The Scenic Route: Boston to Chicago

Head south-southwest to New York turn right until you hit Indy. Take a left to get to Bloomington. Then head back north a fair piece, crossing the Mississippi, to Minneapolis. It’s cold, so turn back south to Cincinnati and ponder how to get to Oz.

Upon return from Oz (via plane, not shoes) head east to Chicago.

Doug. DOUG! It’s five after nine! IT’S FIVE AFTER NINE!

A while back, A long time ago, Okay, it was the 80’s…

It began with a dart, a map and a blindfold.

Arlene hung the map, lined herself up just west of the Mississippi, tied the blindfold and vigorously tossed the dart. Boston won.* Doug, always curious about what will happen next around her said, “I’ll move to Boston with you.”

They scraped together money for the adventure. Now we mean “scraped together” quite literally – Doug was an ice cream man earning his wages the hard way that summer - one dime at a time. Arlene, in possession of the perfect waitress name, was tossing tips into the coin jar too.

Upon arrival in Boston, our fresh-faced duo realized that they didn’t have the required four months’ rent to get an apartment (first month, last month, security deposit AND finder’s fee – what a racket!). So they went to stay where all 20-somethings short on cash go: the Youth Hostel.

To “pay” for the roof over their heads, residents were required to get a set of chores done before the doors locked for the day. Doug as a rule slept until exactly the last moment. (To balance things out, Arlene rarely sleeps.)

One morning Doug misjudged the placement of “the last moment,” sleeping through the entire Hostel exodus. Arlene, who had already done her chores, rushed into the men’s’ dorm and started shaking the bunk beds, finally hitting pay dirt second row over.

“Doug. DOUG! It’s five after nine! IT’S FIVE AFTER NINE!”

Ever since, five after nine has meant it’s time to get going. Are you ready to get going? Are you ready to get noticed? Then click to get our attention at 5 after 9.