Buffalo Unbound by Laura Pedersen

Author:Laura Pedersen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
Published: 2015-04-09T16:00:00+00:00

Ridin’ on the Thruway

As riots and deteriorating conditions in the city sent people fleeing to the suburbs, we became entranced by lawns and briquettes and also slaves to the automobile, even before they had cup holders. Good-bye city buses. With coffee and coins in hand, we took to the open road in DeSotos with soaring tailfins and rocketlike thruster lamps that were poised for takeoff.

However, the New York Thruway wasn’t destined to become the setting for fast action car-chase movies like Thunder Road, Grand Theft Auto, Smokey and the Bandit, or The Cannonball Run. There’d be no chart-topping rhythm and blues song called “Get Your Kicks on the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway.” It was not a meeting place for John Lennon and Paul McCartney that would become immortalized as the tuneful “Penny Lane.”

Built in the 1950s, the 641-mile Thruway is the longest toll highway in the United States. It runs north from New York City to Albany, where you can continue northward to Montreal or make a left turn toward Buffalo. An hour west of Rochester you see the welcome sign that says Buffalo, An All America City. At first glance you assume that the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t want you to mistakenly think you’ve arrived in an Armenian city or among the Khomani San Bushmen of the Kalahari. And then you wonder, if they wanted to brag, why not just say, “Hey, we’re not Cleveland.” But it turns out that the prestigious All-America City designation is awarded by the National Civic League to places that have demonstrated a spirit of cooperation and creativity in solving community challenges.

From Buffalo, the Thruway heads southwest to the Pennsylvania border. It also connects to four bridges over the Niagara River and from there to highways leading to Toronto and Cleveland. In the east, the Thruway seamlessly connects to the highway systems of New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. There are no dangerous curves or steep hills, intersections, or traffic lights, and billboards are kept to a minimum. It’s quite unlike I-95 in that no one is flipping you the bird, flashing their headlights at you, or honking the horn and tailgating. You don’t have to suffer through enormous signs speculating if your teen is on drugs, if you need depression medication, or both. Ambulances don’t regularly roar past, and by the side of the road you don’t see many blood-soaked passengers on gurneys. However, there’s the occasional bovine strolling along the shoulder, making you wonder if instead of heading for Niagara Falls you may be on the Grand Trunk Road in northern India. Holy cow!

This is not to say that people don’t speed and state troopers don’t catch them, along with the lost cows. They lurk behind trees and around curves, both troopers and heifers. And girls, don’t bother telling no-nonsense New York state troopers that you’re pregnant and needed a restroom. They don’t care if you pee in a cup, wear an adult diaper, or wet yourself. Being with child, in fact,

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