Morning all, going to hit these prompts fast as time is short for the next two weeks, so timers set and off we go…
Kinda wish I had more time to work on this. might take notes later cause I think I know where it is going.
Monday, May 5th: There was a collision on the corner of 18th and Lancaster.
There was a collision on the corner of 18th and Lancaster. Mo one was expecting it and no one could have predicted the events that spiraled from the incident. It seems strange but that one small event changed all of Franton forever.
It started out as an average day. It was a Tuesday. Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday. It is, most weeks, the forgettable day of the week. Monday everyone is tired and recovering from the weekend, complaining of having to go back in to start the work week. Wednesdays are generally when church groups hold their youth groups and bible studies. And in Franton there are more churches than anything else. In fact there are just as many churches as there are dry cleaners. Not quite sure if they are connected or if the Gunness book has a record place for that specific category, but if there was a record for an equilibrium between churches and dry cleaners, Franton would have held it since at least the 1950s.
While the churches dominate Wednesdays, the non religious groups take over Thursdays. That would be your girl scouts and youth bowling leagues and soccer practice. Friday and Saturday are going out days. Friday night will generally see the movies packed or people driving to the nearby city for grander entertainments. Saturday people also drive to the city for the theater or symphony. Sunday is of combination of churchgoing and sleeping in. And lawncare.
Whoever doesn’t do lawn care on Saturday, does it on Sunday. That more than anything is the sprot of Franton.
All of which makes it strange that the entire town was changed forever by an incident on a Tuesday. It started off like any other Tuesday. The morning traffic was a snarl as most people left their homes and went off to work. There was a steady stream of cars towards the city as more jobs were held outside the city than in it. There was a steady stream to the North side of Franton though as we have three major offices for insurance claims processing there. School traffic mingled with it as the consolidated school district placed most of the schools to the north as well.
By nine o’clock pretty much everyone was where they were going. That’s about the time the semi-trucks and tractor trailers go flying through main street. We may not be known for much in Franton, but we do connect two major highway systems, so we see a lot of interstate truck travel. 18th street is one of the main connectors and heavily trafficked. It was as one of the large vehicles hauling a tractor went past the corner of Lancaster that one of his connectors broke. It was a new connector, or new enough according to police reports. That meant it was either shoddy workmanship or divine intervention. When that connector snapped, the truck continued on following 18th to the highway, but the trailer sailed straight in to the old Westman building.
Ten til Midnight 