Dwight D. Eisenhower: Friend or Foe?

-We are fast approaching the official beginning of summer and the beginning of the vacation season. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band said it best in their 1987 country hit "Fishin' in the Dark." As the song goes, there's a "lazy yellow moon coming up tonight, shining through the trees. The crickets are singing, and the lightning bugs are floating on the breeze. Baby get ready."

-I've talked to several friends who are planning their summer get-a-ways across the highways of America. That's why today's topic is the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways! For those of you who have big plans, I am jealous, and I hope you have terrific summer vacations! Due to my poor decision to work in professional baseball, I am unable to take a summer vacation, but I'm not bitter at all. I mean, you may have to siphon fuel from your neighbor, or rob a bank, or make change in the church offering plate to combat gas prices, but I hope you have a great time!!!

-Anyway, back to the Dwight D. Eisenhower NSIDH. At first it may seem as American as could be, but I'm going to explain why it's not all it's cracked up to be.

-According to Mr. Wik E. Pedia PhD, the Dwight D. Eisenhower highway system is actually a separate system within the National Highway System. We're dealing with a lot of systems here. The entire system has a total length of 46,387 miles. Dannnnng! It is both the longest highway system in the world and the biggest public works project in the history of the world. This is why we love the interstate system--it's big, it's efficient, and it helped put folks to work when it was constructed. It also keeps folks working now with year-round maintenance! Man I love construction! Nothing beats work zone speed limits, pot holes, and orange signs!

-If you wanted to, you could hop on I-40 in Wilmington or the Triangle and drive all the way to Barstow, California. If you do drive to California, for goodness sake, watch out for hippies.

-Many of us take "The System" for granted. It wasn't always as easy to get from point A to point B. "The System" helps us get to work Monday through Friday, and it helps us visit family and friends Friday night through Sunday afternoon.

-Now I'm going to tell you why you should take it for granted. One of UNC's finest graduates and one of the best journalists in history, the late great Charles Kuralt said it best with one of his most witty and sadly accurate quotes."Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

-That is my biggest complaint with Dwight D's baby. "The System" seriously hampers the individualism and regional culture of this great nation. When someone drives through North Carolina, they need to see countless Carolina flags flying on the porches of it's great citizens; they need to see the rolling hills and quiet little barns that dot the countryside; they need to see Christmas lights strung along the porches of houses in August; they need to see mullet heads jumping dirt piles on a quiet Saturday afternoon; they need to see un-supervised children playing full-fledged basketball games on roll-out basketball goals in the middle of the street; they need to see yard sales with everything you need from circa 1970 leisure suits to Dale Earnhardt Zippo lighters; and they need to see deer…lots and lots of deer that for some reason just don't see anything threatening about something loud and bright coming in their direction at 60 miles per hour.

-If you stay on the major highways, you just don't see the real America. You see Anytown, USA. Anytown, USA consists of green sign after green sign after blue sign after mile marker with an Applebee's over there and a Wal-Mart over here.

-Last summer I got the opportunity of a lifetime to go on a cross-country road trip from Billings, Montana across the northern US border, past the great lakes, and back down to Raleigh, North Carolina. I was with my brother, Brad and his two friends Jake and Alex. We needed to get from Billings to Chicago, IL in 4 days. We had to decide if we would take the interstates or the country roads. We decided on country roads, and I couldn't have been happier with the results. We were absolutely amazed by the beautiful mountains in Big Sky Country, and the sunflower fields in North Dakota, and the lavish lakeside communities along Lake Michigan. "The System" would not have allowed us to see all these things.

-"The System" is a fine example of an Americana Monday paradox. It is undeniably American, but it is also undeniably un-American. Some days I hate "The System." Some days I dig through my small coin collection just to look at my silver dollars with the head of Dwight David on them just so I can say "Thanks D.D. You da' man." Let's meet back here next week, and go Diamond Heels!