Song about Fulltimers? Fastball - The Way

[gbkims]

Listening to old songs, this one made me think of RVing & Fulltimers

Fastball – The Way Lyrics

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?

They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down they started walking
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?

[Chorus:]
Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
And it's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They wont make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happy there today, today

The children woke up
And they couldn't find 'em
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind 'em
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?

Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
And it's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They wont make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happy there today, today (repeat)

[Chiefblueman]

Good song, I remember it well. The story behind it is interesting.


Lela and Raymond Howard were a couple in their 80s living in Salado, TX. (Sala-do). In June 1997, they packed a bag for the short 15 mile trip to Temple, TX for the annual Pioneer Day Festival. Their children, one of whom lived next door, knew nothing of their trip. The husband and wife were both prone to confusion in their old age, and this was made worse by Lela’s alzheimers and Raymond’s recent brain surgery.
Reports say that they made it to Temple and were spotted at a local Walmart buying coffee. After that, they disappeared. They never returned home later that day, and by the next day, they were put on the missing persons list. Police and helicopters searched for the couple, looking all across the southeast and helicopters flew over Arkansas, while others searched woods, ravines, and twisted back roads.
Their family had no way of knowing it, but by Saturday night, Lela and Raymond Howard were already 500 miles away in rural Arkansas. They had been pulled over for driving without their headlights once, and then 45 minutes later were stopped for driving with their high beams on. But neither of the deputies who pulled them over knew that they were missing persons, and wouldn’t know until Monday. By that time, the Howards were long gone.
A reporter searched the Howards home looking for clues. What she found was eerie, and a sign that the couple had been suffering from more confusion and dementia than their children had realized. The T.V. was unplugged and clothes were strewn on the bed, as well as other signs that they had been planning for a long trip but abruptly left. They had also left their toiletries and hearing aids behind. It was July but their calendar was still turned to February.
On July 12th, the search for the couple came to an end. Hikers stumbled across the crumpled remains of their car at the bottom of a 25-foot cliff, just off of a stretch of highway near Hot Springs under thick vegetation. Bodies at the site were Lela and Raymond’s, who had died from their injuries in the crash.
A year later, the band Fastball found fame with their hit, “The Way” which was inspired by the couple and their album went platinum. The band’s leader, Tony Scalzo, still attributes that song and the story of the old couple to the band’s success.
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