THE MAP BY HAND

You’re not flying into Williamstown because no

one flies into Williamstown. You’re taking exit

179 and you’re whipping onto Route 2—there’s

a Dunkin’ Donuts now, just past the River City

Perk. The new one, not the one across the road,

squatting in the husk of its past life as the adult

bookstore where the boy who taught me to

swear took me to buy my first bong, where I did

my teenage best not to stare at the wire racks of

impeccably sculpted vibrators.

Roadside casinos creep like knotweed: Stateline

Big Time Coffee, the Original West Virginia

Cafe, Go-Marts lodged among them and not an

espresso to be had—you’re heading north past

Deerwalk, past Waverly and the road to

Pumpkin Knob. Maybe you’ll find the marina;

maybe you’ll get to see the train.