While touring the Lincoln House, I noticed that a reporter and his cameraman were outside shooting. It turned out to be Jerry Lambert, News Anchor of Springfield's NBC affiliate News Channel 20. They were there to interview an NPS official about funding for the Lincoln exhibits.

"What are the main local stories? Controversies?"

"The main story is probably the budget..."

"Is there anything weirder, more controversial but not like that? You know, like weird."

"Well, there's a case involving racism in the police department..."

"No, I mean, weird. Light, not heavy. Like, who's the weirdest person in town?"

He mentioned a local political extremist wacko who's always running for office and goes to school board meetings. The image of interviewing the Melrose Larry Green of Springfield Illinois and giving him a forum for his 2000 word screed here flew threw my mind.

Unfortunately, they didn't know how to get in touch with him.

Another possibility was a black guy who runs a pirate radio station with a mix of music and politics. He sounded interesting too, but they didn't have any beta on him either.

As a backup, he suggested I check out the Lincoln Colored Home, which was one of the first orphanages for African-American girls. And, he and his cameraman raved about the Route 66 museum, which I had never heard of...