Date: 2005-03-14
To: Domino's first notice from the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I can SEE the trail from where I am, Dahlonega Hiker Hoster. It is near Woody Gap, if you are keeping track. How did I get here? Hmmm, after 22+++ hours with Greyhound (you might want to FLY everywhere, by the way) I had the adventures begin. First, try riding with a Ft Myers drunk with terrets(sp) ALL the way to Atlanta. I kept thinking he'd tranfers somewhere else, but there he was yelling "want a trash bag!" or "ya need half this sandwich?" or" THIS IS THE SKYWAY BRIDGE, BY GOD...there are tunnels under ear ya know, Iz been in them." "JUMP! ah ha ha ha" among many other things. Imagine my surprise when he ended up in the seat in front of me on the last 7 HOUR leg of the journey...SMELL and all. I am sure I will smell like that soon, but damn, let me aclimate. Anyway, after spending 6 hours on the floor of the Atlanta bus terminal jammed between two arcade games and in possession of three clearly marked "You will be arrested!" no no's i.e. MACE, A STUN GUN and Knives(plural) not to mention matches, lighters and such for starting fires, I finally caught my 20 minute late last bus. Seems the authorities in Atlanta SUCK. I mean, it WAS under "video" survelance and I DID walk in with the MACE and a knife attached to the front of my pack (I quickly made them hidden as I READ the signs and looked at the cameras). No, they were more interested in the drunk wearing a "wife beater" with a Sharpies "JESUS" and PALMS written on it. It was a bit scary when th epolice stormed the place at 4AM...FOR HIM. Anyway, that bus being late and the ignorance of the lady at the Western Union/Greyhound/Public Bathroom/ Drug Drop, lead to me being here and writing you. You see, my ride called ahead and she told them that the late bus had come and I wasnt ON IT. Well, the late SOUTH bound had come and 5 minutes after she told them I was not there, the late NORTH bound bus arrived, me on it. So, I got off the bus to a lady saying..."come on, wez got to call that shuttle back...blah blah" ; thank goodness for cell phones. So, it was two more hours before I met up with the first peopl that had the same passion for hiking as me. One note, the Bus driver, upon arriving, announced that the bus would leave "in 5 minutes SHARP" so all those people stayed on the bus. While I am waiting and making my calls to be shuttled as well as waterproofing my stuff becaue it was pouring, I noticed that the bus was still outside and running, and it had been 10 maybe 15 minutes. From somewhere I ca hear a voice barely audible sayng "Jeannie.." "Jeannie..." " elp..." "gurglle...elp" "Jean... eee", I looked around, thought maybe someone was going number two in the bathroom while trying to reach their special someone on the cell. Then all of a sudden, the door flys open from the mens room and out stumbles the Bus driver, white, sweating, and flailing towards the seats. Hmmm, this was odd. "ggg get, JjjJjea...nee." "What?" I say..."Get Jeannnnneee" (Jeannie being the worker that TLD my shuttle I was not there, driver being person who made me late). So, I went into action. "Jeannie,you need to call for help" "Sir talk to me, you alright? What is the problem?" Turns out he ate a bad machine snack and thought his spleen was going to implode or something. No medical personnel was called and he got back on the bus to drive on. THANK GOD I WAS NOW OFF!!! So, here I am with about 13 other hikers, some have been a little ways on the trail already, others starting like me. John, all 6'5 of him from Louisianna, is down with much the same story and background and reasons as I. Almost exact, and he is the first one I met. Ha. Anyway, the others are all ALOT older, thus far, some twice our age. There are a few more to come later that the driver is getting now, they are all younger, I think. Now, it is sunny, the sun is going down ove rthe mountain shortly and we are all cutting down our pack wieght(mine was 42 at the WESTERN GREYHOUND DRUG MART). With that, I am out of here. Good nights sleep and hit the trail hard tommorrow so I can be in Helen for Green Beer on Thursday for my namesake. On On Domino