“I was standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.”
Glenn Frey – Take it Easy
It’s funny, sometimes, disparate things come together and complete a thought. I have always been intrigued by the interstate system. The last few days I have gotten to drive a bunch of it, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway (I-80 out of Winnemucca NV if you are interested). Ike was the inspiration for the interstate system as part of a military deployment. This followed my participating in a group effort to compile a year long social studies unit plan.
Then I got to ride some of the “mother road” Route 66. I saw a lot of towns that had died and dreams that were crushed by the development of the interstate that bypassed so many of their towns. People opened businesses, invested dollars, passed down businesses from generation to generation. The did it expecting things to go in accordance with their plans. I wondered, how many people made these plans not knowing about the plans of the federal government that would roll right over the top of them. At the time the interstate was a new invention, something never before seen and the impacts I am sure were unforeseen.
Then I went to Winslow AZ. Just another Route 66 town. Full of hotels, gas stations and tourist attractions. Built for the constant attention of the motorist traveling from LA to Chicago. Certainly in its death throes when in 1974 Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey wrote the phrase “standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see.” The rest as they say is history, one of the most iconic lines in music history was born and the City of Winslow saw their moment to pivot. On a random Tuesday in July, with the temperature at 115 people were making their way to Winslow, simply to stand on the corner.
You see Winslow, like we must as teachers, pivoted. They created a new attraction and brought new money and people. When our plans are overcome by events we have to look around the corner, pay attention to what is going on in our world, and find way to make connections to our students. We have to pivot to where we can make an impact and take advantage of what is present instead of hoping for something else.
The Embed Educator 