Thursday, April 4…Small Town Story (Scotty McCreery)

 On the road a little after nine o’clock. This morning there was no debate…I had already decided last night that I was going to wear shorts today.  Didn’t matter if it was sunny or not, I was wearing shorts. Since we were heading in a more or less easterly direction, any available sun would be on my side. And if it was cloudy, I had a lap blanket in the truck. All systems in place for riding in comfort.  Plus, my jeans were accessible if I really needed them.

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   Tooling down US 50, Kim was talking about finding somewhere to eat, so I checked our location on Google Maps. I found just the kind of place we like to visit… an establishment called Pop’s Diner. Luckily it was 2 miles up the road in the little town of Peabody, just off 50.  I was reading the directions for Kim from Google Maps on my phone; but Rapunzel was verbally giving different directions than I was. Kim didn’t know where to go and both of were very confused about what was going on. Needless to say, this created a little tension between Kim and me.  Until we figured out what was happening.

   The Rapunzel on Kim’s phone was hooked to the truck’s nav system, and she was the one talking (mine is always muted on my phone); she was trying to take us back to the highway which was contradictory to what I was reading aloud from the map. Once that got straightened out, I turned down the truck Rapunzel and unmuted my phone Rapunzel, thinking that would resolve the issue.  Nope! My Rapunzel refused to talk, and the truck Rapunzel refused to shut up.  So, I just told Kim to disregard Rapunzel and follow my direction.  We eventually found Pop’s Diner but not before taking a tour of the residential area of Peabody.  There are some beautiful old homes in that town.  

   Drove down Main Street to find the diner and was saddened to see how many buildings appeared vacant. A laundromat, the diner, the Eagles Lodge, and a post office around the corner seemed to be the extent of open businesses.  Parked along a side street and walked to the diner. When we turned the corner onto Main, there was the most soothing music being played somewhere from across the street. I looked for a busker, but the sidewalk was empty of people. Our waitress solved the mystery: the owner of the laundromat mounted speakers on her building and controls the music from inside her business.

   Pop’s Diner is where people gather to talk about the things that need talking about.  It’s truly a hometown diner.  People are greeted by name, the waitresses know the favorite drinks of the customers, and one can even call in a take-out order without pre-paying. There’s a huge whiteboard on the wall with a calendar drawn on it; all the month’s scheduled school events are listed. Food was good with ample portions.  It was worth the struggle to get there.

   Interesting side note: there are streets throughout the residential areas that are paved with red brick, presumably a throwback to another era.  No skateboarding or roller blading on those streets.

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   We were all curious as to what keeps Peabody going as a town.  So, I did a deep dive on Googlwe on the town’s history. Kansas was acquired during the Louisiana Purchase and Peabody was settled in the 1870’s when the westward expansion began. It was a railroad stop, it was home to the Kansas State Fair a time or two, it was a staging area for cattle waiting to be shipped, it benefited from a short-lived oil boom and from 1944 to the end of the war, a WWII prisoner of war camp housing German and French prisoners was located nearby. Farmers got first dibs over other industries in requesting prisoner labor.  The town was also an enthusiastic supporter of the ’Sante Fe Trail Highway’, which eventually became US 50.  Repair shops, gas stations, tire/parts stores and car dealerships sprang up when Americans began traveling cross-country  as automobiles became popular.  The town survived floods and fires through the years also.

   I learned all of that but didn’t find anything that spoke to what industry there might be now to keep people there.  We found Pop’s Diner in the historic district of Peabody, so I imagine there is a more modern business area somewhere in the town…we just didn’t drive through it when Rapunzel and I were at odds.

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   It was field burn-off time in Kansas today.  From Peabody to beyond Emporia, there was a smoky haze out to the horizon. Passed by some fields in the process of burning.  I’m always concerned because the fire doesn’t seem to be monitored as much as I think it should be. 

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   Stopped in Ottawa, KS, to get an oil change for the truck.  Called ahead, dropped the camper in the lot behind the lumber store across the street, got right in and were back on the road in no time. About a half-hour diversion.

   Behind the lumber store was a ‘Teen Park’ which featured a large grassy area, basketball hoops and a half-pipe from what I could see.  But it also had a brick wall, maybe 40' in length, that was covered with graffiti of all sorts.  Maybe the powers that be in the town decided to give the kids a dedicated graffiti wall so it stays off the other buildings in town. That seems like a good idea, but you know there’s always gonna be that one kid….

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   Had just shy of a 600-mile day on the road. Booked a room in Springfield, IL, for the night. I started searching for rooms, got interrupted by supper and when I got back to it, I was literally watching the prices go up before my eyes. It certainly made searching for a decent price a bit more difficult. And I would guess that the upcoming eclipse might have something to do with that.  Springfield doesn’t appear to be in the path of totality but it’s probably close enough for hotel rates to rise.