Date: 2012-03-13
To: a past journey
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m finding out that folks may be right¢¦I have no patience. I am ready to go¢¦.now damn it! As I laid awake at 2 AM this morning thinking about the AT, a prior journey popped into my head and I thought I would share it on this site so if needed I can read it later during the trek to help put things in perspective for me.In 1973, I was a young Airman with a spare $60 dollars in one pocket, and an ¢unofficial¢ 96 hour pass in the other pocket. The ¢unofficial¢ part was that if I got into trouble, I was in big trouble. Not that I ever pushed things to the limit. I had a friend in Idaho doing nothing and friends in Vegas willing to hang out¢¦so 96 hours seemed like plenty of time to travel 1800 miles (round trip) and still have time to party. After all, on several prior occasions I had told state bulls that my Nova ran better at 100 mph rather than 70mph, or in that case, an unheard of 55mph! For some reason I could never sell that story, but they did lower the speeding tickets since a ticket would have been equivalent to about 3 months of my pay.After picking up my buddy and making it to the Nevada state line, my car (1972 Nova slightly modified to fly) decided it was time to have a belt break. We were on an isolated two-lane road that looked like it never had traffic on it. Since my car was my ¢baby¢ I decided against driving it with the belt off to fend off any future damage. So I had my buddy stay with the car (left him the beverages) and I headed off to the town about 30 miles away. In case any young folks are reading this¢¦ cell phones and Internet weren¢t around yet, and I didn¢t have any matches to do smoke signals which was the preferred communication method of those days.After a long hot walk, an old truck that had more parts missing than attached stopped and the elderly man asked if I wanted a ride. I think he was hesitant to stop because no sane person would be walking down this Nevada road in July. Evidently he hadn¢t traveled pass my car. When we got to town I asked if I could buy one of his cantaloupes he had in the back of his truck and he said instead to take a few- free (my first trail magic of a different sort).Since I was a tad parched I cracked them open right there on the curb and decided then and there that these were the best things I had ever tasted in the world¢¦.nectar from the heavens. It is amazing how good food tastes after wandering the desert for 6 hrs. I was oblivious to the fact that several parents had grabbed their young children and crossed the street to stay away from the crazed person munching on the curb.Luckily the NAPA store was still open and even more so that they had the belt I needed. After loading up with a whole-can of soda¢¦I was back on the road. Again, 15-20 miles down the road a van stops and the side door opens. After the plume of smoke cleared (just like a Cheech and Chong movie) they asked if I wanted a ride. I was a little hesitant to take the ride (during this time period GIs got spit on or beat up, not offered rides and with my haircut you could tell I was a GI), but I figured what the hell and hopped in. They turned up the Pink Floyd song in their 8-track and started passing the bong around. I was worried that I would get high just sitting there and since I got tested for drugs at my Mil job, this wasn¢t a great thing. But they kept the van on the road and got me to my car rather quickly. I did notice that I was extremely hungry when I exited their van but I attributed it to the long walk¢¦.I swear!!! I fixed the car and drove to Vegas. I even made it back to work a few days later with 40 minutes to spare and only two warning tickets!In looking back- trail angels came to my rescue. The old man stated in the truck ¢that I was lucky. He had planned to go to town the next morning, but decided to deliver his cantaloupes early because of the heat¢. The folks in the van had taken a wrong turn a few hundred miles ago, but they decided to ¢just keep going down the road and enjoy the music¢. For the whole day on that side road I never saw another vehicle other than those two until I hit the town. I had to smile when I remembered this trip. I hadn¢t thought about it for decades.I imagine the AT hike will add many stories to my memory. I¢m not an overly religious person. I don¢t talk religion or politics and definitely won¢t on this trek as well. I know I will need luck to finish the hike, and oversight from the man above would be welcomed if he has time to spare, but I will understand if he takes care of more pressing things. Teddy also known as THE-O-DORE to me will be looking down and I am certain that he will have his fat-boy idling to help me through the tough times when needed. I would like to thanks all my friends from coast-to-coast for their support. I have to thank ¢the pigs¢ for their interest in my trek and for putting what is probably a 4ft x 10ft map of the AT on the ¢wall¢ so everyone can watch my progress. Nothing like adding pressure¢¦buddies.Speaking of vacations- Snuffy- I think I am taking a six- month ¢Jones¢ this summer to enjoy this trip.Utah Sherpa- thanks for deciding to go hiking with me on this trip. I was having a hard time trying to find space for the Corona¢ but that problem seems to have solved itself now¢¦.just trust me buddy¢¦just trust me.For all the other new folks that have sent messages and encouragement- thank you and I wish you the best in everything you do.I¢m lucky to have the support of my wife Debbie although I think every time I replace one new item in my pack with a new ¢better item¢ I may be pushing it. She understands that this is something I have to do. I¢m not doing this to find myself or something. I¢m doing it because I have to, want to, need to.Although my folks will never see this journal I am happy they have given me the fortitude to try such an adventure and the ability to always dust myself off when I fall and try again. I am certain I will need that spirit in the upcoming months. I plan to add entries when I can. They will be of the positive nature. Take for granted that every day, my back, feet, legs and knees hurt. Or that I was cold, wet, hot or wishing I was cold, wet or hot! I don¢t need to state that. What I want to talk about are the sights I¢ve seen, the people I have met, and the plans for the future upcoming days. I so much want to see all I can see, one step at a time and take pictures that maybe someday my daughter Jessica can look at and tell folks that ¢her dad was nuts, but look at what he did!¢