Now I’m transcontinental
3000 miles from my home
I’m on the California Zephyr
Watching America roll byJay Farrar – California Zephyr
Tonight we’re sitting around listening to Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard’s “One Fast Move Or I’m Gone”, the soundtrack to a documentary by the same name, celebrating Jack Kerouac’s life and writing while he lived at Big Sur. We had the privilege of attending a performance of the recording by these lads last year at the Showbox in Seattle, and our memory of the event is truly golden – it was a magical evening. The opening song, California Zephyr, is quoted above. Tonight it is landing like a shaft of sunlight slashing through the dust of an old train station.
As I listen to the album and contemplate the events recently transpired in Tuscon, I feel somewhat overcome. It’s just a link on a webpage, but here’s a little offering out to everyone trying to get a grip on these weird events. This is the America I celebrate.