No matter where Lisa and Nick move, it seems, I have to drive through Normangee to get there. Normangee is a little shithole of a town in the middle of a lot of beautiful farmland. The pine trees along the highway are thick and gorgeous, the cows look fat and happy, and there are some lovely ranch houses set back from the road – and they all have the good sense to be situated well away from Normangee. The town itself consists of some run-down trailer homes, some crappy apartments, one nasty gas station, and a very scary highway intersection. It seems to suck the life out of everything nearby.
The intersection there is scary because everyone is trying to get out of town as fast as possible. I came at it from a different direction this time, on the highway that doesn’t have a stop sign there. The speed limit, I discovered, is 40. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone take it at less than 60. It’s the kind of intersection that makes your life flash before your eyes. I imagine tumbleweeds blow through it when the cars have gone.