Route 66-based story
written by OC,SH’s founder, inspired by his September 2009 Route 66 road trip

CHAPTER 32: THINKING TIME OR NOT

Mid-afternoon, the eldest found himself at the site of the long-gone train depot. He had just finished lunch & was working his way back to the business. His brother & sister were already there, greeting & conversing with visitors. But, he felt the need to take his time getting back.

He got out of the Caprice Classic & slowly closed the driver’s door. He looked around, eyeing the still-visible concrete steps. He remembered where the depot stood, how it was situated, & how it looked after the storm sucked the life out of it. He started walking along the gravel toward those steps. As he did, he wondered if the town council would bend again, should the state pressure it, or if it would accept the meeting request from the local Route 66 Association & make plans to fight. He hoped they’d meet with the local Route 66 Association to send a message to the state that the town wouldn’t back down this time.

Just as the eldest reached the steps he heard 2 distinct sounds. The first was a train whistle; the second was tires crunching the gravel in the lot. He wasn’t surprised by the whistle, but the other noise caught his attention, particularly since it sounded like more than 4 tires making the sound. He glanced back to see the same LTD wagon that had been in his driveway coming to a stop next to his Caprice. Behind the LTD was the shopkeeper’s old pickup.

Not exactly happy with newly-arrived company, the eldest sighed & sat down on the concrete steps, sweeping his eyes across the basically vacant lot. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to do much more thinking, & he had a hunch he wasn’t going to get back to the business anytime soon, either. He watched the couple from Illinois exit the LTD, while the shopkeeper’s pickup came to an abrupt stop. The shopkeeper hurriedly exited the pickup &, while pointing to the couple (now walking mid-way between the cars & the concrete steps), shouted out to the eldest: “I WARNED ya ’bout ’em!”