JEN: A GIRL, A CAR, A ROAD: GETTING HER KICKS ON ROUTE 66 ©
CHAPTER 2
Bloomington
[This is a work of fiction. The story is an unadulterated and unabashed attempt to tickle male fantasies and perhaps some female fantasies as well. As such, the story may or may not totally conform to reality. With the exception of the historical places and people, all other characters, locations, and events in the story are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]
NOTE:
This is the second of a series of stories that I wrote in 2005, that will take Jen from Chicago to L.A. on "The Mother Road," U.S. Route 66. Although each story is a stand alone read, for background , connecting threads, and the most enjoyment, the series should be read in chronological order.
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Baron Renfrew, one of the titles of the then eighteen year old Prince of Wales, was on his strictly "unofficial" visit to the US, and the first royal family member to do so since the American Revolution, in September of 1860. He was traveling incognito under the Renfrew name though it fooled no one. He did stay in Dwight to do some pheasant hunting and the property where he stayed is now the seventeen acre Renfrew Park, named for him. He was the son of Queen Victoria and would become King Edward VII in 1901 upon the death of his mother.
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The four lane version of 66 was much better for Miss Swifty. The two lane version was much more suited to the cars of the '20s through the '50s or '60s what with its narrow, nine foot lanes and other impediments to high speed.
I breezed on down through Braidwood to Dwight at seventy-seven miles past Go. For one ten mile stretch, Miss Swifty was running at well over one hundred miles an hour. YaHoo! Go Swifty, go!
It was a good thing I didn't see any state patrols during that little run. At Dwight, I exited the four lane and drove into town. Although I was no longer interested in the formal classroom, you might have surmised by now that I'm very interested in history and historical sites.
"Dwight?" you ask. "That's just a wide spot in the road in the middle of the corn and soybean fields of the Illinois prairie, isn't it? What history of interest can you find there?"
Well, there's a bit more about Dwight than just a wide spot in the road, but it would take a book to tell all of it. I wouldn't have known otherwise and would have agreed with you had it not been for my sorority sister, Beth Anne, at Bradley my freshman year. She grew up in Dwight and never lost a chance to brag about her "home town" and its slogan, "Not Just A Bump In The Road."
I really wanted to drive past and gawk at, the Dwight Correctional Center--the one for Women. It's the only such prison for women in Illinois. So I drove out west of town on State Route 17 a ways to go take a look. However, I had no desire to go inside the walls.
Opened in November of 1930, on one hundred acres of ground, the institution was originally known as Oakdale Reformatory and later, more popularly as the Dwight Reformatory. Although designed for 800 plus inmates, like most prisons, it is usually overcrowded well above that number.
After I snapped a few pictures of the gray, foreboding walls, I returned to town. I took some pictures of two famous Route 66 gas stations in town.
As I then drove to the First National Bank Building, I noticed a young, "washed out" looking woman standing near the building corner. I parked across the street and took some pictures of the building with both my Polaroid camera and my Leica 35 mm slide camera. The young woman was in one of the Polaroid shots and one or more of the Leica shots.
Finished, I got back into Miss Swifty and drove over to the famous Keeley Institute building to take more pictures. It was once one of the first alcohol treatment centers East of the Mississippi. As I drove back to main street, I again spotted that same young woman, listlessly walking toward me on the other side of the street.
She sure seems to be an odd duck.
I drove around until I located Renfrew Park and got out to take some more pictures. The park was named after a Prince of Wales who once visited the area to hunt pheasants.
I was about to get back into Swifty when I noticed that same young woman again. She was sitting on a park bench, bent over slightly forward, and weeping quietly. I stared at her for a few moments.
The woman looked to be late twenties or early thirties, medium tall, washed out dishwater blonde, with a very pale complexion, drab clothes, and who gave off a general air of defeatism.
What the hell, what's to lose?
Looking both ways first, I walked over across the street to her.
As I walked up, she snarled, "What the hell do YOU want?"
It was quite obvious the unspoken last word of her exclamation was, 'bitch.' I stood silent for a moment, until she said, "Well, bitch?"
"I've seen you around town this afternoon and now here. I just wanted to see if you were ok."
"Well, Miss nosey, I damn well ain't and what the hell business is it of yours how I feel. And why the fuck you takin' my picture? I saw you takin' it, just before you got in that pretty little car of yours."
My reply sounded a little flat, but I said, "I wasn't taking your picture--I was taking a picture of the bank building. It is one of only three banks designed by a very famous man by the name of Frank Lloyd Wright."
"So who the fuck cares about Frank Floyd. You took my picture and I don't like that!"
I let the name error go, she wasn't interested anyway. I rummaged around in my camera bag that I'd automatically slung over my shoulder when I got out of Miss Swifty, pulled out the offending Polaroid, and gave it to her.
"Here, take it. As you can see, it's difficult to make out your face as I was pretty far away in order to get the whole building framed in the picture."
I didn't tell her I had several more shots on my slide camera.
She looked at the picture, said "Humph," as she stuck it in her blouse pocket. "So whatcha starin' at now?" she asked.
"Sorry," I said, "I was just wondering what happened to make you look so sad and unhappy. That's all. My name is Jen, what's yours?"