel this way in late 1970s, his love life confused and messy as it was for so many in that era.
A young man riding rails with his buddies...authentic portrayal of what it was really like to travel this way in late 1970s, his love life confused and messy as it was for so many in that era.
January 23, 2011
I enjoyed the look into an adventure few people get to have. Burkhardt does a great job of describing not just the adrenaline highs of such a trip (watching trains zip by, risking the jumps on and off, not knowing where you'll be when you wake up) but also the lows (bad weather, trains not moving for hours at a time) and the dangers (being arrested for trespass, being picked up by insane drivers while hitchhiking when the trains aren't running). His style is conversational through most of these adventures, sort of easy and breezy without being lightweight.
But what I really enjoyed about the book was the chance to look back at a culture that almost certainly cannot exist anymore. The ability to sneak into trainyards and sleep in boxcars or on flatcars overnight, and the willingness of railroad employees to mostly turn a blind eye to such (and in many cases, according to Burkhardt, to actually offer suggestions on which trains to hop on, so long as you do it when no-one is looking) surely is a thing of the past in our post-911 world. Burkhardt and his friends gain ready access to almost every trainyard they attempt during their several-month adventure, only thrice (that I recall) actually encountering town or rail-company police who run them off (and one of those times, Burkhardt is on his own and manages to stay hidden and return later). At one point, they are discovered within what should be a sealed boxcar while it is in transit not on a train, but on a cargo vessel on the Great Lakes! These days, if two scroungy looking guys were discovered stowing away aboard a cargo boat, they'd get more than a "stay hidden until we give the all clear, then you can come get some fresh air" from the crew!
TRAVELOGUE is not just a travel book, though. Burkhardt's free-spirited adventure is also the story of how he lost Marie, the one true love of his life. His longing for Marie crops up on almost every page, and the reader (as well as Now-Burkhardt looking back) can see the signs the Burkhardt of the 70s doesn't see of the relationship unraveling. Of course, Our Hero's penchant for lusting after other women is the main cause, and traveling across the country affords him the chance to sleep with two women other than Marie, one of whom Marie knows. These were the most uncomfortable sections of the book for me. Not because I'm squeamish about reading about sex, but because Burckhardt's writing turns most cliched when he's describing how beautiful the women are and how good the sex is. More than once, I found myself thinking "oh god here we go again" and looking to see how far I needed to skim to get back to the travel stuff.
Overall the book is interesting and mostly a quick read, but I can only recommend it with the caveat that the relationship portions of the book are the slowest portions, and the sex scenes are best skipped.
But what I really enjoyed about the book was the chance to look back at a culture that almost certainly cannot exist anymore. The ability to sneak into trainyards and sleep in boxcars or on flatcars overnight, and the willingness of railroad employees to mostly turn a blind eye to such (and in many cases, according to Burkhardt, to actually offer suggestions on which trains to hop on, so long as you do it when no-one is looking) surely is a thing of the past in our post-911 world. Burkhardt and his friends gain ready access to almost every trainyard they attempt during their several-month adventure, only thrice (that I recall) actually encountering town or rail-company police who run them off (and one of those times, Burkhardt is on his own and manages to stay hidden and return later). At one point, they are discovered within what should be a sealed boxcar while it is in transit not on a train, but on a cargo vessel on the Great Lakes! These days, if two scroungy looking guys were discovered stowing away aboard a cargo boat, they'd get more than a "stay hidden until we give the all clear, then you can come get some fresh air" from the crew!
TRAVELOGUE is not just a travel book, though. Burkhardt's free-spirited adventure is also the story of how he lost Marie, the one true love of his life. His longing for Marie crops up on almost every page, and the reader (as well as Now-Burkhardt looking back) can see the signs the Burkhardt of the 70s doesn't see of the relationship unraveling. Of course, Our Hero's penchant for lusting after other women is the main cause, and traveling across the country affords him the chance to sleep with two women other than Marie, one of whom Marie knows. These were the most uncomfortable sections of the book for me. Not because I'm squeamish about reading about sex, but because Burckhardt's writing turns most cliched when he's describing how beautiful the women are and how good the sex is. More than once, I found myself thinking "oh god here we go again" and looking to see how far I needed to skim to get back to the travel stuff.
Overall the book is interesting and mostly a quick read, but I can only recommend it with the caveat that the relationship portions of the book are the slowest portions, and the sex scenes are best skipped.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews