Store fronts sit boarded. In rural western Oklahoma, today's flight is rural to urban. Along the interstate in the middle of golden grasslands looms a fortress of walls and wire. Many in Sayre, Okla., thought the jobs at the new private prison might revitalize the town, says Jack Dungan, a convenience store owner on Route 66. Inside, a waitress named Misty circulates with a coffee pot.
Grease hangs heavy in the air, along with sluggish flies.
An old rancher named Bear Mills sits in a booth. Smoke rises from his cigarette and circles his stained cowboy hat. He takes a deep drag. The dust covered the crops, choked the livestock and blew so black it tricked the chickens into roosting at midday. Landowners like himself could get by, Mills says.