I love the image they've come up with for re-releases of the classic Route 66 TV series. Amazon Prime is now showing all episodes for free -- and last night I saw one that I'd never seen before.

Its title? "Shoulder the Sky, My Lad."

And towards the end, Buz Murdoch gives another incredible speech...



He's talking to a teenaged boy who's about to escape town on a freight train. And Buz gives him some advice.

I was raised by strangers. Sure there were a lot of people around, but I was always alone. I remember one Sunday when I was shining shoes and the rest of the kids were all dressed up going to church, and I hated them, and I hated their parents, and I hated the whole world. And I'll tell you something, I would've hated God too, Davy, except -- well I didn't believe in God any more. He was like -- like Santa Claus, only for kids and fools.

That same night I was sittin' on the roof of the tenement where I lived, and there was no stars, and there was no moon -- only a red, red sky. And I remember thinking -- I remember thinkin' that the sky was red maybe because God was crying for me. And all of a sudden I wasn't scared any more. And I didn't feel lost or alone.

And from that second on I've never felt alone.

Because I'm not. Nobody is.

Here's the opening scene on YouTube. (And yes, that is a young Ed Asner playing the boy's father...)

10:41 AM