Macca Makes a Pit Stop

Some guys have all the luck....
+++++

http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x176886...in-Springfield

Photo appears to show McCartney at Clear Lake Circle K


By DAVE BAKKE
STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Aug 04, 2008 @ 12:28 PM
Last update Aug 05, 2008 @ 06:41 AM

-------------------------------------------------------------

Name the last person you would have expected to see last weekend at the Circle K gas station on Clear Lake Avenue.

No, it wasn’t him. He’s at the White House packing for his trip to Asia. And, no, it wasn’t him either — he’s still in a cave somewhere on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

It was Paul McCartney. Or a really well-done hoax.

You probably find the story hard to believe. So did we. Especially when the witnesses claimed that Sir Paul was driving a 1989 Ford Bronco. But, you know what? It all adds up.

On Saturday afternoon, a group of Springfield guys stopped at the Circle K on their way to St. Louis for the Cardinals-Phillies game. While in the parking lot, they saw someone walk by who looked just like McCartney.

“We were getting in the car as he was walking in,” says C.J. Lowder. “I said, ‘Man, that looks like Paul McCartney.’”

The Bronco parked on the side of the gas station, not in the front. The man who looked like Sir Paul didn’t buy anything inside, but used the station, just off Interstate 55, for a “pit stop.” Nobody at the gas station even noticed him, Lowder said.

“Josh (Lowder, C.J.’s brother) said ‘Hey, Paul!’ and he said, ‘What’s up?’ with this real thick English accent, and I knew it was him,” C.J. Lowder said.

McCartney said he and his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, were on their way to St. Louis, but not to the ballgame. He posed for a picture with the boys — besides Josh and C.J. Lowder, they included Jared Lowder (a cousin), plus Cory Neuhoff and Jeremy Judd. McCartney then spent a couple of minutes talking and left.

“He was definitely trying to stay low-key, for sure,” C.J. Lowder says. “It was just a couple of minutes. He shook all of our hands.”

“Another thing that got me,” says Josh Lowder, “was that of all the older people in the place, none of them recognized him. C.J. recognized him, and he’s the youngest one.”
Coincidentally, Decatur Celebration hosted a Paul McCartney tribute band on Saturday.
Was this merely the impersonator? No. In an interview, the impersonator, Ron Starr (R. Starr?) admits he looks nothing like Paul and is much younger. Pictures of Ron Starr confirm the lack of resemblance.

But how about that 1989 (or thereabouts) Bronco? Paul McCartney? One of the richest men in show-business history? Come on.

But wait. It had New York license plates. Nancy Shevell lives in New York. The vehicle at the gas station had a yellow access sticker to the Hamptons on the bumper. Both McCartney and Shevell have places in the Hamptons.

And then there is the clincher.

In November, the Web site Gothamist posted a photograph of Paul and Nancy kissing while sitting in an older-model Ford Bronco.

That is what people in the news business like to call “independent confirmation.”

“It was wild,” says C.J. Lowder about running into a Beatle at a Springfield gas station. “It was one of those things I never would have expected to see. They were super nice.

“Nobody got his autograph, it happened so fast. You could tell he didn’t want to draw a huge crowd. We talked for a while, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll let you get going to the game. Go Cardinals!’”

It’s not as if Sir Paul was playing a concert in Europe last weekend and couldn’t have been here.

McCartney’s Web site shows that his last concert was a week ago in Quebec City, and he is not on tour.

The Quebec City show was just a one-off for the city’s 400th birthday.

McCartney’s public relations manager in Britain, Stuart Bell, could not be reached Monday for confirmation of the star’s whereabouts.

At the Circle K station, manager Tim Kelley took the news of McCartney’s visit in stride. Kelley’s not the star-struck type.

But his clerk, Martie Brandon, flashed a little Beatlemania.

“Oh, my god, and I left at 2 o’clock!” she said, slapping her forehead. McCartney was seen just after 4 p.m. “If I’d have just stayed a little longer ... .”

Brandon admitted she gets excited when Carl Madonna from WICS-20 stops at the Circle K. Much less an actual Beatle.

“I’m not going to do anything special,” Kelley said. He won’t, for example, put up a sign on the men’s room saying “Paul McCartney was here!”

Besides, Kelley said, he met Paul at an Aerosmith concert years ago in St. Louis. McCartney at his station? No biggie.

“I’m not one to get too thrilled about things like that,” Kelley said.

“I do,” Brandon chipped in breathlessly, “when it comes to Paul McCartney.”

Dave Bakke can be reached at 788-1541.

this is so totally cool.... what a day for those folks

Originally Posted by Esmirelda

Pictures of Ron Starr confirm the lack of resemblance.

This made me laugh. Hee.

That WAS funny.

How cool is that? I'd be impressed if I casually bumped into Paul while shopping. A little like before Ecce Cor Meum in Liverpool when he went shopping in Lewis and bought a tie! (that made the Liverpool Echo!)

That is a great little story and I would say yes defo him - look at that picture.

On a similar note, there was an article in today's paper about a Paul sighting in Joilet. Think he'll stay in the Chicago area long enough to visit the Fest this weekend?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...3049321.column

Paul McCartney's magical mystery tour of Joliet?
Mary Schmich
August 6, 2008

At the Rotary Club luncheon in Joliet on Tuesday, Tony Contos' fellow Rotarians were dying to know: Was the rumor around town true? Paul McCartney was at the Route 66 Welcome Center in the Joliet Area Historical Museum on Saturday? No way.

Contos had his own doubts when he arrived at work Monday. So he checked the security tape.

"It was that teenager in me," said Contos, the museum's interim director, when I called about the rumor. "I said, 'Let's have a look.' "

The man on the tape sure looked like Paul. Paul in the gift store, Paul in the weaving exhibit, Paul heading for the restroom.

How come nobody took a picture, the Rotarians demanded.

Because, Contos told them, Paul said, "No pictures, please," to the first museum employee who recognized him, which was when she went out to tell him he couldn't park where he was parking.

And no complaints, please, that celebrity sightings aren't newsworthy. McCartney isn't a celebrity. He's a legend, a man who once left millions of weeping teeny boppers chewing their pillowcases.

That Paul is getting his kicks on Route 66? The public wants to know.

Pamela Biesen, a museum worker, wasn't convinced it was Paul. Not at first. She did, however, notice a slight, older guy as she was giving a museum tour Saturday. She was talking on, about Indian tribes near Joliet, when she noticed the man's extremely thin girlfriend, his apparently dyed hair and his beaded "Indian" belt. It crossed her mind that he would look better if he didn't hitch his pants so high.

Then a murmur rippled through the museum. There was a Beatle in the house. The woman giving the looming demonstration asked, "Is that George Harrison?"

"I thought, 'Is there a gas leak in here?' " Biesen said when I phoned. What was wrong with everybody? A Beatle wouldn't be here, in Joliet, without fanfare or protection, in an old green Ford "pre-SUV," not to mention George Harrison is dead.

But then Biesen walked into the gift shop. And that guy looked up and said in that unmistakable English voice, "Well, hello."

"And it was Paul McCartney," she said. "I froze. It was like seeing Bigfoot."

Biesen didn't know then that a guy who looked like this one was spotted at a Springfield Circle K last weekend too. All she knew was that she felt she'd found a lost member of the family.

"The Beatles have been in our psyche forever," she said. "And when you're standing in front of someone who has been a part of your life forever, it's an overwhelming feeling. Warm. Like, 'Finally. Finally, I get to meet you.' "

She wanted to make the moment perfect.

"I really just wanted to be polite," she said.

"No. I really just wanted to lick him and say, 'I love you.' "

She sighed.

"But I kept thinking, the poor guy can't have 10 minutes of being normal. I'm going to give him 10 minutes of being normal."

So she walked away.

But not far. She stood outside the gift shop, watching. She watched one of her co-workers hand him a bag of Route 66 maps, heard him say, "Well, thank you very much," watched him and his girlfriend squeeze into the same compartment of the revolving door, and watched the woman put a hand on his backside as they walked off, a departure as unheralded as their arrival.

He had put some money in the acrylic cash box. He had asked a museum worker if "route" is pronounced "root" or "rout." He had signed one autograph.

And if you've read this far, it's probably because, whether it was Paul or not, the teeny bopper still alive in you likes the idea that the mythical cute Beatle is out there cruising the mythical Route 66, which, incidentally, can be pronounced either way.

Hahaaaa I'm loving these stories of reports and sightings!

Originally Posted by SF4-EVER

She wanted to make the moment perfect.

"I really just wanted to be polite," she said.

"No. I really just wanted to lick him and say, 'I love you.' "

I *love* this woman, she is amazing!

Originally Posted by SF4-EVER

"I really just wanted to be polite," she said.

"No. I really just wanted to lick him and say, 'I love you.' "

She sighed.

You mean LUCY was there???

Poor Paul. He can't even stop to pee in peace.

Macca and new love Nancy get their kicks on Route 66

By Emily Sheridan
Last updated at 11:18 AM on 06th August 2008

Comments (0) Add to My Stories
Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell have stepped their romance up a gear with a road trip across America.

The former Beatle and his heiress girlfriend have been fulfilling a lifelong dream travelling the remains of the legendary Route 66 highway in an old Ford Bronco truck.

After starting their road trip from the rocker's home in The Hamptons, New York last Thursday, the couple joined the Route 66 in Illinois on Saturday.



Photo op: Paul McCartney poses with fans outside a petrol station in Springfield, Illinois

The couple plan to follow the route, which was decommissioned in the mid-1980s, all the way to the end at Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles.

As the 66-year-old rocker and his love follow the road, which originally ran from Chicago to LA, they will pass through seven U.S. states, including Arizona and Missouri.

As the pair stopped for a re-fuel in the Illinois state capital of Springfield, Sir Paul was happy to pose with a group of fans for photos.

As Nancy took the photo, a group of young males posed alongside Sir Paul, who predictably put on his trademark thumbs up.

C.J. Lowder, the man wearing sunglasses in the photo, said: 'They looked totally in love.

'They told us they were on a trip and going on to St Louis (Missouri) before heading west.


New love: The couple, pictured together in Antigua in April, are travelling the Route 66 together

'No one could believe it was really him - he was so laid back and ordinary. They seemed a great couple.'

The month-long road trip is believed to be the couple's longest holiday - they previously vacationed together in the Caribbean in April.

A source said: 'The road trip was Nancy's idea as a way of them getting to bond and spend time together - just the two of them.'

Sir Paul and Nancy have been dating since November, but only went public as a couple in May when the singer picked up an honorary doctorate in music from America's prestigious Yale University.

The Beatle divorced second wife Heather Mills in March following a nasty court battle.

Originally Posted by Asha

You mean LUCY was there???

Now I REALLY wish I'd been in Liverpool with the Links gang!

Elaine Stronich holds an autograph that Paul McCartney signed for her when he visited the Route 66 Museum in Joliet. (Michael R. Schmidt/Sun-Times News Group)

Beatle, Bronco hit back roads

August 10, 2008

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/h...ATLE10.article

7:20 p.m. Aug. 6

How great is it that Paul McCartney and his girlfriend Nancy Shevell are checking out Route 66?

Maybe I'm amazed.

Cultural disconnect has always been a problem with famous artists and songwriters. Route 66 is a good way to reclaim your roots.

Until the news of McCartney's journey broke on Wednesday, the couple could pretty much check out things in anonymity. Now everyone will be on the lookout for McCartney's green '89 Ford Bronco with New York plates.

I asked C.J. Lowder, of Springfield, what surprised him after his chance meeting with McCartney at a Springfield gas station.

"That he would be traveling without a limo. Without security guards. Or, why didn't he stop at a better place to go to a bathroom than a Circle K?''

McCartney "was in a T-shirt and slacks, as casual as a guy on a Saturday drive,'' Lowder added.

12:45 p.m. Aug. 7
So I woke up around 6:30 a.m. wondering, what if by some minute chance, that really isn't Paul McCartney traveling Route 66? Paul was dead once, too. On deadline, I checked all my facts, assembled time sequences and asked hard questions. Everything added up, and I stand behind my story.

Still, it is a silly concept that in this day and age, Sir Paul would take to America's backroads without any apparent security.

But, then, he wrote "Silly Love Songs.''

Tony Contos, interim executive director of the Joliet Area Historical Museum, viewed a security tape of McCartney's visit. "They watched the Route 66 movie,'' he said on Wednesday. Contos said major news organizations have offered big bucks for the tape, but the museum declined the offers.

McCartney and Shevell stopped in the gift shop to pick up some Route 66 maps, and he signed the museum's vintage Route 66 shield.

By Tuesday night, bloggers and roadies reported that McCartney had made it to Oklahoma City.

5:05 p.m. Aug. 8
It is not who you know, but where you stand.

That's one bit of maverick advice I would give my wonderful 5-year-old nephew Jude. It worked out for Don Dunavin, the owner of the Record Rack used CD and record store in Amarillo, Texas. Dunavin was hanging around a convenience store off of Route 66 on Wednesday evening when he heard that Paul McCartney was in town.

Dunavin called his wife, Lori, and they headed to the Ambassador Hotel where McCartney was staying. Lori brought along their 4-month-old son Jude.

"We hung out at the hotel for about 30 minutes," Dunavin said Friday from the Record Rack. "I was holding Jude and he walked right in front of us near the entrance of the hotel. I took two steps forward and shook his hand. He immediately went to Jude, grabbed his hand and started talking to him. He didn't even know his name."

So Dunavin, 44, asked Sir Paul to guess his boy's name.

"After we told him he was Jude, he said, 'I got something for him,' " Dunavin recalled. McCartney reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature harmonica. He bent down and started playing for Jude. "Not anything in particular," Dunavin continued. "Jude was smiling at him. I told my wife to get the camera out and take a picture and he immediately quit. He said, 'Please, no pictures.' He wouldn't do any autographs. But then he started playing some more. It all took no longer than a couple of minutes. He had no security and he was traveling in an '89 Ford Bronco."

Of course the Dunavins are Beatles fans. "After we saw that movie 'Across the Universe,' Lori fell in love with the main character Jude," he said. "That's what finally made her decide on that name." Their son is named Jude Alexander. My nephew is Jude Aron, although I would call him Jude Rascal.

And now the rumors fly, that Paul has fueled rumors that he and Nancy will be wed soon, they are taking this trip to see if they are compatible

Perhaps, they just wanted to take a fun trip together?