Along this endless road, a few reporters traveled with me. It was an honor to have Jim McCarty of Rural Missouri Magazine riding shotgun for an afternoon. And Erifnus — that’s my car — tolerated him even though he wrote that she smelled like antifreeze and her brakes squealed. Yes, he was right, and he correctly reported that I ground through her gears, but Hell, she’s used to that.

Jim and I had a blast on that afternoon jaunt, and I thoroughly enjoyed the company. By the way, see my upcoming article in the next (?) Rural Missouri Magazine about Missouri’s most famous couple that few people realize grew up here…