沿着66号公路旅行的人们

AS IT IS 2015-11-15 The People Along Route 66 沿着66号公路旅行的人们

Stunning¹ landscapes, quirky attractions, historic architecture and brightly lit motel signs surround Route 66. But it is the people along the way who help shape the character of the Mother Road.

VOA Learning English traveled the entire length of Route 66. In each state, in each city, and at each stop we met people who are connected to the Mother Road. Some of those people have grown up right along the road. Others moved there later in life to open a business. And some, like us, were just passing through.  

This week, we tell you about some of the characters we met during our travels.

Melba Rigg, Galena, Kansas

For decades, the Kan-O-Tex service station sat abandoned along Main Street in Galena, Kansas. It was one of the many abandoned businesses along the historic U.S. Route 66. When the road was decommissioned in the 1980s, entire communities disappeared.

But in 2007, Kan-O-Tex’s fate changed when four local women purchased it and opened Four Women on the Route. They created a gift shop and tourist center for modern-day Route 66 travelers. Melba Rigg was one of the women. She and the other original owners helped revitalize Galena’s section of Route 66.

Today, the shop is known as Cars on the Route. The new name plays on the popular 2006 animated² films “Cars,” which featured several stops along Route 66.

Melba is better known as “Melba the Mouth.” Just listen to her speak and you will understand how she earned this nickname.

At Cars on the Route, Melba meets tourists from all over the world. And she suggests the travelers visit other shops along Route 66. Melba calls the people who live along Route 66 “one big family.”

“We want to support one another. We're just like a big ole' family. Route 66 is a big ole' family. I mean, you got your troublemakers³ and you got your crazies, I mean, you know, and you got your sweethearts. And there's a lot of us out here that we're trying to get the young kids involved in Route 66."

Melba knew all about one member of that Route 66 family, Jeannie Tait. We just happened to have met Jeannie in a bowling⁴ alley⁵ the night before.

Jeannie Tait, Lebanon, Missouri

Jeannie Tait has lived her whole life in Lebanon, Missouri. Route 66 goes right through her small town. Locals know Jeannie as an excellent bowler⁶.

She practices at Starlite Lanes, a bowling alley right along the Mother Road. A photograph of Jeannie hangs on the wall.

The bowling alley opened back in the 1950s. It sits across the street from the family-run Munger Moss⁷ Motel, where Route 66 travelers have been staying since 1946.

Jeannie Tait has clear memories of the Mother Road in its heyday⁸.

“I'm amazed that we could even travel the road as narrow as it was. And, of course, the cars back then were so huge. You know they didn't have these little compact cars. They had these big, long, wide Cadillacs."

She says Route 66 created business and brought travelers to her small town.

Stephanie, Elk⁹ City, Oklahoma

Stephanie tends bar at Knucklehead Red’s in Elk City, Oklahoma. She tells us that the name is for the owner who has red hair. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines knucklehead as “a stupid person.” But is also the name of a kind of Harley Davidson motorcycle engine.

And Knucklehead Red’s is definitely a biker friendly bar. So friendly, Stephanie says, that visitors often drive their bikes right through the front door and park them on the dance floor. The walls are covered with gun rights posters and big photographs of country music stars.

Stephanie is a transplant from southern California. She says she loves Elk City and does not miss the west coast.

Boris, Santa Fe, New Mexico

We also met another transplant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Boris was born in Bulgaria and came to the U.S. years ago. He is a colorful character. On the day we met him, he wore a bright striped flannel¹⁰ shirt and blue jeans. But someone had painted pictures on the blue jeans. Atop Boris’ head is a white fedora hat with a crisp black brim.

Boris is stretched out on the grass in the middle of the city’s main square. Artists from around the region come to the square to sell their works.

Boris, himself, is an attraction. People come up and talk to him every few minutes. Boris seems to be holding court.

He speaks with a slight accent when he talks. But he comes across as a Santa Fe native. He can talk for hours about his adopted city, its history and its culture.

Michael Fox, Oatman, Arizona

Michael Fox has lived in the small town of Oatman, Arizona for 25 years. He is one of just 129 residents. On most days, tourists greatly outnumber Oatman locals.

We notice Fox as soon as we arrive in town. He is sitting on a bench outside of a souvenir shop. Fox is surrounded by wild burros that he is feeding by hand. Large numbers of the animals roam the streets of the town every day. They are among Oatman’s tourist attractions.

Michael Fox also entertains visitors. But he is a jack¹¹ of all trades.

“Right now, I do pretty much anything. I play music in the hotel for tips. I do gold prospecting¹² out in the mountains. I do wire-wrap jewelry¹³ and make feathers out of horn, and a little bit of this stuff and that.”

We stopped at the hotel later on for lunch. Micheal Fox is up on stage.

We enjoy his performance and not just for the music. Fox is also kind of an Oatman historian. He entertains the crowd with stories about the town.

Deven Perkins, bicyclist

Deven Perkins was among the tourists in Oatman. He is far from his east coast home of New Hampshire.

Perkins was in the middle of traveling across the country on his bike. No, not a Harley. Perkins’ bike has no motor. It is just a regular human-powered bicycle.

The 26-year-old started his trip in Bar Harbor, Maine, one of the eastern-most points in the U.S. Once he reached Chicago, he met up with the Mother Road.

Perkins listed Chicago and Flagstaff, Arizona, as his favorite cities along Route 66. But he said he also enjoyed Oatman and its wild burros and Old West look.

He almost missed out on Oatman entirely¹⁴. The intense heat and the mountain road that leads to the town concerned him.

“I almost didn't take this route, because of the pass and the heat. But I decided¹⁵ to just, 'cowboy up,' I guess, you can call it now around here.

The heat is the toughest part of the ride, the cyclist said as he took off from Oatman. Sure enough, we found him repairing his tire along the side of the road later that day, in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Fran Houser, Adrian, Texas

A brightly colored sign that reads “Midpoint Cafe” stands tall above the flat  landscape in Adrian, Texas. The cafe is at the geographical¹⁶ midpoint of Route 66. It opened in 1928. During Route 66’s heyday, it operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Today, the friendly cafe serves coffee and food. It has become famous worldwide for its hospitality and its “ugly crust pies.”

Fran Houser owned Midpoint Cafe from 1990 to 2012. She is old friends with Melba the Mouth. The two share "Cars" fame. Fran herself was the inspiration for the character Flo in the film.

Fran decided to retire in 2012, and sold Midpoint Cafe. But she soon missed meeting people from around the world.

So she opened up another business right next to the cafe -- Sunflower Station. The small shop is a great place to buy interesting gifts and try some of Fran’s baked goods. Fran is back in action, talking with international tourists and sharing her love of Route 66.

Fran often tells her visitors to be sure to visit the 66-to-Cali shop on the Santa Monica Pier¹⁷.

Dan Rice, Santa Monica, California

Fran Houser's friend, Dan Rice, is the owner of that Los Angeles business. He opened 66-to-Cali in 2009. Rice raises funds and awareness¹⁸ about historic Route 66 to help protect and revive the Mother Road. The businessman has travelled the entire route 29 times.

Rice knows many of the business owners and residents along the way. He meets Route 66 travelers every day at his shop.

Dan Rice says it is the shared connection among all those people that will help keep Route 66 alive.

Words in This Story

stunning - adj. very beautiful or pleasing

quirky - adj. very beautiful or pleasing

abandoned - adj. left by the owner

revitalize - v. to make (someone or something) active, healthy, or energetic again

transplant - n. a person who has moved to a new home especially in a different region or country

roam - v. to go to different places without having a particular purpose or plan

heyday - n. the time when someone or something is most successful or popular

cowboy up - idiom. to make a serious effort to overcome something difficult

1 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

2 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

3 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

5 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

6 bowler   

n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手

参考例句：

• The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。
• The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。

7 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

8 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

9 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

10 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 prospecting   

n.探矿

参考例句：

• The prospecting team ploughed their way through the snow. 探险队排雪前进。
• The prospecting team has traversed the length and breadth of the land. 勘探队踏遍了祖国的山山水水。

13 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

17 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

18 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。