But there is no chance. I see L.A. then, and I almost burst into tears. Ahead and a little below are beads, strings, fountains of light It is a vision from the past, wealthy and mysterious and wonderful.
“I’m gonna leave you near Colton Airport. You know L.A., either of you?”
“I don’t,” I say, “but I don’t think we want to be left at an airport. We’ll have to deal with customs, won’t we?”
“I didn’t say at Colton airport. Near it. We drop people various places. We ain’t used this particular spot in a month. I’m gonna land on Interstate 10, just west of the airport. I’m not even gonna turn off the engine. You just pile out and I’ll give ’er the gun and that’s it. You’re on your own. There’s an interurban station right near the airport. Go there. There won’t be anybody around this time of night. Last trolley comes through at midnight. It’s a dime.”
Ten minutes later we are sitting in the brightly lit trolley stop.
There is an ad on the back wall for Yamaha bicycles and a placard announcing,
Penciled in below this are Colton’s local laws: curfew is midnight or last trolley. The area commandant is Colonel William Piper, U.S.A., address GPO Colton, phone number 213-880-1098.
Suspicious persons should be reported at once.
Hello, sunshine.
POLL
Opinions from the Two Americas
There really are two Americas now, the first nation being California and its satellite Western states, the second being the rest of us folks—dirty, tired, and radioactive.
Out West, the public impression of the state of the rest of the country is very much worse than actual conditions would warrant.
“Outsiders” are looked upon as contagious at best, and probably downright lethal.
The West believes that
• America is recovering from the war.
• The West is helping the East as much as it can.
• The War Zones ought to be abandoned.
Naturally the East thinks otherwise, and though the War Zones are not broken out separately, they presumably feel that they should be rehabilitated.
Surprisingly, neither East nor West feels that long-term martial law in the War Zones is a threat to the Constitution, though the East has a stronger opinion in this matter than the West.
Do you believe that the United States is continuing to make a recovery from the 1988 war?
| - | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 49% | 41% | 30% |
| DISAGREE | 46 | 57 | 67 |
| NO OPINION | 5 | 2 | 3 |
A significant East-West split is reflected in the response to this question. As first noted three years ago, marked differences appear between the states of the so-called War Zone and the remaining states. When asked this question in 1993, these two regions responded:
| - | East/War Zone | West |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 30% | 42% |
| DISAGREE | 69 | 55 |
| NO OPINION | 1 | 3 |
In terms of assistance for recovery, do you believe that the federal government should abandon the War Zones permanently in order to concentrate resources on those marginally affected areas that could more fully benefit from the assistance?
| - | 1993 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 47% | 49% |
| DISAGREE | 50 | 47 |
| NO OPINION | 3 | 4 |
As in last year’s survey, there were sharp regional differences:
| - | East/War Zone | West |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 25% | 61% |
| DISAGREE | 73 | 36 |
| NO OPINION | 2 | 3 |
Do you believe that the regions of the United States unaffected directly by the war are doing everything they can to assist in the full recovery of the War Zones?
| - | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 31% | 27% | 29% |
| DISAGREE | 62 | 66 | 63 |
| NO OPINION | 7 | 7 | 8 |
Again, there were substantial differences between East and West:
| - | East/War Zones | West |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 23% | 51% |
| DISAGREE | 71 | 47 |
| NO OPINION | 6 | 2 |
When asked what more the Western region could do to assist in recovery, or in what different ways it could do so, the responses were as follows:
| - | East/War Zones | West |
|---|---|---|
| DO THE SAME | 13% | 41% |
| DO LESS | 2 | 22 |
| PROVIDE GREATER CAPITAL ASSISTANCE | 31 | 13 |
| PROVIDE WORK TEAMS | 12 | 10 |
| ACCELERATE/INCREASE SUPPLIES AND MATERIEL | 42 | 14 |
Are America’s allies doing all they can to assist this nation to recover?
| - | 1993 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 39% | 34% |
| DISAGREE | 57 | 61 |
| NO OPINION | 4 | 5 |
As in 1992, there were significant regional differences in response to this question:
| - | East/War Zone | West |
|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 17% | 39% |
| DISAGREE | 79 | 57 |
| NO OPINION | 4 | 4 |
Does the continued use of the U.S. Armed Forces to control the War Zones (approximately .7 million servicemen) pose a long-term threat to the return of constitutional authority to state and local governments in these areas?
| - | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGREE | 23% | 21% | 26% |
| DISAGREE | 68 | 69 | 67 |
| NO OPINION | 9 | 10 | 7 |