PHOTO BY Matt Frye / MPW.59 PHOTO BY Matt Frye / MPW.59
  • Talkin' Shop
  • By Matt Frye, Sun Tribune Newspapers
  • The 59th Missouri Photo Workshop / Chillicothe, Mo.
  • The dual exhaust of a 1970’s Chevy pickup bellows from the single-bay garage of the muffler shop on Washington Street. Shop owner Randall “Ramjet” Gooden, 58, works on his fourth truck of the day. Middle-aged Chillicothe men filter in and out of the shop to chat with Ramjet and others who consider the shop a hangout.

    Around 3 p.m. the first Busch Light cracks open. As workdays complete more regulars filter in. Their first stop is the beer fridge. Longtime friends share what is going on around town and reminisce about days past. Plastic lawn chairs begin to empty as daylight fades. And tomorrow will be much like today.

    Here, remnants of twenty-seven years of muffler work linger around Randall “Ramjet” Gooden’s shop at 315 Washington Street in Chillicothe, Mo.

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