The Strip Bar has been Transformed into a Starbucks!

One of the things that I love about a long car trip is that ideas often bubble up. Of course, I often don't write them down, but I like to think they'll come back to me. I also like seeing different landscapes to the ones that I usually see on a daily basis. And of course, when travelling a road that I've spent some time on, it's interesting to see what's changed.

I've been driving up and down I 95 for much of my adult life. Some time in the mid 90's (I think), an enterprising soul began to open strip bars. The billboards would begin about 50 miles before the exit, enticing people to come in search of good food and pretty women. I loved the sections of highway where the stripper billboards competed with the South of the Border billboards--and I was always glad I didn't have children in the car who would ask interesting questions.

Last week, as I travelled north, I noticed that one of those strip bars has been changed into a Starbucks. My first impulse was to cheer. I've always wondered why Starbucks doesn't build some of their gazillion stores close to Interstate exits.

Then I wondered if there was some symbol lurking in the landscape--something useful for a poem. I tried, and so did my spouse, but all we could do was to create potential country songs. Lots of wordplay with latte and the like. I could also see a punkish country song, something the Violent Femmes might have sung in the 1980's. But no poems, as of yet.

If you're in need of a poetic symbol, or a writing prompt, feel free to use this one!