CHAPTER Three ©
Springfield (IL)
[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. It is a fantasy and as such, the story may or may not conform entirely with reality. With historical exceptions, all other locations, events, and characters are entirely fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]
HISTORICAL NOTE:
[This is the third of the kicks on 66 series with Jen, Since the stories carry the background information and theme through from Chicago to L.A., they are best read in chronological order although that's not an absolute requirement. Also, there are ghost stories all along the road from Chicago to L.A. I didn't know that until I did further research after I wrote the Elkhart incident. The real Elkhart ghost story is different from the one I tell here. The other ghost incidents in my series are real (in the folklore of the road) or based on real tellings. Since Jen is fictional, her relationship to any of these real or imagined ghost stories is also fictional.]
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I soon had Miss Swifty up to speed back on the four lane, Illinois Route 66. I didn't even get my wake up cup of coffee! But I knew about a place a half hour down the road where I wanted to get something to eat. But first, after restudying my pre-trip planning notes, I just had to stop at a little place just a few miles out of Bloomington. That place was Funk's Grove.
Funk's Grove has a fascinating history, dating back to its founding in 1824 as a farm amidst a natural maple grove by a pioneer farmer named Isaac Funk. It just might be the oldest family business along the old mainstreet of America.
Maple sirup is spelled according to Webster's original spelling of the word and is the preference of the Funk family since the early 1920's. Its production was strictly for personal family use until Funks went commercial in 1891 and sold the sirup for one dollar per gallon.
There is both the Funk's Grove sirup farm and a tiny community of Funk's Grove. The two form a quiet, pleasant place amidst a hectic world. In the stillness of the grove it's hard to believe that a modern highway with its frenzied traffic is just a few miles away.
But the Funks held enough historic and economic sway that they would, in the early seventies, get the new interstate that would replace Route 66, rerouted around the grove instead of its originally planned route directly through the grove. I had a very pleasant sojourn there in the woods, the village, and the sugarhouse. Yes, I did buy a gallon of sirup, though I don't know what I'll do with it.
I'd managed to get a cup of coffee in the village, but had missed breakfast. I was starved. So, it was back to the pavement and on down to the place where I'd now get me a late brunch.
That place was McLean, one-hundred-forty-four miles past Go. There, I found the Dixie Trucker's Home truck stop, founded in 1928 by one of the first men in Illinois who began catering, in a big way, to the fuel and food needs of truckers and of the four wheel driver/travelers who had similar needs.
That man was J. P. Walters and his son-in-law, John Geske, who together, introduced round-the-clock service to accommodate their customer's irregular hours. But they started small. They rented a quarter of a mechanic's garage to sell sandwiches to truckers and passing mortorists. They had a counter and six stools.
During the thirties, they expanded to become a full fledged restaurant. Expansion and modernization became the name of the game. Since then, four generations of the Geske family have been involved in running the Dixie.
I walked in and over to a booth, drawing many male and a few female stares in the process. I was leading with my prominent chest and trailing a fair amount of bare butt cheek.
The plain, young waitress had a look of disdain on her face as she took my order, her nose almost out of joint. I quietly said to her, "Honey, if you got it, flaunt it. And, sweetie, I both got and do!" She took my order and huffed off to the kitchen window.
My order came quickly--three egg-Denver omelet, hash browns, wheat toast without butter, orange juice, and coffee, lots of coffee. I ate with a hungry gusto, watched by a couple of horny truck drivers. One of them was young and kinda cute.
I slowly sashayed my way to the cash register. My bill settled, I swished my ass back to the hall that led to the restroom area. I went inside and did my thing. On my way out, I paused before the mirrors and checked myself over as I washed my hands.
When I stepped out, the "cute" truck driver was waiting for me.
"Hi, my name's Jim. Would you care to join me in looking over the Route 66 museum they got here? It's just off that hall to the left here."
"My name's Jen. Yes, I'd like to see the museum. I'm running that road all the way to L.A."
"Great," he said as he offered me his arm.
He led me around the long hall of exhibits, carefully explaining details about many of them. It was the Dixie Trucker's version of the many Route 66 museums to be found in every state along the fabled route. Sometimes every other little hamlet along the way seems to have one. Although a nice one, I did not think it anything to overly brag about. "Now that you've seen this one, could I interest you in some more Route 66 memorabilia that I've got stashed in my truck?"
"Are you trying to seduce me, Jim?"
"Weeell, yes, damn it, I am."
"Ok, I guess I'll go for it."
He offered me his arm once again and led me back outside. He walked me back to the truck parking area and a small group of trucks off to the back of the lot. He led me up to a bright yellow Peterbuilt Tow and recovery truck. It looked like it stretched out for a city block, it was so long. I also noticed the slogan on the huge bug shield that stretched across the hood on top of the radiator. It read: "The Happy Hooker."
Jim saw where I was looking. "Yeah, I know some real hookers here and there and thought the name sounded neat."
He unlocked and opened the door. I awkwardly climbed up to the cab with a lot of assistance on my ass from Jim. His hands were on and partly under my short shorts as he held onto me and helped push me up. He certainly copped a feel or two.
"Step between the seats and into the sleeper. I'll follow you."
The so called "sleeper" was a lot more than just a sleeper. It was a double wide and held a large, over and under bunk bed set up against the back wall. It also had a easy chair recliner and a small fridge. It was primitive by today's standards, but fairly luxurious for its day.
Jim let me look for just a moment before he was all over me. With drool from his mouth and lust in his eyes, he made quick work of stripping me out of the few clothes I wore. He shed his clothes almost as quickly.