Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You're the Reason I'll be Traveling On
—Don't think twice. It's all right.
BOB DYLAN PRESENTED
a few new angles on a tough situation. By letting things go we could have
faith in the road as a place to be, a place where life unfolded in continuing adventure, where
brotherhood came our way along with a few sisters. Ah, youth; if not for the presumption of
the thing, more kids might embrace it.
Well, times seemed tough. After riding my bicycle three days in the Boulder Mountains I
had no bicycle. Leon Russell through the mescaline lens was an impossible act to follow. Stevie
broke the news to Jimmy and Heavy Greg that he had to study to graduate, because. Hey, that's
cool, man. They left.
Bummer.
Jimmy passed me a card on the way out, not a business card but a credit card with the name
Leo Denton. Cards were such a goof. Business, credit—the fuck? Jimmy got this card from a
guy in Boulder as collateral on a balance. Jimmy knew that balances were bullshit and always
tilt, unbalanced, and he was done with the guy. Maybe he sensed something without letting on,
just as he knew of his wrestling skills without letting on. Shrewd yet humble, he smirked, press-
ing the card into my palm. “I got a card, man. I'm giving it to you. Be cool.”
That was cool. What do you do with a credit card? They were a goof and then some, like
another trick to get you into debt you'd never be able to pay. Then again, they were magical.
Credit card companies sent live cards unsolicited to random consumers in the 60s. Many recip-
ients welcomed a new way of life, strapping on the harness in the new American plan, provid-
ing instant mobility at only a point and a half—rotating. Many people thought they'd arrived at
last, at the financial mobility they'd always expected to have. The credit card promised fantasy
fulfillment on the more, more, more. What could be so bad? 18% annual didn't really count,
because you'd pay your bill monthly. Why wouldn't you?
Credit card transactions at that time occurred on plastic boxes with rollers requiring some
muscle and no electronic capture. A few people with hot cards cost the card companies mil-
lions, but the companies soaked up that loss as a nominal cost of doing business.
