WALKING ROUTE 66
Was I Scared To Be Meeting My Stalker?
I knew who he was.
A couple of days ago, I met Scott Evans in Conway. He started following me on Facebook and was keeping track of my progress. He checked in with me often to see how far I had gotten.
When I woke up in the morning, I got a text from him saying he was on his way to meet me at the truck stop.
We sat and talked for a little while. He works 24-hour shifts as a firefighter at Springfield, Missouri; on one day, off two days. He told me his wife said that I might start thinking that he was stalking me because he was checking to see where I was so often. We laughed about that, and after breakfast, parted company and headed our separate ways.
Chris Dunphy had been posting about my whereabouts and asking his tribe to see if they can support me in any way. He had connected me with Geoff and Sarah in St. Louis.
I was in touch with a couple of people who lived in Springfield. As I was getting ready to leave the truck stop, I texted them to let them know that I will be arriving in Springfield later in the day.
It turned out that one of them had a doctor’s appointment and could not meet with me, and the other one was out of town and won’t be back until later in the evening, but she would love to meet with me at her gym for a yoga session at six o’clock.
Was she out of her stinking mind? After walking for several hours, more exercise was the last thing on my mind. SMH. Some people! Hadn’t she said yoga, I would have asked her if I can have some of whatever she was smoking.
I arrived in Springfield at about 3 o’clock. My research showed that there was a Waffle House near the highway that was open 24 hours and would be an ideal place for the night.
I found a laundromat and got the laundry done before going to Waffle House. When I got there, I discovered that there was an off-brand truck stop next door that I didn’t see on Google Maps; better than sitting in the restaurant all night. I spend the night behind the store, and had breakfast at Waffle House the following morning before heading out.
As I think back and ponder.
When I saw the book store sign, I thought, do termites have a gluten intolerance? I mean, people certainly don’t eat books, or maybe I am not weird enough?
I was talking with the unmistakable Julia E Hubbel yesterday and telling her how she finds humor in mundane things that I wish I could. She said, “RH, you gotta stop taking life seriously. There is so much stupid shit around in the world; you can’t help but laugh.”
She is absolutely right. We need to learn to slow down, take life in stride as it comes, and see the humor in everyday situations. No one is getting out of here alive anyway.
Stay blessed and be happy, my friends.
Days 44 & 45: Springfield, Missouri (Original blog post).
Just for fun.
I was going to post this song yesterday, where I said at the end of the story that it was good to get out of the rain.
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Rasheed Hooda is a published author who has contributed to many of Medium’s top Publications; The Startup, The Ascent, P.S. I Love You, Rogues’ Gallery, and ILLUMINATION, to name a few. He is also a Top Writer for several topics.
