Reading the Signs - Softcover

Stephen Benz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1736494627 ISBN 13: 9781736494622

Publisher: Etruscan Press, 2022

Synopsis

With a wandering spirit and an inquisitive mind, Stephen Benz ventures around town, across country, and overseas in search of forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood stories. From rock concerts and courthouses to farm towns, battlegrounds, historical sites, and quirky museums, these “itinerant essays” revel in discovering “new wonders every mile”.

About this title

About the Author

Along with two books of travel essays--Guatemalan Journey (University of Texas Press) and Green Dreams: Travels in Central America (Lonely Planet)--Stephen Benz has published essays in Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, TriQuarterly, and other journals. Tw

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

En Route: Elko, Nevada A late-night arrival in Elko, Nevada, means no vacancy except in cheap dives like the Louis Motel on the far west end of town. At night, Elko seems rather joyless, even though the billboards on the approach to town promise good times in the form of casinos, brothels, and bars. The point is underscored by a song playing in the Horseshoe Club: “You’re supposed to be feeling good ...”. But in the town’s joyspots, there’s no evidence of good feelings, not on this night. Tonight, Elko is ground zero in a vast dislocated landscape, the place Emerson called “unapproachable America.” The bars are hazy and rank, with a lineup of men drinking hard and quick, their loud talk lapsing into expressions of resignation: Yeah, but what you gonna do? That’s the way it always goes. Same old, same old. Around the corner, a gun shop sells “tactical survival” supplies. Just down the street, neon signs flicker in the desert night: the town’s three brothels all in a row. Ghostlike in the glow, patrons pass in and out of a shabby door with squealing hinges. In the casinos, people play fast, pumping in money, mesmerized by slot machines or the numbers flashing on the keno board. Everybody’s drinking. The historical marker in Railroad Park says Elko’s always been a “rough, drinking, cowboy town.” In the light of day, Elko tries to strike an upbeat note. After all, it’s the home of LeeAnne’s Floral Design, Haley’s Fine Gifts, the Cowboy Gear and Arts Museum, and a storefront Wedding Chapel. And there’s a bargain breakfast on offer in the coffee shop of the Commercial Casino: two eggs any style, toast, and your choice of sausage or bacon. A cup of coffee and things look a little brighter.

Edition details

• Publisher: Etruscan Press
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1736494627
• ISBN 13: 9781736494622
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384