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WALKING ROUTE 66
The Mayor Wants to Buy You Breakfast
I can get used to all this fame.
Chenoa Family Restaurant opens at 6 AM. I was sure their food be better than McDonald’s, and they were only a block away.
I put my flyer on the table, as I always do. The waitress asked if she can have it as I was finishing my breakfast. She came back and picked up the bill she had left for me earlier.
“The mayor is buying your breakfast,” she said. “Would you like to meet him?”
The mayor was there with his wife and another couple. He is also the Boy Scouts Troop leader and takes the boys out camping. Another guest at the restaurant was reading the Pontiac Daily Leader and told the waitress, who informed the mayor. (Note to self: Next time take a picture with the mayor.)
I can get used to this. The mayor said he wished he knew about me the day before; he would have opened the park and let me stay there. That would have been nice, but I’ll settle for breakfast.
Mary Verzani Dunlap is a Facebook friend, where we belong to an RV group. She lives about an hour east of Route 66. We had been communicating and will be meeting in Lexington for Lunch.
Lexington is only 8.5 miles from Chenoa, a short walk, or so I thought. My feet are finding creative ways to object to all this walking. Or is it God trying to tell me to slow down? It took me four and a half hours to cover the 8.5 miles. That’s less than 2 miles per hour.
Kemp’s, the restaurant/bar where we were supposed to meet wasn’t where Google Maps said it was. They have moved. I headed to where the sign said they moved. I found a group of oldtimers sitting around in front of Peely’s Pool Hall. I asked them if they can tell me how to get to Kemp’s.
“Sure,” said one guy. “You cross the street.” I turned around, and there it was. Sometimes, we are so focused on where we think we should be; we don’t pay attention to where we are. I think it’s time to slow down, take a deep breath, and chill like the oldtimers.
Mary messaged, saying they were running 15 minutes late. The oldtimers had a blast teasing me about my silly idea of walking all the way to LA.
Mike is a teacher, and Mary is the Mayor of her little town.
Wow! Two mayors in one day.
I made balloon animals for their kids, and we talked about travel and the people we meet on the road. The Dunlaps are Fulltime RVers but enjoying the brick and mortar for a while.
They’re planning on moving to Ashville, NC, once Mike’s contract runs out in another year.
That’s what life is all about, living the way you want, and doing what you need to be able to live the Freedom Lifestyle.
I stayed at the restaurant after they left to rest and relax. The plan was to do the laundry, but the only laundromat in town went out of business. I am sure I can survive one more day.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing while reading and doing some research about Normal/Bloomington, my next stop tomorrow. Then off to sleep in the city park. I love my picnic-table beds.
I invite you to tag along if you’re up to it. I am tagging a few friends who I think will be interested. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, just let me know in the comments, and I will not tag you moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t tagged but would like to come along, let me know, so I can tag you.
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As always, thank you for reading and responding.
Here are a couple of earlier stories:
Rasheed Hooda is a published author, and a regular contributor and editor for ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium, where writers support each other.
He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)
More about me:
An interview by Dr. M Yildiz for ILLUMINATION
Testimonial by other writers.