Surprising The Surpriser

As a Route 66 tourguide, I like to be a surpriser and surprise the people on my bus tours with unusual facts.  And there is no better way to surprise people on a Route 66 bus tour than to talk about Paul McCartney’s birthday.

I say, “Let’s have a Route 66 trivia quiz!”

I start by asking the people on the Route 66 bus tour: “Paul McCartney turned 66 years old in 2008.  How did he celebrate his 66^th birthday?”  I keep on hoping that someone will make the connection: the number “66” appears in both “66^th birthday” and in “Route 66”.  But most Americans don’t make the connection because they assume that nobody who grew up in Liverpool, England, would ever have heard of Route 66.

Not so, most people in Europe have heard of Route 66, especially people growing up in Liverpool, which is only 55 miles from Blackpool, England, home of the Route 66 American Diner.

It is possible that Paul McCartney would have heard of that diner’s “Route 66 Burger Challenge” – where you have 30 minutes to down 10 burger patties, a pound of French fries, a bowl of chili, corn on the cob, and onion rings, all washed down with two liters of room-temperature Coca-Cola.  (Over 250 people have tried the challenge and failed.)

Paul McCartney celebrated his 66^th birthday by driving Route 66.

Next Route 66 trivia question is a multiple choice: “ Route 66, starts in Chicago and ends in Santa Monica, California.  Paul McCartney flew to Chicago and purchased a vehicle for his birthday trip.  What type of vehicle did he purchase?”

a.    An Aston-Martin

b.    A Lamborghini

c.    A BMW

d.    A beat-up ten-year-old Ford Bronco truck

The people on the Route 66 tour bus now go into deep thought, probably asking themselves: “If I had all the money that Paul McCartney has, which vehicle would I buy?”  People usually say “Lamborghini” or “Aston-Martin” or “BMW”.

Paul McCartney purchased a beat-up ten-year-old Ford Bronco truck.

At this point, I foolishly assume that the people on the bus would realize why Sir Paul bought a Bronco, and question number three would be really easy: “Where did Paul McCartney stay when he drove Route 66?”

a.    Five-star hotels

b.    Historic Route 66 motels

c.    Bed-and-breakfasts

d.    Campgrounds.

People usually answer say hotel or motel or B-n-b.

Paul McCartney purchased a tent and stayed in campgrounds.

Time to explain Paul McCartney’s goals for his Route 66 trip.  He was on vacation, and did not want his vacation spoiled by being recognized, and being mobbed by autograph hounds and paparazzi. 

Sir Paul just wanted to be the bloke in the next tent who had an old truck and a British accent.

He was recognized at a campground in Lebanon, Missouri, and at a few other places, but Sir Paul was mostly successful in being incognito and keeping his trip a secret.

He is a perfect example of the allure that Route 66 has for people around the world, so I like doing trivia quizes about him.

I did the trivia quiz on a recent Route 66 bus tour of the 1926 alignment of Route 66 in Illinois, between Springfield and Carlinville.  I asked how did Paul McCartney celebrate his 66^th birthday.  Then I asked what vehicle did he purchase.

At this point, a woman on the bus got very excited, waving her hand in the air, and yelling: “A BRONCO!  A BRONCO!!  A BRONCO!!!“

I was taken aback.  I asked the woman how she knew the correct answer.

“Paul McCartney’s truck broke down.  My daughter works for the American Automobile Association.  She was the dispatcher who sent someone out to fix his beat-up ten-year-old Ford Bronco truck.”

 

My mouth probably fell open in astonishment.  On that Route 66 bus trip, I was no longer the surpriser.



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This video is 7 minutes long, documenting the first person to ever defeat the Blackpool, England, Route 66 Burger Challenge.  He was an American!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XOx_yRc2Q4



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NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath. Price = $11. Send an email to ParadiseDouglas at gmail to find out how to purchase your own copy.

How To Tell If A Truck Stop Is Haunted

There is a deserted truck stop on Route 66 in Missouri, and it is rumored to be haunted.  Since I lead Route 66 bus tours for St. Louis Community College, I needed to investigate the rumors.

I turned to the Internet, googling “paranormal activity” and “Tri-County Truck Stop”.  I quickly found out that there are two main groups of people posting about paranormal activity on the Internet: believers and debunkers.

The believers would post that the Tri-County Truck Stop is haunted.

The debunkers would then post that there is no such thing as ghosts, and believers are jerks.

The believers would then post that all debunkers are idiots.

Jerk.  Idiot.  Jerk.  Idiot.  This seems to be the same path that many discussions follow on the Internet, especially political discussions.  It is not productive.

I needed to find something convincing.  I needed to find a group of people without an agenda.  So, I searched for former employees of the truck stop.  These people simply report what happened when they worked at the Tri-County.

What they reported convinced me that there was paranormal activity.

On my Route 66 tours, when we get to the deserted Tri-County Truck Stop, I have the bus driver park so that people can see the clean sweeping art deco lines of the building.  The plywood in the windows makes the building expressionless.

Then I read about former employees who:

-        Had things hurled at them when they were the only person in the place.

-        Saw a man stabbing a lady at the top of the stairs to the roof one night, and found an unknown red substance on the stairwell in the morning.

-        Saw the lights flicker when a fellow employee said she did not believe in ghosts.

-        Watched empty chairs dance in a circle

-        Were tapped on the shoulder when they were the only one in the bathroom

-        Took some photos, and a faint image of boy reaching out with his hands appeared in a photo --- which freaked out the photo-development lady at Walgreens

I hope that this list of events will convince the people on my bus tour that the place is haunted.

So, how do you know if a truck stop is haunted?  Ask the staff.  

Or you could come back to the Tri-County on October 31 –-- the one night of the year when they will let you spend the night ghost hunting in the truck stop.

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In this 5-minute video, Billy Connelly, a Scottish comedian, drives Route 66 in Missouri and visits a secret collection...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqYk7LFtHUw

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NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath.  Price = $11.  Send an email to ParadiseDouglas at gmail.com to find out how to purchase a copy by mail

How To Donate At The Devil's Elbow

I put my tourguide career at risk and took a bus load of senior ladies have lunch at the Devil’s Elbow.  It was a Continuing Education tour for St. Louis Community College, and typically the people who come on these tours are ladies in their senior years.

The college catalog described my tour as: “Bus tour of the historic Mother Road.  See Route 66 ruins, visit Route 66 businesses, and enjoy a barbecue lunch.”

On the morning of the tour, I stood in the college parking lot watching my tour people arrive, park, and get on the bus.  Then a car drove in, parked, and a woman in her fifties got out and opened the passenger door for a woman in her eighties. 

I found out that they were niece and aunt.  The aunt took a long time to get out of the car.  Then the aunt struggled, even with the bus driver’s help, to get up the four steps into the bus, taking her about three minutes.

The niece then came up to me and griped.  She griped that her aunt had trouble with steps, and the Community College catalog had failed to mention that the tour bus had steps.  I was stunned, and I had a hard time refraining from being snarky and saying: “Hey, the catalog also did not say that the tour bus has wheels, and, look, there are four of them.”

One gripe, and we hadn’t even left the parking lot.  What would the tour people say when they saw the ceiling when we ate lunch at the Devil’s Elbow, 125 miles west of St. Louis?  The catalog said “enjoy a barbecue lunch”; it did not say “enjoy a lunch in a Harley biker barbecue pit”.

At lunchtime, the bus pulled up to the Elbow Inn and let us off, but the bus did not linger because of a sign that said HARLEY PARKING ONLY, ALL OTHERS WILL BE CRUSHED. 

The Elbow Inn is a Route 66 icon.  When Route 66 was established in 1926, this was a family-friendly sandwich shop.  Now it is a place that posts a notice at the front door listing the 800 number for a bail bonds company.

My tourpeople sat down for lunch.  I waited for them to notice the ceiling – the fabric ceiling – the ceiling made of brassieres.  Would these ladies be shocked?  Would they complain, and demand that St. Louis Community College fire me?

One by one, the tour people noticed the ceiling.  And, one by one, they got up and photographed it.  They thought it was a hoot. 

I pointed out my favorite brassiere on the ceiling.  It was white.  The woman who donated it had written “From Akron, Ohio, Brenda St. Clair, 10 years a breast cancer survivor” on her brassiere.

One of my tour people said that she would like to come back some day and donate one of her old brassieres to the ceiling.  I had to tell her that you cannot donate an old brassiere, you have to donate your current brassiere, and it is a public ceremony.  The bartender will give you a free shot after you have donated.

I had taken a risk to have lunch in a barbecue pit with brassieres on the ceiling.  No tour people had complained, so I was happy.  I was also happy that I got to explain to someone how to donate at the Devil’s Elbow.

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This man has 98 tattoos of Route 66 icons.  Where is his Devil's Elbow tattoo?  On his elbow, of course.  (Note the Japanese Route 66 tourists taking his photo):

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NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath.  Price = $11.  Send an email to ParadiseDouglas at gmail.com to find out how to purchase a copy by mail.

Get Your Ticks On Route 66

St. Louis Community College asked me to write up a proposal for a bus tour of Route 66 this summer.

I am up for the task.  Route 66 passes through the town we live in; so, I went exploring the route as it goes west into central Missouri.

I found Route 66 ruins: buildings that barely stand and are no longer in use.  

Surely people on a Route 66 bus tour will want to see ruins, such as John's Modern Cabins, which were modern in 1941. Some of John's wooden cabins still stand.  Some lean.  Some lean further, and the rest are just piles of timber now.

Surely people on a Route 66 bus tour will want to see the ruins of the Stony Dell Resort, a place where Mae West once stayed.  

These ruins do not lean, because they are made of stone.

In central Missouri, Route 66 follows the Cherokee Trail of Tears for many miles, and people on a bus tour will want to see Larry Baggett's Memorial, which is now slowly turning into ruins because Larry passed away in 2003.

Many years ago, Larry built a retaining wall in his yard.  After he built the wall, he started hearing people knock on his door in the middle of the night.  He would open the door, and find no one there.  Oddly, his dogs, who slept near the door, did not notice the knocking.

Then Larry was visited by an old man.  According to Larry, this man looked like he was 150 years old.  He informed Larry that the retaining wall was built across the Trail of Tears.  Because so many Cherokee died on the Trail, the spirits still walk the Trail at night.  However, the spirits cannot get over Larry’s wall and they are knocking on his door to complain.

Larry built a set of steps over his wall, and the knocking stopped.  Larry was so impressed, that he went on to build a Trail of Tears monument at the end of his driveway:  

People on the bus tour will want to see these Route 66 ruins, and they will clamor to get off the bus and photograph them.  I cannot let this happen.

The main reason to keep people on the bus is timing.  

The tour will be eight hours long as it is.  If I let people get off the bus to photograph everything of interest on Route 66 --- not only ruins, but a giant rock in the shape of a frog, the Wagon Wheel Motel which is still in business, the bridge over the Big Piney which had so many accidents that the route earned the nickname of Bloody 66, the cafe where Jack Kerouac had lunch --- then the tour will be eighteen hours long.

Somehow I must convince people that they do not want to get off the bus.

I have a plan, based on summertime in central Missouri.  I will canvas the people on the bus: 

How many people would like to get a painful poison ivy rash?  

How many people would like to have parasitic chigger larvae feeding on their skin?  

How many people would like to get bitten by a snake when the bus is an unknown number of miles from the nearest anti-venom?  

How many people would like to have ticks crawling all over them?

Aha, that should do the trick.  People will be glad to stay put and take photos out the bus windows.

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Pixar's animated tribute to Route 66 is called Cars.  The Cheetah Girls are on the soundtrack of the movie, and here is the Cheetah Girl's video showing that they know how to get their kicks. (3.5 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R8SOuusFc4

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NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath.  Price = $11.  Send an email to ParadiseDouglas at gmail.com to find out how to purchase a copy by mail.