No continental breakfast

On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the ''Prague Spring'' liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek's regime.

Checked into the little motel in Ogallala, after a day in the '63 Pontiac Catalina. Headed home from an Estes Park, Colorado vacation. We'd had car trouble, I'm sure, as that was a regular feature of family vacations, but the details are hazy. This might have been the amazing vacation without relatives, but I can't be sure.

Very clear is the sense of that budget motel with the Fifties pink tile bathroom behind me. My attention is locked on the black and white t.v. sitting in front of the picture window. Outside, beyond, a tiny over-chlorinated  swim pool shimmers in the heat. Inside, the Soviet tanks roll into Prague.

© 2013 Nancy L. Ruder