Like the song says, I think my life has been a highway. As I traveled east on remote Oregon Route 218 and continued along OR-19, it seemed I could draw a parallel between nearly every road sign and some happening or experience in my life. And ironically, this two-lane, windy, hilly stretch of highway is part of Oregon’s Journey Through Time Scenic Byway.
I thought about how directional cues along the ‘road of life’ might have been quite useful actually. Blind corner. Abrupt edge. Slow down. Warning. Unlawful to pass when solid line is in your lane. U-turn permitted. Rough Road. Merge. View point. Winding road, no shoulders. Speed zone ahead. Chain-up area. End school zone. Keep right except to pass. And so forth…
I thought of forks in the road where I picked one direction, only to wonder so many years later what would have been if I chose otherwise. I wondered, where the hell was the map?
But ultimately I came to a few simple conclusions.
I don’t, and likely won’t, take the easy road.
I prefer the scenic byways and will look for more to venture down.
I never saw a dead end sign.
And like my favorite Swedish folk duo sang to me along the way — I try to keep on keeping on.
And you’ve just gotta keep on keeping on
Gotta keep on going, looking straight out on the road
Can’t worry ‘bout what’s behind you or what’s coming for you further up the road
I try not to hold on to what is gone, I try to do right what is wrong
I try to keep on keeping on
Yeah I just keep on keeping on
— lyrics from “My Silver Lining” by First Aid Kit
