"They say they call me on the phone, they lay me off. No money, man!"
We heard all that talk in coffee shops with steamy windows, we seen it happen…..guys pouring ketchup over eggs and hash browns, waiting for the morning papers to hit the streets.
The word gets around: hey...they need carpenters in Phoenix!
Drywall finishers in Reno!
Railroad brakemen in Laramie!
And the next thing you know, you're loading tools and duffel bags into the back of a Chevy sedan and hitting the road.
Okay, if you travel with a woman, it might be easier:
See, you pay for the week in advance at a motel and now you're just about broke but the place has a kitchenette, she can put a meal together while you're out cruising for work and then maybe she gets a job real quick as a waitress in that diner down the street and even brings home leftovers at the end of her shift.
But you got to figure that something might happen, some words get said that can't be taken back, and you lie in bed one night watching headlights swing across the ceiling, guys just like you driving out into the western night to look for other towns and better times.
In the morning you stand at the front window for awhile just looking out at the traffic and smoking a cigarette.
Later drop her off at the Amtrak station and she will go back home and you'll drive on to Denver where you hear they are looking for roofers.
What next?
What follows.
