Illustration of a highway scene featuring a colorful, artistic depiction of Route 66 with a purple sky, abstract art, rain, and a surreal landscape including a strange creature resembling an armadillo with a long face and deer-like features.

63     AMARILLO ARMADILLO

KEY CONCEPTS:  armoring, consumerism, aging, passage of time, decay, ruins, trash to treasure, participation, extravagance, changing old patterns, a lengthy interval, asking for permission.

MESSAGE:  A configuration of weathered Caddies juts skyward in an endless muddy field, harkening Route 66’s Golden Age.  Their shadows cast aspersions on American extravagance over time.  Decades of decadence loom in the falling rain, forming oversized Texas puddles.  It’s no accident that these old luxury cars were positioned at the precise angle of the Great Pyramid.   Here lie once-grand rolling behemoths, contoured rear-ends aloft, paying silent, surreal tribute to the Pharaohs of consumer culture.  Is this family of gas-guzzlers merely a dysfunctional remnant of a long-dead yesteryear?  Many folks think that about their relations. Could they enjoy a fresh incarnation?  Couldn’t we all?  Reanimated as sculpture the cars oversee throngs of visiting travelers, each contributing renewal to the art.  Who knew decaying Cadillacs would remain so gloriously alive?

Obstacles impede our armadillo friend’s hasty flight.  You can’t always run from your past. Why does this little guy hustle…does he seek protection from all the tourists?  His thick coat of armor could shield him from the shameful sting of criticism…shouldn’t you thicken your skin as well, dear traveler?  Don’t be so sensitive.  Stop asking your clan’s permission: it’s okay to let go of old patterns.  A fresh crop of taggers could teach you a thing or two. Once yearly these vehicular monoliths are re-primed to let new spray-painters add their own gleeful squiggles. Together, you and the armadillo could both shimmy with the action:  embracing change turns trash into treasure.  We underestimate ourselves if we identify as broken, damaged beings.  Are you torturing yourself for flawed family dynamics?  If you think it’s too late for your dreams, Amarillo Armadillo offers hope. Stop weeping and moaning about the ruins of your past.  Many years flew by since those events; why not flip them upside down and coat them with a few new memories?  What separates art from vandalism? What discerns dysfunction from adventure?  Amarillo Armadillo wants you to find out!   No need to ask permission at the Cadillac Ranch; pick up some paint and take part in the art.

RELATED SITES: CADILLAC RANCH, AMARILLO TEXAS; UNFORTUNATELY YOU WILL FIND A LOT OF SPLATTERED ROADSIDE ARMADILLOS THROUGHOUT ALL EIGHT STATES.