I wanted to take a road trip while in college. It is the college thing to do. So the questions became; where do I go, and with whom? I quickly decided I was going alone, because I wanted to go see Holly. Holly was a former girlfriend who had moved from New York to Omaha, Nebraska, a few years earlier. I was less than diligent in writing to her, but I did still want to see her again. A lack of letter writing on my part did not mean a lack of interest. Holly had headed to Omaha, and that was where I wanted to go. Even though Holly and I didn’t really have a chance to get too serious in our relationship, there were enough sparks and emotion there to make a road trip to Omaha pretty compelling. Holly had been a huge crush of mine for a long time. It seemed like we were just beginning to click when she and her family moved suddenly. Now, I just needed to find a second reason or justification to go to Omaha.
Like any university, Susquehanna University had a system of partner universities and programs. There was a bulletin board with notices of opportunities from a year abroad to classes to prepare you for the various entrance exams. I found a notice for a specialized class for athletic trainers studying human anatomy in…yes, Omaha, Nebraska! I could take the class, do a road trip, and try to hook up with Holly all at once. Having a class there would give me time to reconnect with her. The timing of the class matched up with my class schedule at Susquehanna. All I needed to do was make sure I could afford the trip and that the anatomy credits would transfer to Susquehanna. I also needed to check with some friends on the most recent address for Holly. I could do that over the upcoming Christmas holiday, while convincing my parents that the trip was a good idea.
“I’m a New York boy—what can happen to me in Omaha, Ma? Why are you so worried about this?”
“I’m your mother; it’s my job to worry.”
Looking at Dad I asked, “Are you telling me I can’t go?”
“We’re not saying that at all, Son. We just want to make sure that it is the right thing to do and that you’re going to be ok.”
My thoughts were I was glad I didn’t tell them everything I’d been doing on the ambulance at all hours of the day, night, weekend and whenever. I was grateful I never told them about the knives being pulled on us or hearing gunshots down the road when I worked on the ambulance. Maybe if I did tell them all of that stuff, they might not be so worried about this road trip. My brother Jim understood pretty well that the Holly connection was a big part of my motivation, but not the only part.
After much debate and assurances that it was needed for my career, I got permission to go to Omaha for Anatomy class. My parents even offered to kick in some of the expenses, which was immediately accepted and much appreciated.
I was able to track down some good information on Holly. I discovered that she was in Des Moines, Iowa, just a short trip from Omaha, and I got a phone number. Holly was a full-time undergraduate college student attending Drake University and I was going to try to find her at school. That was probably a good thing, because it took her family out of the equation. Her family had drinking problems and this had contributed to her move from New York to the Great Plains.
After convincing myself that my main reason for going was the class, I registered for it as soon as I got back from break. That is, I registered before trying to contact Holly. So even if she didn’t want to see me, I was still going, and I was going to see her anyway because I would only be a short drive away, or at least driving by where she was. I was traveling over 1200 miles to be less than 130 miles away from her. The chances of catching up with her were greatly increased, especially now that I had a phone number and address.
I purchased all the books needed for the anatomy class and even tried to look at them before I departed for Omaha.
At the end of classes at Susquehanna, I went home to New York to say good-bye to Mom and Dad. I also got the car tuned up and some extra parent cash before heading west. A few hours before getting in the car, I tried the number I had for Holly. It rang, and when a female voice answered it I asked for Holly.
I could hear muffled shouts for Holly.
“Hello,” a soft, familiar voice said.
“Hi, Holly?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“Um, it’s Joe Clark, from New York.”
“Joe! Hi! You didn’t need to add the New York part. How are you?” she asked.
“Uh, I’m fine. You see, the reason for my call is that I am going to be in Omaha the day after tomorrow and um, I wanted to call and see if it would be ok to stop by and say hi.”
“Of course, if you are anywhere near here you must stop by!”
We did not engage in small talk. I told her about the athletic training, about the class in Omaha and gossip about old friends. I also made sure that this was a good number to call her on. I told her about the class and that I would be in touch so we could make plans to hook up. The timing of the class start was such that I couldn’t stop by on the way out, despite the fact that I would be driving through Des Moines on Route 80 to get to Omaha.
I got up at 4:00 A.M. to leave for Omaha. Much to my surprise the whole family was up to say good-bye—Mom, Dad, Jim, Kathy, two dogs and two cats were all lined up to see me off. Why was this such a big deal for the family? The trip was a long distance but not a long time. I’d been away from home for much longer periods of time, so the effusive farewell was a surprise. I’d packed my van the night before and was showered and ready to go. I kissed everybody, including Mom who was crying, got in the van, and left.
My car was a Ford 150 panel van, large and safe. The inside was fixed up quite well thanks to a lot of work by Dad. He’d put in a bench with custom cushions in the back and carpeting throughout. This vehicle was also a civilian version of a lot of the ambulances I used to drive. Those were often Ford 350s, with a long back and a cap on top. So, I felt very comfortable in it. A little over 20 hrs from now, I would be in Omaha unpacking and getting ready for Anatomy class.
A few hours down the road I checked what Mom had packed for “lunch” and found enough food and supplies for a small army. There were multiple sandwiches and multiple bags of chips, a half-dozen apples, an assortment of candies, bags of ice and some healthy alternatives of carrots and celery. She’d included some carbonated and caffeinated soft drinks as well, plus napkins and utensils.
I quickly got into a routine during the drive. I would fill up with gas, use the toilet, and then drive. I’d drive until I had about a quarter of a tank of gas and then I would start drinking and nibbling. I would stop to pee and fill up with gas only when it was an emergency (urgent pee or gas urgently needed), and the cycle would repeat itself. I might eat some salted snacks of some kind after a pee or fill-up because those did not interfere with the cycle. I worked my way through several cycles well this way and this little schedule seemed to help the drive. I spent most of the drive listening to the radio to keep up on traffic and weather, and for the tunes. Route 80 is a highway that goes for nearly 3000 miles, from New Jersey to California. I got on it in New Jersey and went through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Pennsylvania is a very long state. I had never been to the western border of Pennsylvania because I normally got off Route 80 at the exit for Susquehanna University. About 4 hours after passing the exit for Susquehanna, I hit Ohio.
Ohio is not as long as Pennsylvania, but it is the beginning of the Great Plains and as such is pretty flat. Route 80 stays near the northern tip of Ohio near Lake Erie. After Ohio it goes through Indiana and Illinois and starts to head south. Route 80 is somewhat diagonal, going from northeast to southwest.
Most US interstates that go east and west have even numbers and the numbering starts with small numbers at the bottom of the country and moves north. Odd number interstates go north and south and start with the small numbers on the West Coast. So, Interstate 95 travels from Florida to Maine
I reached Des Moines, Iowa, and looked around. Was I looking at sights that Holly had seen? Were these familiar surroundings for her? They were not for me. I found an excuse to stop in Des Moines so I could pee, get some gas, and pick up some food, although I still had tons from Mom. Maybe Holly had filled up at the same station.