The Highways and the Byways

The Highways and the Byways By Franklin Price 10/27/2107 (Inspired by Nancy McIntyre Stepp) The highways and the byways Of this life in which we've grown Bring back many memories Of places we have known The Interstates most boring They bypass most the towns The back roads way of living And the country sights and sounds We travel now from tank to tank As fast as we can go Many exits tempting To go the way we used to know We really have to get there Where ever there may be Don't have the time to see the sights That in our youth we used to see Two lane roads that sometimes share The space with horse drawn carts The smell of fresh mown hay in fields That once had our minds and hearts Dammit let's just do it The next exit is the place We'll get back to the byways And from this high speed race We see the sign for “Once Was there” The exit is a mile We're going back to memories And a time that made us smile Off we go in search of youth And how things used to be Do such places still exist? We'll see what we will see. There is the city limit sign Now a wide spot in the road With just a little country store And the owner's small abode The railroad tracks are rusty No trains for many years I think I see a side track And a factory appears The factory's old and leaking Every time it storms and rains There are no longer workers As the tracks that have no trains Just outside the little town With the little country store We come upon great farmlands A thousand acres, sometimes more Air conditioned tractors Large as a semi-truck Farming scientifically Not by the almanac and luck Not seeing what we're looking for Wonder why we came this way Think we'll go a little farther A little patience, now, may pay What do we spy just up a head Trees shading most the lanes Not like the closed up factory The rusty track, and missing trains Hoping there is more to come We slow to see what we can see There is an antebellum home Just where it used to be A well kept home, a happy place, For the residents and us Still there as in our younger days When we came by on the bus The wheels are singing on the road The miles go slowly by We find ourselves relaxing Don't even have to wonder why Speed limit sign says forty The trance of joy soon leaves my face The blue light from the small town cop Say a speed trap is in place We were looking for the good old times Should remember this when done A small town source of revenue Ticket comes at forty-one We'll now look out for speed traps They don't give us any grace We paid our fifty dollars So we could leave that place We traveled farther into town Nice homes on either side Well kept yards of country grass This place is quite the ride Not long before we're downtown Old shops are on the street There's no sign of a Wal-Mart We need to find a place to eat Up ahead we see a sign '“Best place for home made pie” We pull into a parking place To see the reason why When entering we see a sign “ We would like to make this clear Save some room for home made pie After all, that's why you're here” The menu's on a blackboard Just above the pass through door Fried chicken , and fried okra Fried country steak and so much more Fried gizzards, and fried livers Fried potatoes. onions too Green tomatoes that also fried Fried's the country thing to do Oil's made to lubricate It is your auto's guard We don't ruin food by using it That's why we cook with lard We finished all our gizzards Had some chittlins just for fun Left some space for a piece of pie But only space for one They had strawberry rhubarb That's as country as can be It was the best we ever had They had not lied you see We paid the tab and left a tip Out the door for under ten We'll stop to have the worlds best pie If we come this way again The sun is set and dusk is done Store lights are blinking out The streets rolled up at eight o'clock That's what country's all about. We're full and tired of driving Must find the Interstate No motels on the byways We remembered that too late Hope you saw while reading That I used the royal we Wanted to bring you all along To the roads that used to be Epilogue Remember how it used to be Get off the Interstate Slow down a little in your life You'll find it's more than great Get off the super highways And when stopping at the light Find some new adventure By turning left or right If you're happy in your travels, And you're the only one to say, If you traveled where you wanted And you went your chosen way When the sun sets in the western sky And each person's day is done Don't have regrets for what you missed Don't be the coulda, shoulda one