Garry Eaton

Coming or Going

On our way in today, we pass the big mobile home factory on the outskirts of town that closed down last fall. Along Main Street, the strip mall, gas stations, the hotel and the restaurants that depended on it are either closed, or looking down and dusty.

We have come to see an afternoon production of Death of a Salesman at the local high school. The kid playing Willie Loman warms up as he goes along, and by the last act, he has impressed us deeply with the pathetic, lunatic intensity he is somehow able to bring to the role, despite his tender age.

As we leave town, 'For Sale' signs compete for our attention on forlorn front lawns up and down State Street. The parking lot is empty at the Big Star Motel, and many of the neon signs that used to light up a Saturday night in town have gone dark. Dad comments as we pass how in times like these you would think the mobile home business would be booming…

the many curves
of the old coast highway
early darkness