My parents were an hour behind us on the road from New Orleans to Dallas, having stopped for a brief visit in Baton Rouge. The sun was bright and we made good time, unlike the trip out, which was snowy and rainy and dark and long.

My mother called me as she neared Dallas, squealing with delight at the snow along the hillsides lining the roads. She and Dad had left a day earlier and hadn’t seen all the snow the rest of us had to drive through. All she saw was the beauty, something she’s appreciating more as she gets older and mortality threatens.

I remember seeing Rain Man at the movie theater when it came out. These two brothers, who don’t know each other, are on a road trip across America, neither one of them seeing the beauty of the landscape along the way. It was something that really struck me about the film, how beautiful the photography was, how awe inspiring, and yet they didn’t see it, being trapped in their own minds.

I have just one final thought.  If you’re going to take a road trip, don’t forget to look out the window.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 14th, 2010 at 5:35 pm and is filed under road tripping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.