The Disillusionists cont'd...

An hour later the pavement gave way to gravel. Stone chips pinged off the undercarriage and the tires crunched through potholes. The big camper shimmied lightly on washboard but gripped well in the corners, a slight oversteer on anything tighter than a sweeper but all in all it handled well for an old dear. The high beams penetrated the darkness; Jay and Alexis shared a fleeting look. Mike asked casually asked for directions and turned to see what everyone was up to.

I knelt on the floor between the seats up front and stared out the window like a kid. It had been too long since I'd been out in the woods and I realized now how much I missed it. The air was clean, you could smell the trees and I could feel the grime from the city loosening in my chest.

"Why a cowboy?" I asked by way of making conversation.

Mike considered the question for a moment before answering. "I decided to go with the Cowboy because he is somehow universal... alone, independant and yet a completely manufactured mythic image. The icon of the west, a rebel. But wear the wrong hat or boots and voila - instant idiot. I don't think a gangbanger or nudist would work as well."

"I think too that a lot of country music is more representative of how people actually live their lives." said May, " It doesn't take a lot of introspection to be in love with your truck."

"So..."

"So there is an honesty in a way."

"But no level of convincing will bring them beyond trying to make a mortgage payment..." chimed Alexis from the table, "The level of violence involved in property ownership is unbelievable."

"True. Most of it seems to have been sold to them and accepted without question." added May. I was getting a headache.

"Hasn't the whole redneck comes to the city thing been done like, a million times before?" asked Jay. Mike raised an eyebrow. I could see that he and Jay were at odds over the premise of the film already. No one said anything. We drove for another hour.