Well that was an adventurous day. Started in Billings and ended in Spokane (technically Spokane Valley I guess). Things that happened today include the speeding ticket I mentioned earlier, as well as some unexpected company. I stopped at a truck stop because I had a hankering for a couple corn dogs after getting pulled over. Im probably comfort eating. Dont judge. Anyway, on the corner of the road were a couple flying a sign. They looked like ten miles of bad road, but something about their eyes told me they were probably worth kicking down a few bones. I pulled out some dollar bills and pulled over next to the guy on the way out, assuming they were just bumming cash or whatever. They were, in fact, looking for a lift. I was already kind of committed, and I guess I was just in the right mood. I know that it scares Priscilla to pieces but sometimes, goddammit, I pick up hitchhikers. I hitchhiked many miles myself and I know the pang of being at the absolute mercy of rightfully suspicious and possibly hazardous strangers. I pack light, so there was room for the both of them and their gear after some tetraic rearranging. (I just coined tetraic). Turns out they were headed to Coeur dAlene. When I picked them up, I was in, what, Jefferson County, Montana? Coeur dAlene was practically the end of todays journey. Basically, we were stuck with each other for the long haul, however it worked out, so long as we have each other no cause for alarm. They were alright, though. Not what Id call intelligentsia, so I spared them the Joyce and just let the road do most of the talking. I asked them where they were from, what they were up to, stuff like that. They had few questions for me; conspicuously absent was the common question, What do you do? Thats typical among road dogs, since the concept of vocation just isnt really a part of that world-view. I kind of miss that sometimes. The guy and I had a lot of experiences in common. Driving truck, for instance. Working in Dutch Harbor. Shit like that. He was short on teeth, but long on experiences with which I could relate in my own way. The lady was his betrothed. I was struck with reminiscence when I heard that. She was from deep in the aorta of Texas, where the nearest neighbors were tens of miles away. Never been West. Never seen the Rockies up close, or the Cascades at all. Everything we passed was all new to her. I miss that feeling, too. Once upon a time, when I was hitchhiking to Redway, a young couple picked me up. She was naïve and in love; he was a little worldly. Today was a role inversion, where I was the driver, the couple was older than I rather than younger, but there they were, totally in love and fixing to get married in Idaho. Life has a funny way of replaying the same thing but somehow keeping it interesting. It took a while, but I got them to Coeur dAlene and, unless I miss my guess, their destiny. They wished me some karma - without using that word - and now Im at a bar, eating nachos, listening to none other than John Lennon sing about instant karma. We all shine on.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 02:51:38 +0000
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