Date: 2004-04-15
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel, Erwin, TN

To: Uncle Johnny's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Tomorrow at 8:30, if things go as planned, I will escape the vortex of Mayberry..er.. I mean Erwin. I love this town. I will skip up the trail to Dennis Cove and miss some peaks that are likely covered in snow and mud. Maybe the mountains north of Dennis Cove are also snowy and muddy, but I feel that it's good to make a positive move to get going again. If I feel the urge, I can easily return to white blaze this section.OK, a little history...This is a true story, the way I heard it. In about 1916, there was a traveling circus that came to Erwin, TN. The main feature of the Sparks Circus was a huge elephant. The elephant was billed as the second largest elephant in captivity. She was about 25 years old, and apparently, female elephants of this age are notoriously aggressive and irritable. She had killed a man in a neighboring town and hurt several others. A bystander witnessing the killing pulled a pistol and shot the elephant six times with no significant injury to the elephant. Naturally, the shooting did nothing to calm the elephant's mood. She had run on a rampage in a couple other towns. So the elephant needed to be dealt with. She would have to be killed.Being a showman, Mr. Sparks sensed an opportunity to profit from the loss of his elephant. He sold out the house to people who wanted to see the elephant electrocuted. The elephant survived the attempted electrocution. Then he sold out the house to people who wanted to witness the hanging of the elephant. A crane was used to hoist the elephant with a chain noose. The noose broke and the hanging failed.Mr. Sparks then sold out the house a third time to people who still hadn't seen enough... this time a heavy steel cable was used and the elephant was killed by hanging. (I hope this telling of the story is reasonably accurate - I understand there are several versions and the facts have been obscured). So in fact, Erwin is known as the town of the hanging elephant.   I was riding the breakfast shuttle this morning and I saw Midas walking in town. I was able to ask him where he was staying and he said Miss Janet's. When I returned to Uncle Johnny's, I got a bike and rode over to meet Midas and Freight Train. As it turned out, Midas and Freight Train had parted ways only today. It's sad to see this pair part, but Midas is a fast hiker and Freight Train is struggling to make miles. He has an injury to his knee. What's really sad is that FT had skipped a huge section of the trail just to catch up with Midas. So now, FT will hitch a ride back to Hot Springs and start from where he left off. At least FT will get to be in Hot Springs for the trailfest celebration. I think he will enjoy the festivities. We talked about the trail and hikers we've met over lunch. It was great to spend some time together again.Later, I had dinner with FT this evening. I rode the bike into town again and it's always a pleasant ride. We ate at the Huddle House, which has terrific prices and a great menu. I said goodbye to Freight Train and I hope our paths cross again. It's not easy to imagine a scenario that would make it happen, especially if I go ahead to Kincora and he returns to Hot Springs as we have planned.The weather was wonderful today. It's amazing how one day can be so miserable and the next day so pleasant. As I rode the bike around town I saw maybe 12 people out mowing their lawns. One elderly lady was using a power mower that she seemed to be pushing, i.e., it wasn't self-propelled. All the others were using riding mowers. Some lawns were quite small... On one small lawn a man and woman were each riding a mower, and I didn't see any pattern to their effort. It was obvious they were cutting some areas at least twice. I smiled to think thatthe lawn mowing equipment industry must love eastern Tennessee.