I am a little embarrassed to admit this, especially knowing my friend and co-author Paul Marion will probably read this, but I only recent read Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.  For years the concept of the book did not interested me. Maybe it was growing up in the late fifties and sixties and watching too many comedy shows parody beatniks or members of “the beat generation” that turned me off.  I don’t know…but there are reminders of Jack Kerouac and On the Road in every fiber of Lowell and if you hang out in the city you can’t help but feel their presences. When I finally did read On the Road (just last month)  I was blown away by it and Jack Kerouac’s writing style. Kerouac’s words read like notes of music to me.

Here is an example of what I mean and my favorite passage from the book.

“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

Happy birthday Jack