Route 66-based story
written by OC,SH’s founder, inspired by his September 2009 Route 66 road trip
CHAPTER 56: A WALK
After exploring Dwight IL’s historic train station, the eldest & his cousin drove the youngest’s tan 1976 Caprice to the Casey’s General Store & Gas Station located on Illinois Route 47, just south of where 47 veers away from original Route 66 (as opposed to Bypass 66 which I-55 more closely follows the curve around the town). The 2 roads share pavement on either side of the east-west railroad tracks on the north edge of town. It is in this section where the Amtrak tracks which connect Dwight IL & Chicago IL also cross the east-west tracks.
The eldest parked the Caprice in a spot on the north end of Casey’s lot. Then, the eldest & cousin walked behind the store to the tracks in the still relatively early morning light. While they’d been talking in the car, the eldest got quiet as they neared the tracks. The cousin kept wanting to say something to break the silence, but didn’t. Instead, he did what the eldest was doing: got lost in his own thoughts. Sometimes, you don’t have to say a word when you’re with others; this was 1 of those times.
The eldest had walked along tracks so many times in his life. Yet, each time, his mind always flashed back to another time he’d been. Today, the memory was more recent, when the shopkeeper came to find him after he hadn’t left a message for his brother. Upon remembering that day, the eldest’s thoughts quickly turned to the shopkeeper himself & how the progress on the new train depot was going.
Meantime, the eldest & cousin walked northeast along the tracks. Both were taking in the sights, but in different ways. The eldest was seeing this area for the 1st time, so he was taking in the bigger picture. The cousin, however, had walked this path many times, so he was taking in the minute details, noticing things he hadn’t “seen” before.
The 2 crossed the roadway of Illinois Route 47 & walked farther northeast along the pavement 47 shares with original Route 66. Along that stretch, a trio of vintage vehicles went past them, headed the opposite direction, towards The Old Route 66 Family Restaurant. The eldest & the cousin nudged each other at nearly the same time, each nodding towards the rolling art. Though the eldest wasn’t completely sure of the individual models, he recognized the 3 as a 1950s Ford sedan (later 1950s, he guessed), a mid-1960s Dodge wagon, & a mid-1970s Chevrolet. The last of the 3 he knew exactly what it was: a Monte Carlo, but he wasn’t sure of the year. When his Dad & Mom were shopping for their (now his) maroon 1976 Caprice, he remembered his Dad had considered a Monte Carlo, but decided he wanted the full-size instead of the mid-size model. A few moments later, another group of cars went by. This bunch, the eldest couldn’t tell many of them, but he did notice an AMC Matador, a Hudson Hornet & a Packard.
“Must be a club outing or something,” the cousin broke the silence.
“Yeah,” the eldest said thoughtfully. “I’m surprised I didn’t see any signs about it at the restaurant.”
“I’m not,” the cousin replied. “Car clubs around here do impromptu drives all the time.”
“Ah,” nodded the eldest.
The 2 kept walking northeast in silence. They walked as far as where Routes 47 & 66 separate again & walked back. By the time they were back at Casey’s, it was mid-late morning, & they decided to return to the cousin’s home. When they arrived, the youngest sibling was just waking up & the cousin’s wife had left to run some errands.