Last Stop Bar & Grill

摘要

Two short lengths of PVC pipe form a cross, their junction secured with duct tape. The top of the makeshift crucifix holds a fat pink candle, dripping halted wax. Two words and a date are carefully inscribed in permanent ink on the crossbar: 'Sweet Jenny 8/8/2008.' The cross's faded garland of silk flowers rustles irritably in the wake of a passing truck. A film of desert sand sifts over their aging petals.rnA hundred yards down the road, the truck pulls into the parking lot of the Last Stop Bar & Grill. The diner stands alone on the desert floor. Its neon is down to 25 percent capacity, and the gas pumps outside are too old to pass government inspection. Occasionally, a tourist stops for directions back to the interstate, and tells his kids a story about how things used to be, before superhighways, restaurant rows, and box stores.