Route 6 Nebraska Art Car Tour

I'm not sure, but I think something is wrong. After the group assembled in the parking lot of the motel and went to the first stop of the day on Saturday morning at Shoemaker's Truck Stop in the west edge of Lincoln, NE, strange things started happening but I didn't pick up on them right away. Thinking back on it now, especially given where I am as I write this (Phoenix), the pieces seem to be falling into place and making sense.

When we got our cars parked in the Shoemaker's lot we did the usual clowning around and greeting each other. All seemed "normal" at that time, even within this group. I was doing my usual set-up, but, within a short period of time I noticed the group assembled a short distance from me. Thinking back, they seemed to be making furtive glances my way and I heard some snickering now and then. I didn't think much of it at the time, though, since I heard Ed say at one point, "I can fly," and Anne said something about the road name given to her last year. Paul said something about an extra car key but I didn't catch all of it, and Dave muttered something about something being "cute." On top of those comments, I just thought everyone was happy to see each other again.

After a while, though, and thinking back on it now, I did hear Tammy say, "Yeah....he'll buy that," following which there was some more laughter. Even more laughter followed when Erika said something about getting him out of "my space." I also heard someone else say,"Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona," and I thought they were singing the words to that old song. Pretty soon, though, Don, our fearless leader, approached me and asked if I'd like to play a game and earn some "extra points," in a manner similar to the motorcycle riders who do the Iron Butt tours can earn extra points by taking off the wrong direction and then back-tracking to make more miles. I thought that sounded good so I asked Don what he had in mind.

Don proposed that I leave the ChewBaru with Paul to drive across the State, and also added I could earn extra points by taking my normal car, driving to Winslow, Arizona, and doing a photo of myself standing on a corner. When he finished saying that Don added, "Trust me." He also added he'd be in contact with me to provide additional instructions on what I could do to earn even more "extra points."

Trusting him and the rest of them completely, I thought that side trip should be good for a lot of points so I handed the keys to Paul, took my stuff out of the ChewBaru, took Paul's car to Kansas, picked up my normal car, and left. Thinking back now, though, as I drove out of the parking lot at Shoemaker's I did hear Erika say, "The check's in the mail," following which they all broke into hysterical laughter as they waved at me driving off.

Well, being a dutiful member of the Route 6 Nebraska Art Car Tour I headed off to the south, and then to the west; the far west, in pursuit of the "extra points" Don mentioned. By the time I got to Albuquerque, though, the less sense the side trip seemed to be making as I thought about it, and the more suspicious I became. Were they trying to help me get "extra points," or did they really conspire to get rid of me. I'm not sure yet.

I did make it to Winslow, AZ, on Sunday about an hour before sunset and did a photo of myself at the edge of town. Trying to give Don and the rest of them the benefit of the doubts that were starting to creep into my mind I did that photo and then set out to find a corner in Winslow. As I went west on the one-way into Winslow I saw nothing that really excited me as being a good corner to do a photo so I turned south and headed back to the east. A few blocks down the street I spotted the perfect corner so I parked and asked the owner of the store on the corner if he'd come out and do my photo so I could earn "extra points." When I said that his eyebrows went up in a funny manner and he started looking around, but he did agree to come outside. After snapping a couple of photos of me from the middle of the street I did one of him and drove off, happy I had succeeded in meeting Don's request. I did notice a girl in a flatbed Ford watching from a distance while the photos were being done........

Don called me not long after the photo was made and told me I could earn even more points by going to Los Angeles! I still think it sounds funny, but I'm going to comply since I still trust them. What none of them know, though, is that I have my Powerbook and camera with me and I'll be documenting what he tells me to do. I want those "extra points" and I don't want to be cheated out of them.

While preparing this post I did check to see if Paul and Anne had posted anything yet from Nebraska. They had. Like I suspected, their version of events is not the same as mine. We'll see how they post their other versions of what took place and see if it squares with the reality I'm presenting about my pursuit of "extra points," and how that quest came about...........