Emmett Lee Dickinson fans, rejoice!
We are four posts into a five-post series called "The Thanksgiving Countdown" (the fifth post will be published tomorrow), and now -- on the busiest travel day of the year -- we offer an extra/bonus post: "The Road Taken."
Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was the first to coin the phrase "the busiest travel day of the year" due to the heavy traffic on the turnpikes between Emily Dickinson's home in Amherst, MA, and Emmett Lee's home in Washerst, PA.
Dickinson even wrote a poem about it, "The Road was lit with Brakes of cars" (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The Road was lit with Moon and star" (below on the right).
By Emmett Lee Dickinson: The Road was lit with Brakes of cars – The Lanes were tight and still – Desp’rate I – with the distant Miles A Traveler who could Kill – The traffic in Particular Descending, down the Hill – Unknown the ultimate ETA – So I endured the hell – | By Emily Dickinson: The Road was lit with Moon and star – The Trees were bright and still – Descried I — by the distant Light A Traveler on a Hill – To magic Perpendiculars Ascending, though Terrene – Unknown his shimmering ultimate – But he indorsed the sheen – |
We hope your travels today were light and that you made it to your Thanksgiving destination safely!