On Route 66

 The one thing I remember from “Route 66,” the TV series, was this moment when Tod turns the ignition key of the Corvette and it roars. I remember the sense of being engulfed by envy. I — along with a gazillion other 14-year-old adolescents — could not imagine anything could beat that for cool.

The thought came back with the news that Martin Milner, who played Tod, died Sunday at the age of 83. He and his sidekick Buzz — played, or rather overplayed, by George Maharis — were characters created by the legendary screenwriter Stirling Silliphant whose work still holds up after all these years. He died in 1993.

I remember one episode in particular where Tod and Buzz get jobs working on the construction of a dam. The entire episode was shot in Page and during the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam.

In its time, Route 66 was the best thing on television. It embodied all the best of the American road trip. The theme was written by Nelson Riddle, a great tune that worked perfectly as shown right here.