The backroads of America are explored by all kinds of diverse people. If Jack Kerouac's road travels were high-octane, high adrenaline, our Traveler-at-large Tony Kahn now takes us on a gentler, we could even say bittersweet, trip. Renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz had a difficult time coping with the fact that his father's mind was fading with Alzheimer's disease. He wasn't sure if his father would be up to it, but he decided to take a road trip, back to the Bronx, New York, where Joel grew up. As Tony tells it, it turned out to be a very special time, the family sharing spontaneous moments as only happen on the road. It was a trip, South to North, on the backroads of the Eastern States. But it was a trip of the heart, too. A cathartic review of a long life. And a final good-bye.

Into a Fading Past

By Tony Kahn, 6/29/2001

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