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

CHAPTER 39: COUNTDOWN & A NEW CAR

With arrangements for his house, the family business, the train depot project & a few odds & ends all set, the eldest was now squarely focused on embarking on the road trip of a lifetime … a drive down Route 66. He was glad his younger brother was joining him & was excited he’d be doing broadcasts for his employer, WSM in Nashville TN. Regular listeners of his brother’s shows were eager to hear from him along the road, as evidenced by the many comments & Emails the station had been receiving since they announced the planned impromptu broadcasts as the brothers traveled Route 66. At the same time, the eldest was sad their sister wouldn’t be joining them, but knew she needed to remain in the area for her family & to keep the family business open during the brothers’ journey. While she was disappointed she couldn’t go, she realized it wasn’t the right time for her to go.

Less than a day away from departure, more like mere hours, the youngest brother returned from a morning of running errands & plunked a set of keys down on the eldest’s bedroom dresser. Concentrating on packing, the eldest didn’t notice what his younger brother had done. Instead, without looking, he asked if he was done packing.

“Almost,” the youngest replied.

“OK, well, don’t you think you should finish? We’re leaving in the AM, ya know.”

“Yep, I know & I will!”

“So, what’re you standing here for? I’m almost done & getting ready to start loading the Caprice.”

Exasperated, the younger brother picked up the keys & dangled them in front of his older brother’s face.

“Yes, those are keys….” the eldest’s voice trailed off.

“…to my new car!” exclaimed the youngest.

Somewhat mystified, the eldest just kind of blankly stared at his brother, not knowing quite what to say.

“We’re taking MY car on our road trip!” said the youngest, seemingly excited & pleased with himself.

“Wait, what?” asked the eldest. “When did you get a new car?”

“A few days ago,” replied the youngest. “I’ve had it checked over & prepped for a long road trip.”

“But,” interrupted the oldest, “we agreed to take the Caprice.”

“I know,” said the youngest, “but I got to thinking. I know we want to make memories in our family car, but it doesn’t seem fair to make those memories without our sister. Furthermore, what happens if something happens to it along the way? I’m not saying anything WILL happen, just a ‘what if’?”

“OK, I get it,” replied the eldest, “but I’d rather not rent or drive a newer car, either.”

“I know, which is why I bought this,” said the youngest, jingling the keys.

The eldest took the keys & looked them over. He instantly recognized them as a set of older GM keys, much like the ones he had for his Caprice.

“Another Caprice, by chance?” queried the eldest, quizzically looking at his brother while eyeing the keys.

“Yep!”

“I presume it’s here?”

“Of course! C’mon, let me show you!”

The eldest followed the youngest out of the house to the driveway, where a tan with brown vinyl top 1976 Caprice sedan sat in front of the brick garage where the maroon 1976 Caprice sedan was housed.

The 1st thing the eldest said upon seeing the car was: “I hate those wheels!”

“Well, we could swap them temporarily with those on your Caprice,” offered the youngest.

“…& I don’t do vinyl tops!” continued the eldest.

“I remember,” said the youngest, “but this was the best I could get on short notice. I know it is a bit rougher than yours, but that’s perfect. We know we won’t always be driving on perfect pavement, so this is the perfect car for the trip. The other options I found were a 1975 Dodge Monaco station wagon & a 1973 Ford LTD coupe. I figured this was the car you’d be most OK with, considering we were planning to take your maroon Caprice….”

The eldest had to admit his brother made good points & by the looks of it, had actually picked out the perfect car for their road trip duties. Course, now, he had 1 more thing to arrange, & he knew the perfect person to take care of his car while he was gone.