Stuck in Bakersfield without a dime to my name

No, not really. I am in Sacramento and have at least the requisite tank full of gas that represents supreme freedom in these parts, but I have been listening to a lot of country music (in between the Mexican version of low class Okie music, glorious accordion conjunto) and the idea comes around. Stuck in Bakersfield/Texas/Oklahoma/etc. without the means of getting out. What would it mean to wake up and find that you are flat on your back, and the only option is to beg, borrow, work, or steal to get out of Bakersfield (or Beverly Hills for that matter - anywhere that you know no one, besides decidedly unsavory sorts that you just lost your last dime to at that honky-tonk down the road)?

I have been to Bakersfield and Oildale, and it all seemed kind of fun, sort of like a Cal-Okie hajj to the land of Hag and Buck. But I imagine that it would be different to actually be stuck there.

Lodi, on the other hand, is really quite pleasant. It reminds me of Pisa, and I am always happy to be reminded of Pisa, especially in hot weather. Bakersfield does not remind me of Pisa. It reminds me of Armadillo or Amarillo or whatever that town is in North Texas, except that it is close to the Tehachapis.

All of this is making me itch to go to Death Valley and the Owens Valley, which only lunatic Kraut and French tourists do this time of year. So, it will have to wait until the winter, when it is quite nice to get away to the borax flats.

Meanwhile, I have some Hank Williams to listen to.