A few weeks ago I came across a link to Thelma Popp Jones' story, "The Lure of the Open Road," a travelogue detailing the adventures of two young women exploring the United States, from Buffalo to Illinois, down the Ohio River, across the deep south and back home again - by bike in 1944.The story of two "mice" (as they called themselves) sleeping in barns, bathing in streams, sailing on rivers, and catching rides with truckers is remarkable for its depiction of an America that so is much friendlier and so much safer than the nation we know today.
The prose is chipper and the language is understandably dated. But if you allow yourself a few moments to fall into the rhythm of this story, you may end up losing a Sunday as I did, reading an almost unbelievable journey through the heart of wartime America.
Read the entire story: http://mjgradziel.com/thelmajones/lureoftheopenroad.html
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