HONKY-TONK NIGHT

This series dropped out of nowhere and into my lap. You can’t know when opportunity will knock, but you certainly can choose to keep your front lights on.

I was feeling the gloom of the holiday season unusually strongly (for several reasons we won’t discuss) in December 2019. I felt the visceral need to get away from Hollywood for a few days. I flipped through my mental Rolodex for quiet destinations within one day’s drive from Los Angeles, and I settled on taking the nine-hour trip to Winslow, Arizona.

Winslow is a town off of Interstate 40 with old Route 66 running through its main drag. The town has been most famous for getting mentioned by Glenn Frey in the Eagles’ 1972 single, “Take It Easy.” Each summer, thousands of tourists from around the globe to see the street corner on which Glenn said he was standing all that time ago. Since December is the off-season, I had no trouble securing myself a cozy Airbnb at a reasonable rate.

On my final day in town, I strolled past a flyer promoting an “Urban Cowboy Night” at the Winslow Elks lodge. The paper promised a screening of the ridiculous 1980 John Travolta-Debra Winger vehicle Urban Cowboy along with hot dogs, refreshments, dancing, a mechanical bull, and a last-minute Dolly Parton lookalike contest. There was no way that I was gonna miss this soiree.

I had no clue when I began my stay that I’d encounter such a unique event, but I was prepared. Even though I wasn’t planning on doing serious shooting during my travels, I packed my camera, my speedlite, and my battery-powered location strobes. I couldn’t have known that the opportunity would present itself, but I damn sure can be prepared.