Neon Nostalgia

neon lights
& in this city that never sleeps
where neon lights are all i see
and cars are blasting rap cd's
when the closest thing to nature
are the fireworks down the street
i sit and wish that i was still
everything i used to be

--bob6666

To me, few things are as evocative of the America of my childhood as neon signs. I remember waking up in the back of our stationwagon as we drove into Seattle one night: It was a veritable fairyland of neon lights. And how I loved to stand gazing out of my Grandma's high bedroom window in Portland at the neon Pegasus and Flying A signs that lit up the sky from several miles away. A magical feeling never failed to descend upon me.

As I got older it was the connection between neon and Edward Hopper, Raymond Chandler, downtown cocktail lounges, Palm Beach, seedy hotels, and Route 66 (as seen in books, movies, and my imagination) that stirred me. A really first rate neon sign, like the Loveless Motel (below), can whisk me - figuratively! - into strange and forbidden places.

Thanks to the following for their excellent poetry and pictures: 
http://www.gurl.com/showoff/poetry/qa/0,,688845,00.html
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CA-8Lmc9JBJ3CprKH1k7IjIqJqgIEYP7qIMkvD9bssS6n7eGSaJf9LQgq4Jpu-mdSi7-fsxyMiARrsq1ghhmtxrjnbH9I3eoPO2eTWqVFNIbX6zUSPt3a8kdvwUdwuH7ZCT3-nYD5wE/s1600-h/Coca-Cola+neon.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QDUifQAV-KI0BDvxFmrQyZhO-pX7jA8TCXz_2AsIcnRS6tnAMgSMAQu62ALST4rPzOWA40ZqlKy-LdyLQm6_6_Cbp9BNmMP0Ffa7awR0zVjWEbKyk6Lwf_jR0-24_2kO5INHdm7S00c/s1600-h/Flying+A+Gasoline+neon+sign.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeS-e7K580PH-G1Bms9QxDDwG1365kBZkD17JyGMClqtW7Ag4fKctiTau0Xm1BWRD0C4AQjVuBTYjdzpwetFe6_hgirW1zlCNe7JrDpT6JT4hJ-RgC2iuBkcPxOG_IVAb6ridmSc3kdQ/s1600-h/Blue+Swallow+Motel.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRHkJ8WKWlRbVnXfhHNNeuK9VmIFQbVp7sxaoU-CyktHUs2OorAf-QTMKONaoHRDfYgXP48xRQzxpJFbZinF8URIjbuv5C3sCTh4tCSSkS2XqOXHUI93O4U6XLLwm10HdE9zlHGD4L38/s1600-h/El+Vado+Motel.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBTpg6ZDHt8oxKc_3vqcf3aHuAiWRqAEpgEyIxGhk1_kwAyqakgvxsdb7PoEOgl19cnkEq96Vtjnt5AVDtEvn4HitBV1KcaTJiTGYc2HBpMN9hwnlvN7bcTdnnN5BYUYABfo-VqIwyeo/s1600-h/Neon+Cat+by+Phil+Eager,+Flickr.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfaSUCFvbOJ6As2uX1HDX4gGZlIRXomMKkPmEAjVdR9xWjRPk3uoM_7HJCMI-g_aAjmhbMqyoJ4nVgtQLCZ3Ddh3lDQhpvtQh-B1MIF6cVleJXZOr3mzYVP1-410mhmF8UmjoL6FsmZk/s1600-h/Pegasus+Neon.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1oJD2PFTo4qlGMz5bJjk9jWuNsdha-fcSCoHCuNw21S8x0aYZVtEb2PYSUA2lVHRUCyWh4BJiF0QTlXvAT4COyWYcA6_2iJTHXYt7X_EEbLX5KJI3G8rmUKNWWIGLHP393QNMCyNSXE/s1600-h/Loveless+Motel,+Chandra,+Photography+Goddess.jpg
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