"rocky raccoon checked into his room...

...only to find Gideon's bible."

I swear, this was the first line that popped in my head when the theme was announced on Thursday morning, and ever since it's been like an ear worm—running over and over in a maddening tape loop. So I had no choice. I know in the song Rocky checks into a saloon, but for some reason I've always imagined it as a cheap motel somewhere out west. Maybe that's because I've never been in a saloon.

The raccoon is scanned from Walker's Mammals of North America. I googled to find Gideon's bible and the motel accoutrements. Rocky's hat is clip art. And the photo of the motel sign was taken by Patti Sundstrom, who took a special trip up and down Route 66 to photograph its splendors.