back roads

When I despair, I think of Ukrainian fighters down in the trenches, American soldiers mowed down on the beaches of Normandy, and Freedom Riders risking it all on back roads across the South — all fighting for freedom under conditions far more dire than what we face today.

The smugglers talk about their ability to get equipment to Calais within “three, four hours”, which indicates they feel bold enough to use motorways, rather than back roads.

Linda Rosales, 68, took me in her dirt-caked Silverado through the back roads that connected the fields.

I soon left Clifton as well, taking winding back roads toward my next stop.

Her following — 50,000 on TikTok, 11,000 on X and 4,169 on Instagram — is not huge, but she knows the back roads and the fairways and has a widening degree of influence.