Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to drive across the country. I was going from the east coast to central New Mexico. I intended to take advantage of the time on the road and see as many sights as I could.
The trip was in the Spring. There is not a better time of year to travel. Its cooler, and we would not be running into the larger summer crowds. I have made the drive several times before, but by different routes. I always enjoy it. This is a beautiful country, full of beautiful people most of whom are happy to tell you the best place to eat, the best routes, and the sights in their state not to miss. When traveling, the old adage, “You can draw more flies with honey than with vinegar,” is excellent advice. People are friendly. And I believe they are more than willing to help someone who asks them a question. Especially about their hometown. It all has to do with Sense of Place. The people you meet are at home, and are generally proud of their home, and are happy to brag about it.
When I am traveling this far I like to stop and see the country, and what better places to go and see than our National Parks. We decided to first go to Arizona and see the Grand Canyon; we would circle back to New Mexico. I had been to the Grand Canyon twice before, but it is always worth the trip. The first time I saw it was in 1971 on my way to California. but I drove past Winslow, Arizona without a thought (1). At that time, I had not heard of The Eagles or any of their music, so going past Winslow made no difference to me. I was heading to California for duty in the Navy.
However, during the early 1970s in southern California I heard numerous songs by the Eagles. They fit a shift I was making in what I listened to on the radio. So when I first heard the song “Take it Easy” (2) by The Eagles, like many people, I was hooked. It had a bit of a country feel to it, but I felt it to be more of a folk ballad of missed opportunity. And it fit my life.
When I drove back east from California in 1974, I went past Winslow again. But this time when I saw the sign for the turnoff, I started singing the song, but I zoomed past heading east on I-40. I would stop sometime in the future.
It would be 45 years before I came to Winslow again. In 2019, after seeing the Grand Canyon, we had turned around and were heading east to Albuquerque. The Grand Canyon had been a terrific extension of our trip (3).
This time I would go into Winslow and see what there was to see. Maybe I would find that corner and stop, and take it easy.
In 1999 the City of Winslow had selected the corner of Second St. & Kinsley Ave. as an appropriate place to erect a statue and to create a mural of the scene that reflects the story of the song. I was glad to see the statue and mural and to know that others had an attachment to the song and the story it told.
The morning was cool so after we visited the statue and mural we crossed the street for a cup of coffee and a sweet roll. When we came out we walked around for a while and then went past the statue on the corner on the way to our car.
I saw several people around the statue and the mural. I was happy to see others had come out to pay homage to their youth. We were grey beards all.
“Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy.”
(1). I did stop at the Meteor Crater and then got back on the road heading west. I wrote about my experience in my post of 27 January 2019, “Meteor Crater”.
(2). Lyrics of “Take it Easy” may be found at, https://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/eagles/take+it+easy_20044576.html .
(3). You can read my post about that experience in my article of 18 March, “Grand Canyon – Sweet”.
The City has an annual festival centered on the song. Information about the festival may be found at; https://winslowarizona.org/event/annual-standin-on-the-corner-festival/ .