I went to Lowell with a friend this weekend to see Kerouac’s grave and partake in the annual Jack Kerouac Pub crawl. This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of On The Road. Lowell is Kerouac’s hometown, so every summer the city does something in appreciation.This year, the On The Road scroll is being displayed in Lowell for the summer. I didn’t make it to the scroll this time, but I did make it to Kerouac’s grave and a few of his old haunts.

I was surprised at how modest Kerouac’s marker is. I wasn’t expecting some giant monument with a type writer etched into it, but I wasn’t expecting such a modest marker either. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made, though. There was something very pleasing about the fact that it’s just a flat marker with the phrase “He honored life” inscribed on it. Rest well, Jack.