WGN Morning News Blog

Paul McCartney's been to Chicago more times than we'll ever know and I've seen him twice in concert here. Never before have I thought twice about his travel arrangements, assuming the Billionaire Beatle traveled in style beyond my wildest dreams. But for some strange reason, the news of his road trip through Illinois down Route 66 in an old Ford Bronco captured my imagination. I almost felt like it put us both in the same low level of the stratosphere, after all, I've traveled through that same nothingness of central Illinois way too many times to remember.

Paul's reps reportedly said he and his new girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, wanted to use the trip as some sort of bonding experience. I started to wonder about what it was like, cooped up in that Bronco, just the two of them.

There's always that inevitable awkward moment of having to break wind. You're in the car for more than a couple of hours at a time and it's gonna happen. And there's no way around your traveling companion knowing that you did it. You're busted once you roll down the window, everyone knows why you're doing it. And you're busted if you let loose and just let the smell overcome your passenger. A no-win situation. How does that help bond with a new girlfriend? But I wonder, do Sir Paul and his socialite girlfriend laugh it off, or ignore it. And what about driving past the hog farms, does she ask him "Was that you?"

And how many pit stops did they make? At 66, Paul is the same age as my dad on the last road trip I took with him. I wonder if Paul's bladder is anything like Dad's, keeping us from driving more than 45 minutes at time, extending an 8 hour trip into 10 hours. That's enough to put a strain on any relationship. And I pictured Paul stopping at Bubba's Gas and Groceries, running in, and asking for the key to a restroom that hasn't been cleaned since the days of Wings.

Yes, clearly I'm thinking about the most juvenile components of hitting the open road, but these mundane forces of nature are about the only common bond I have with one of the most famous people in the world.

Where does a Paul McCartney eat on a road trip? Fine dining is minimal, depending on your view of Cracker Barrel (do they have a vegetarian selection?) Did he treat Nancy to nice breakfast at the Waffle House? Or did they pack a nice tofu picnic to enjoy at one of Illinois fine rest areas?

And all the great traveling movies came to mind, thinking of Paul as Clark Griswald in "Vacation," making a wrong turn into a rough neighborhood in St. Louis. Or falling asleep at the wheel as John Candy did in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," ending up on the wrong side of the highway, as other drivers shouted "you're going the wrong way!" and him saying "how do they know where we're going?" Maybe Paul and Nancy picked up Neil Patrick Harris like in "Harold and Kumar..."

And finally, why a Ford Bronco? That thing probably gets less than 10 mpg? Not that he has to worry about gas prices, but doesn't the gas guzzling contradict his environmental consciousness?

One thing I know for sure, if Paul made this trip with Heather Mills, the lyrics "He blew his mind out in a car" would have been an unfortunate reality. And we would be left with Ringo.

Mike Wilder
Producer
WGN Morning News