A Hitchhikers Journey Pt.2
The Haunted Ukulele
*These stories are honest/raw and may not be for the faint o' heart.
The days came and went, from thawing icy mornings, to cool mid-afternoons... and November was already three quarters close to being over.. I'd been writing alot in my journal and taking the time to heal. & although I was in Texas, it was still freezing by the time night had fallen.. and I'd find myself lying awake at night, watching the cold air exhale a faint cloud from my lungs upon every breath.. My sleeping bag was not built for such low temps, in fact it was only a 40 degree protectant.. I figured it'd get warmer within each state I voyaged through, but unfortunately that was not the case... & My boots and shoes now had gaping holes where the soles and padded rubber used to be.. & I'd now accumilated a cute little family of blisters on each foot, and kept getting pebbles and sand stuffed underneath my socks when I walked... which kindly ripped the blisters open over and over... After packing up camp one afternoon, we'd begun walking toward the downtown area of the city we were in to gather some supplies and necessities for Pup & I... After a few miles, a strange little white man pulled into the parking lot dead ahead of me, and got out of his vehicle quite excitedly... where we then met after only a few steps toward one another. He greeted me with a smile and then looked down at Pup.. asking where I got her, etc.... He seemed peculiar in his interest and kinda caught me off guard.. I wasn't really sure what to make of him. He then said, "That's a Thai Ridgeback!, a very rare and expensive breed!..., would you consider selling her? I'm sure folk like you could make use of the money, being out here all alone.." I wrapped the rope being used for a leash a little tighter around my hand, and kindly expressed my zero interest in selling, or negotiating any type of deal for her.. She was now officially; My Road Dawg.
Here's a pic of Pup waiting while I thumbed our way down the interstate.
The man then offered to buy me a hoagie, but he kept looking at my crotch... so I politely declined & then thanked him for the information on what breed he thought Pup to be.. Cuz before that, I had no idea what she could possibly be.. (I thought she was some kind of German Shepard, Pitbull mix... or a Dingo or something..) We said goodbye to the man and continued walking down the quiet sidewalk.. Early that next morning I was woken up by Pups loud, sharp barks inside of the tent... her front paws clawing at the flimsy zipped up screen... & I at first tried to ignore it, but she was quite persistant until I finally sat up to see what was going on and assess the situation... She made a quick wine as I nudged her back with my arm so I could unzip the door... & to my surprise, there was a BABY RATTLESNAKE right outside of our tent!!! Young rattlers are known to contain more neurotoxins in their venom rather than the cytotoxins which the adults are so infamously known for... I was quite shocked to see this, but I couldn't help but notice how CUTE HE WAS! He honestly seemed nice, and didn't make a fuss when I went to snap a pic of him. Pup wasn't happy though!..
(The Spiritual legend of the Viperidae is that of; Creative Power, Vigor, Rebirth, Truth, & Healing.) A symbol also known for; Transformation.
I zipped up the tent door slowly in order to prevent Pup from jumping out, she's quite the hunter and would have definitely attacked the snake! Her ancestors are over 4,000 years old, and to date, one of the very first canine breeds to ever be documented. We hung out for about 45 minutes, sharing some breakfast and water.. and when I opened the screen, the snake had gone.. Good... cuz I needed to pee!!! (and Pup kept farting which wasn't the greatest smell known to man.) Come a couple hours later, I'd decided I really needed new boots, but didn't have quite enough funds to buy them... & what I did have, had to be rationed for food & water between the two of us... So I zipped up the tent and told her I'd be back in a jiffy... There was a shopping center just over the tall fence that separated the business, and the large overgrown field where we were currently camping.. I walked my way around it into the parking lot and went inside.. I went straight to the footwear department and started browsing their selection.. I saw a decent pair of hiking boots that seemed to be in my size.. I grabbed em down from the shelf and tried 'em on... They felt pretty good, so I gave 'em a little test run around a couple isles.. realizing they were a little too big.. my intution told me to just eat the difference, and keep them & go now... even if they were a little too big... but my good ol' trusty ego (ha..) talked me into getting a smaller pair... so back I went, and found the correct size and exchanged them.. Putting my beat up black skate shoes, with multiple holes in them into the fresh, clean box, replacing the nice new boots.. These fit much better and I was happy with my choice.. So I put the box back on the shelf and began to walk away towards the Garden Center .. I thought to myself, "It's usually pretty scarce of employees over there"... Welllll..... long story short.... it turned out I was being watched the whole time I was in the store, and I ended up going to jail that night... I obviously would have ran if we weren't camped out just over the West wall... but they could rewind the video and see where I came from... So I thought of Pup and took the hit so we could stay together... they ended up issuing me a mandatory court appearance for a few months later (That I did not attend..) & I still get mail from them from time to time... which usually comes in the form of a mustard colored postcard with the words "TEXAS WARRANT" - for Mark D... Which I kindly throw into the waste bin while looking back upon those days with a smile.. admiring my cherished memories, even if some happened to be radical and righteous... It'd begun to get too cold at night and I wasn't making any headway escaping these fast paced Texas interstates... (They were FLYING passed us on the highway, hitting the rumble strip sounding like they were gonna cream us from behind..) & even then, it'd still probably take me two months to get back up to New Hampshire... & Winter was closing in... fast... I really didn't have any lifelines at the time, but we were just about broke, and freezing... so I threw a Halleluhjah Hailmary and asked one of my great friends if she'd take a road-trip to come & save us... (mind you this was no simple-quick- road trip).. in fact, it was over 1,800 miles!... Over 24 hours of driving... & quite a tall order to ask of anyone.... LUCKILY, she had previously pretty much fallen in love with Pup through the pictures I would post and send her... (& she's now the loving Mother of Pup going on 8 years strong, and one of my best friends i've ever had.) Surprisingly, she accepted the journey of my proposition... (if it wasn't for Pup, I don't think I would have been so lucky) Ha.. thanks Pup! I'll take it!!! About a thousand pounds of worry seemed to be immediately lifted off my shoulders, Yes!!! We had to celebrate!!! I broke out the beef jerky for Pup and got her a nice little ice cream cone in a bowl. Party time!!..
Three days went by and the -Great & Wonderful Danielle a.k.a Dani Dynamite - had finally arrived. We camped out for the night under the Southern Texas stars, and enjoyed a nice little stone circled fire, with light hearts and good laughter... The next morning we awoke fairly early.. In good spirits, we were ready for our first big day on the road! We loaded our things into the car and began our vigorous voyage back North to our home state, New Hampshire.. After a day or so of driving, I requested that we take a minor detour, East - into Knoxville, TN.. where I had previously hid a Ukulele in the woods... After that big fight with the train kids, they left so quickly, they ended up forgetting and leaving a few things behind... & when I awoke that next morning, I'd noticed that their Ukulele was still lying next to the campfire in a worn out, brown leather carrying case... I was still pretty sour from the night prior, and at the time I wasn't feeling much empathy for them... so I decided to stash it on a hill in some tall grass, and hopefully come back for it later on... and sure enough, months later, it was still there... (yes... to this day I still feel bad for doing it.) but unfortunately I was upset, and hurting, & in the moment I made an irrational decision.. No one would have found it, and it woulda' gotten destroyed by the weather sooner or later if I didn't go back and get it... I still have that Uke, and I think it's kinda haunted... so I'm a little scared of it, but don't wanna give it away... It's quite a paradox I'm in.. So a few hours go by, and somehow I ended up getting into another fist fight.. where a piece of the guys bottom lip ended up chunking out and landing on my lip... and if you know me, I was not happy, it was so gross!! I think I washed my lips for half the day after that, hoping he had no diseases. I'm a bit of a germ-o-phobe and hyper particular about certain things.
Maybe it's from the led poisoning when I was a kid hahaha...
*Cue Brief Interlude...
We eventually made it back to New Hampshire and my heart sunk just a bit knowing it was winter, and I didn't have the big chunk of change to sustain myself properly at my family's cabin in the White Mountains. It runs solely on a woodstove and has no insulation under the flooring... so it definitely makes for a strong winter experience! (I've been through 4, full, wild white cabin winters since, ha..) So now, I had this new puppy and nowhere to live solidly... & having to take a Pup everywhere, made it alot harder to couch surf in the Central region I was staying in.. (It used to be very easy for me) But thank goodness my loving Sister Katie let me stay at her apartment momentarily, but of course she didn't like dogs.. so it made for a rather tough situation between us.
3 months went by of this bouncing around, & between the madness of it all, I managed to finish up recording my new Album; "Orenda" which was nice.. but wondering where I was gonna sleep and eat each night.. began to take a toll on me mentally & emotionally.. and I found myself actively succumbing to a prior addiction I once held.. Once it got warm enough, I was able to find some quaint refuge in the Northern Mountains.. Where I was already restless footed, daydreaming about another adventure... but why did I always seem to have this sense of longing for an ungraspable freedom? What made it so obviously appealing to me?... A couple weeks went by, and I ventured down to visit some old friends that were in town for just a few more days... We played a bit of basketball (G.O.A.T.) Which is just the game H.O.R.S.E., But G.O.A.T... (I'm still champ to this day) We caught up with one another.. & then decided to get some beers to celebrate our whimmed reunion.. a quick couple hours go by, and we're jokin', laughin', smokin', cheers'in'.. When a quiet dare started to circulate the room... talking about just picking up and driving West, out to California... right now... just getting up and going... to not even think about it, & just do it... I honestly thought they were kidding, after all, none of them had done such a thing before! Thinking to myself like a shiny little travel man... all seasoned and knowledgable... (ha..) I honestly didn't think they had it in em to do such a thing!... I laughed and said, "y'all know I'll do it, so if you're serious, I'm down.." welllll.... it turns out they were serious, and we were in the car no more than an hour later... Keep in mind, we had about a hundred dollars between the four of us... I had one pair of clothes which were already on my back, my old boots from the last trip, (yes, the holey ones...) and my Pup... no toothbrush, no guitar, no backpack... I was definitely nowhere close to being properly prepared... But hey, are we really ever?... "alright let's do it!" I said.. but little did i know, it would turn out to be one of the biggest dares of my life and a crucial part of my Spiritual Evolution.
You don't wanna miss what happens next!
-Mark W. Donovan
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A Hitchhikers Journey
A hitchhikers journey begins with a single step; or atleast a flick of the wrist, while supporting a courageous thumb of the wild hearts. Things have been hard for Dreamers lately, but that's not stopping us. It was late Summer, 2014 and the leaves had began to fall in Northern New Hampshire. I found myself at a crossroad in life, stuck between succumbing to the dreaded 9 to 5, or continue following my heart and pursuing my dreams. My bags were packed and I was dropped off in the lower end of Vermont, staring at the trail head of the Appalachian trail.. Strapped with a 60 pound backpack and an acoustic guitar in hand... Little did i know I was about to embark on a journey that would change my life forever. If you have any knowledge of the A.T., you'll know it's no light breezed walk in the park, and three days in, I had discovered that the hard way.. between the constant hills of Vermont and the cold dreary days of rain and darkened skies, my pack was far too heavy, and my body was not conditioned to attend such a sudden feat. I had realized this was growing old rather quickly... That evening around 5 p.m., I had walked to the neighboring town for some supplies and came to gather my thoughts in a dry, warm nook of a strip mall bookstore. Peering out the window, i sat as the cars passed and climbed through the options of my next move... I wasn't ready to accept defeat, but I damn sure wasn't ready to get back on that trail...& my pride at the time was glittered with shiny little trophies from all of my past experiences traveling the country. I'd been bit of a drifter ever since I ran away to Florida in the middle of the night on a greyhound bus at only fifteen years old. Traveling was just in my heart, I longed to see the World. Transforming my mental awareness and seeing new things just continued to thrill me time and time again... So here I sit, staring out onto the on-ramp of Route 120, and that's when it dawned on me, I've never tried hitchhiking before! Hmm... what are the pro's and con's?- I asked myself, wirelessly simulating the parallels of different things that could happen, as if it were a casino lotto machine spinning around a thousand and one times... all is possible, and parallel reality timelines can intersect just from one simple choice or a hello in gesture. I decided; what the hay, let's give it a shot! I finished up my meal, and picked up my pack... It was now dark and you can barely see me under the scattered street lights pressed along this long stretch of road. With a flick of my wrist, I was flyin' that hippie :"Can i get a ride man?" flag. But It wasn't sudden miles and smiles... actually, three hours went by and no one had picked me up yet. For some reason i guess I thought I'd have beginners luck? Maybe I was full of myself. I was just about ready to go find a spot and pitch my tent for the night, but sure as day, I got picked up on my last thumb... Huh... Right when I was about to give up, my prayer was answered... Was this a deeper lesson? In went my bag and guitar, stuffing them into the backseat. It was a bright old man, who was a talented musician and retired from teaching piano at the local schools. He was very kind and we talked about all types of music from classical, to top 40, he even played me some of his stuff from CD. We drove for about an hour on I-91, & there he dropped me off in a big parking lot, where we shared our kind goodbyes and well wishes. it was now around 9:30 p.m... Time for bed. I was spent.. and for the first night in 3 days, it wasn't raining.. my clothes and pack were finally dry, leaving a light hint of mildew on all of my clothing. (always tie your clothes up in a tough garbage bag, and then put it inside your pack.) I found a nice grassy knoll to pitch my tent while listening to the crickets sing the night and I a song. This was nice. & I went to bed with more confidence in my choices. The next morning I woke up feeling great.. I was greeted by the wonderful warming morning sun, and dry land upon my feet. I unzipped the tent door and inhaled a big fresh breath of the clean forest air that was waving behind me. I chugged my whole cantene of water, gave a couple stretches, and began to pack up my tent and camp. You always wanna try to leave the area just as you found it.. (I feel like that's an unwritten code everyone should intuitively know).. I was now in the very top of Massachussets, feeling very optimistic about the day! I had managed to catch a ride with a nice woman who was on her way to work, she looked upper middle class and had a nice SUV. She had picked me up just minutes after a carpool vehicle shouted out to me in passing, "GET A JOB!" I found this very ironic, since that was kinda what I was running from... Yin and Yang? Thinking back to last night where I was rewarded right when I was about to give up.. The classic "Angel on one shoulder, Devil on the other scenario." The lady and I had good casual conversation, & she dropped me off in a cool little college town called Northampton. I sat and had something to eat, sitting on the steps at a Church in the downtown square. I took out my guitar and melodied a couple songs in help with the harmony of the echoing acoustics in the churches infastructure, when a group of 20-something's came strolling by, slowing as they realized i was playing a friendly familiar tune. The head of the group stretches his right foot and plants it towards me as he began snapping his fingers in tune with the beat. Singing out the harmony of the song's chorus, I was rather surprised and pleased how well our voices blended. As the song ended, we said our kind hello's and well greetings, then he asked where I was heading... I really honestly don't know, I replied. South? "Chasin' the sun", I laughed, rubbing my neck. We chatted for a little bit longer and said our farewells, parting separate ways. I was headed back to the on-ramp... and after about 45 minutes, an 18-wheeler truck, moving cargo, offered me a ride. I was with this man for about 15-18 hours. He was rather bitter and perverted but I learned a lot of Highway etiquette watching him switch lanes back and forth flowing through traffic like a highway ballerina. The trucker code for cars, is 4-wheelers, and they think we are awful drivers. He let me sleep in his upper loft and woke me at about four in the morning. We were in Pennsylvania and it was as far as he could take me. As he pulled away, I realized I'd left my phone in the back of the sleeper cab! "WAIT!" I yelled while chasing down the taillights of his speeding white truck. He came to a redlight, and I should have taken my pack off so I could run faster, but I didn't think of it at the moment!! & sadly I did not catch him. Keep in mind, it was now only 4:30 a.m. and I had just woken up a half hour prior.. I was not ready for such a huge blow to my day... Fuming, my head was honestly probably giving off steam at this point.. I went and picked up my guitar and walked up the banking toward a shopping center where all the employees were just getting to work. Not thinking straight, I took my knife from my pack and placed my stuff on the inside of the breeze way, and strong walked straight to the electronics department, where I noticed no one was even paying attention to me... Everyone was just getting there, and putting their stuff away while small chatting amongst each other.. I found the prepaid smart phones and ripped the box wide open with my knife.. I cannot believe no one turned around from the loud, clear sound of plastic being ravaged open... (and if you've ever opened one of those phone boxes, you know what i'm talking about.) It was LOUD! Still, noone said a word, or even looked at me... There was atleast three employees, no more than 12 feet away from me.. still in a morning rage, I yanked the phone and charger out quickly, and hooked the empty box back on the hanging shelf. I took a shortcut through the clothing department and made a hurried departure, grabbing my bag and guitar outside, I then put some pep in my step to got off the premises immediately. I got right back to it and started waving the thumb flag, rather eager to skip this town. I got picked up by a guy who offered to bring me a few exits down, I happily accepted and hopped in exhaling with relief. Woo... I'm safe.. We talked about Religion, and forgiveness, and how it's important to be able to accept life as it comes, and how to move on from the past successfully without carrying common burdens. He bought us smoothies and gave me ten dollars as a parting gift. Keep in mind, I only had about 13 dollars to my name, and this was a major come up and blessing. I shook his hand, exchanged smiles, & off we went. As I walked toward the interstate, I started to feel like I was getting the hang of this whole thing. In fact it was pretty exciting and i was quite high from the Endorphines of a new adventure. I decided to start walking the major Highway after a couple hours of no luck hitching a ride... Wow.. I do not suggest ever doing this, and it's actually prohibited anyway... But I walked for a few miles when I finally got picked up by a man named Sean. He drove this older Chevy s-10 with an extended cab, and he was on his way home from work, which was an hour away from where we were. So I tossed my stuff in the truck bed and got in the front seat, as he pulled back onto the highway, he said "Please don't kill me, I have a family." I think it was mixed with humor but it was still a rather shocking thing to hear someone say in their first few words. We laughed it off and I assured him that that was not the case.. We got to talking, he was a massage therapist, who once also had a dream to be a rock & roll star. (who hasn't?) and he still played a few instruments in his spare time, which seemed to be seldom lately. When we got to his towns exit, he offered for me to pitch my tent in his back yard for the night. I graciously accepted and was pleased to have an easy spot to post up. He then stopped at his local corner store to grab some bottles of beer and a few other munch items, chips, etc. When we arrived at his house he showed me the backyard, which was fenced in and had nice green grass. Perfect, I said, thanking him again. He invited me inside where we sat in his finished basement and had a couple cold ones together, we played pool for a bit and jammed on some guitar and bongos. His girlfriend came over later with some pizza and we all hung out for a few hours, where he then offered me to have sex with him and his girlfriend. (I'm kidding.), but he did offer me to sleep on the carpeted floor in my sleeping bag. The next morning, he woke me up by blinking the lights on and off from a'top the stairs, & had made us a fresh batch of scrambled eggs with orange juice and coffee. What a good morning, & what a fun night, I thought to myself while mindfully eating the breakfast. He dropped me off near the on-ramp and handed me 20 bux. (I never asked for it.) shook hands and said our well wishes, then parted ways. I decided to go sit at this fast food place to catch their WiFi before I started hitchin'... To my surprise I had a handful of messages from girls I hadn't talked to in months, some even years.. & all saying they got really strange and perverted texts from me the other night and wanted to see if I was hacked or something... Well yes, that trucker now had found my phone and messaged just about every female name in my contacts! Oddly humored, I sat & pictured that man sitting in his sleeper cab, texting all these strangers in hopes they would talk dirty to him, or send him pictures... I was sent a couple screenshots of some of the messaages, and his texting/spelling wasn't very far passed primal. That's how they knew it wasn't me, as I'm an artist and fairly collected with words and timing. I was a bit pressed by this but did my best to laugh it off and get on with my day. Just to my luck, another trucker picks me up within the first 10 minutes of standing out there. He was a bit younger than the last one, he was from Arkansas and headed back down South to do a few more drops, and he could drop me off in Baltimore, MD. He again was rather perverted and slightly racist, sexual slurs and anti-gay jokes etc. a bit rough around the edges but i appreciated the lift, so I kept my views to myself and let him do most the talking. A few hours later, he had dropped me on the off-ramp near Charm City Skate Park on O'Donnell st. I was happy to be in a new state and I had also never been to Baltimore, only seen it in passing a few times in my travels. Rough crowd though... I tried hitching out of there for 2 days with no luck! on the third day, I was sitting on the peir in downtown, looking out onto the water, when a couple of shaggy guys came up to me with tan faces and stretched out shirts, asking if I knew where to score some herb.. I then told them, I wasn't from there, that I was just passing through. They turned out to be Sea Drifters doing the same thing I was doing, but on a boat. I mentioned how I had been trying to hitch out but no one was picking me up, in fact I got a soda can thrown at my head from a man on a bus.. The captain told me if I didn't get a ride by nightfall, they would bring me across the ocean to Annapolis in the early morning... Well, I still didn't get picked up, so i ventured back into downtown a few miles away and found them drinking some beers with some locals on their ship. The ship looked like if a hippie, and a pirate, had a baby.. It was cool and rustic, and looked like it held alot of stories. They invited me on board and we sat around giving good cheers to our current adventures, and shared stories of our wandered travels. A man who docked beside them, partied with us and offered me to sleep in the berth of his boat. That was the first and only time I've ever slept on a boat.. I didn't sleep great but it was fun and I was happy to check it off my list, even though it was never on my list. That morning we set sail, South East and I said goodbye to Baltimore with a grateful heart and I was even more grateful to finally get out of there. It had been a rough couple days before last night. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was blaring and I'm pretty sure it landed me a fair sunburn by the time we had arrived at the docking station. They couldn't dock to let us out unless they paid for a minimum of gas... So one of them was a bit upset about that, but I hadn't known the ways of the Sea... I gave great thanks, and wished them both well. Now here I was in Annapolis.. a cool little port town with a brick walkways, and cute little indie shops & bars. Upon my arrival I met a beautiful woman named Kya, who told me she could show me to a swimming spot.. So we walked & talked for about fifteen minutes while she lead me to my destination. She sat and watched me get undressed and swim, saying to me : "if you grow an extra leg, it's not my fault." proclaiming the water was contaminated.. But it had been about a week without a shower, paired with miles of walking and sweating, and sleeping in a humid tent... safe to say, I didn't care at that moment, I was just too thrilled to be scrubbing last week off me. She stayed with me the whole time and we hugged and went separate directions at a four-way stop sign in a suburban neighborhood. It was a Friday night and I really liked this place, so I decided to go pitch my tent and maybe stay for the weekend. I found a nice runnning trail on the upper outskirts of downtown. I took all the valuables I had, which wasn't much, roughly 40 dollars, a cellphone and my guitar, and left the tent set up in the dusk hoping no one would ransack it while I was gone. I decided to sit on a bench and play some songs to see if I could earn some extra cash for the weekend, and to my delight, I did. Some ladies overheard my story of what I was doing and they came over and dropped a ten dollar bill into my guitar case. That, combined with the $8.50 I made a few songs prior, was a pretty good score and could feed me all weekend if I budgeted right. A band began to setup as night fully fell, and the crowds started to gather. It was a young band, with twins, and a female lead singer. They played mostly modern music but threw in some oldies, like The Jackson 5, & The Rolling Stones. It was a fun night watching the locals dance and participate in the sing alongs... Spirits were high and it was a great atmosphere to be a part of. The wind softly blowing a warm breeze off the bay. A couple days went by, and I was back on the highway lookin' to put in some major miles. I ended up in Virginia just a few hours later and got scooped up by a man named Josef, while walking the highway. He welcomed me into his car and drove for about 45 minutes, turns out he was actually a through-hiker of the Appalachian trail and had many stories to tell, along with many curious trail names he read in the trail logs. He brought me out to eat at a chinese buffet, where we sat enjoying good food, and good conversation. I thanked him for his kindness and set off into the sunset in search of a good spot to camp for the night. I found a small bridge crossing over a river, and tucked my tent away underneath so no one would rat me out if they saw me. The next morning, I packed up early and hit the road, & immediately got picked up by some cool guy who happened to be a car salesmen and was heading into work.. We shared some laughs and he dropped me off in a Mall parking lot, pulled out his wallet and handed me 80 bux! I had only known this man for about 20 minutes. By now you're probably thinking, "What did he do for this money?!" Nothing. I did nothing, besides be a genuine and kind person to all I've met. I was on the road, somewhat in search of Enlightenment, & somewhat in search of myself. I wanted to learn, so i became a good listener, and I wanted to get better at talking to strangers, so the diverse crowd who'd picked me up this far really helped me with unique engagement. A couple rides here and there for the next day or two, I caught a lucky break and was offered a 400 + mile ride into Knoxville, TN. I hopped on board and off we went... I slept most the day away and that was just fine with the driver.. He actually liked the quiet, and wasn't much of a talker. I got dropped off at a park with swings and a baseball field, where I got swindled into having a jumping contest off the swings, to see who could fly the furthest... On my second attempt a couple pumps before I was gonna let go, my intution told me, "don't let go on this one"... But I didn't listen... I let go and flew the air like an Eagle over troubled water... landing well passed the mulch where i attempted to tuck and roll... unsuccessfully doing so, I ended up separating my shoulder and messing myself up pretty bad... The heavy weight of my backpack was then causing quite intense pain.. I didn't know the extent of my injury yet... I found a place to pitch the tent and rest... hoping i'd feel better in the morning. That didn't happen... I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain while rolling over... I then knew something was definitely wrong. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and this was about an 8 on the scale. As soon as i woke up, I was happy to find that i was within a quarter mile of a Hospital. I went in and they gave me an X-ray and confirmed it as a separated shoulder. They gave me a sling and a script of pain pills mixed with acetaminophen and sent me on my way... There was nothing they could do, I had no health insurance, and I was just passing through anyway... I stayed put for about 5 days taking it easy while trying to heal. A few train kids were cowboy camping about 50 yards out in the same field as me. They came and introduced themselves, and we shared my campfire spot for a couple days.. The last night, they had invited another boy and girl that had just arrived from Florida, train hopping their way up to Tennessee.. Everyone got a little too drunk, besides myself, (I've never been much of a big drinker) and sure enough, a big fight broke out where I ended up worsening my shoulder having to strike in self defense, ending the fight. They were all rather bitter at the world and how society's been constructed and had quite negative outlooks on life... and were surprisingly judgemental for people who didn't like to be judged... They left that night after the fight, and I left the next morning. I will spare the vivid details on what happened... but it wasn't pretty by any means. That next morning I was pretty sore and could barely take the weight of my pack any longer... I found an old shopping cart and took it with me toward the interstate which was a good 5 miles away.. Upon getting to the on-ramp, I just decided to start walking the highway, I was in no mood to hitch and stand around... when a deep voice caught my attention in the parking lot of a gas station. Hollering over to me, I couldn't hear what he was saying, so I turned around and crossed the on-ramp to go talk to this gentleman. Turns out he was in town rehearsing for a big Opera performance, & he's actually pretty famous and has traveled the world thanks to his talents. We talked for a couple minutes and then he offered me a ride... I ditched the shopping cart and hopped in. I was a bit of a mess at the time, & was in some serious pain and worn down from the nights of partying with the train hoppers... It felt good to relax and get some miles in on the road. We had great in depth conversations about God and talked a bit about the business side of the music industry... He drove for a couple hours and brought me to a chinese buffet, and also got me a hotel room.. What a relief it was to soak in a hot tub alone and calm my muscles. I still keep in touch with him, and we remain friends on social media. The next day I checked out and went to a fast food joint to surf their WiFi for a bit before I took off.. That's where I met this tall mysterious dreadlocked black man carrying a backpack, going up to strangers cars in the parking lot and asking them for rides... I thought, wow... how invasive.. how... bold... I somewhat respected the hustle... You'll never know unless you ask, right?... He eventually lingered over to me and we got to talking for a bit... I had plans to meet up with a friend in Nashville a few days from now, so that's where I was aiming for next... turns out he was trying to get to Nashville too.... We decided to team up, and walked to the gas station down the street, where we (he) asked, probably 15 cars for a ride, all saying no... til this middle aged woman pulled up with her son, and his daughter.. We offered them like 60 bux, and at first she refused, but then waved us over and told us to get in... The dude was too drunk to tell the lady which exit to get off, so it became quite a hostile situation at the end... she ended up dropping us off in the ghetto, where we caught a local bus to downtown... we shook hands and parted ways... it was probably 10 p.m. by now and I was ready for bed... I walked around Nashville for a bit, all the lights, and sounds coming from the bars... street performers... wild crowds... drunken smiles.. It was cool but I'd decided to come back in the morning... I needed some rest. I found a nice grassy spot under the train tracks just passed the YMCA, where i camped for 3 nights in a row. It was hidden enough I didn't have to packup everytime I left the site. As those days came and went, my friend then picked me up, and it was so great to see her.. We used to play in bands together in our young teenage years.. We actually met on instant messenger, (AIM) & she lived a few towns over from mine.. we came to be good friends. She brought me to her friends family lake property where they were having a special little get together. It'd been 3 years since i'd seen her, so it was great to catch up and have some laughs and chat about old times. The next day her boyfriend drove me to some random city where we then parted ways in good spirit. Things went slow for a week or two, because I kept getting in trouble with the cops for walking the highway... and they eventually made me get in their cruiser and dropped me off on a "back highway", where I could walk freely... Yeah... about one car every 15 minutes... more like "back road"... It was a long stretch of road with a thin strip of walking room, I walked for a few hours, sweaty and hot... where I came up to a man mowing his lawn on a riding mower, drinkin' a beer.... he came up to the fence that separated us, and turned off the engine, had some small chat, and he offered me a beer.. I kindly accepted and took my pack off for a minute. He told me his story, and how this was his fathers house, and he had just passed away, so it was vacant and he was living in the garage where he make shifted a bedroom, while he maintained the property for real estate value.. It was a beautiful property, and really nice house. According to him, he and the step mother didn't see eye to eye, and she was trying to cut him out of the finances as soon as the house sold.. He offered for me to pitch my tent in the yard for the night... We had some pizza, beers, & started a bonfire outback... He was lonely and sad, grieving his fathers passing, and I'm pretty sure he cried a few times that night... I gave him my harmonica to keep, and I played a few songs on my guitar while he harped some chords. The next morning, he let me go into the main house and take a shower... NICE SHOWER!!! It was like a rich shower.. The father must have been very wealthy.. As I was getting ready to leave, he walked me out to the front yard, where he had a little garden growing... He picked a fresh Okra off the stock for me, and it was delicious! (first time i'd had it raw.) We shook hands and off I went.. I really feel like we were meant to meet so I could lighten his spirit and give him some kind company.. sometimes all you gotta do is listen... I finally made it to Jackson, TN. which I thought would be spectacular, but probably only because of that one Johnny Cash song... I arrived fairly late at night and it was a mean concrete jungle... I walked for over an hour trying to find a decent place to set up camp... Finally I came to a deep gully with clean, beautiful tan sands... I was so happy... soft sand is a dream compared to the rough terrain i'd been sleeping on for a majority of this trip... I set up my camp and then ran to the closest store for some drinks and snacks right before their closing time... I slept well that night, and come early morning, I was awakened by the distinct feeling of laying on a water bed.. & coming out of a dream, I heard the sound of what would be a fast river, & in a groggy daze, I opened my eyes and saw I was now surrounded by over a foot of water! I'd been flooded! I don't know if this was some release channel for a dam, or what.. but it was very intense.. Hurrying to grab my things, I got on top of the banking and was able to snap a picture before dragging the tent out.. Did I mention it was Halloween morning??? Wet and shocked... I couldn't help but laugh in light of things.. If I didn't snap the picture, no one would of believed me. I walked a mile or two, taking a break at a classic BBQ stand outside a convenience store. I pounded an energy drink and ate something small... I needed some extra energy after what just happened. I made it into downtown where a car stopped and picked me up, and brought me back to their apartment where we sat and hung out for a bit.. They gave me walking directions for the bridge that crosses over into Arkansas.. So I went on my way and it took a few hours to reach the area they were talking about, but night had fallen and I couldn't find the bridge... I must have taken a wrong turn.. So I decided just to set up camp and let my things dry out the best they could overnight. The next morning, I went for a walk to get some breakfast and on my way back to the tent, I saw a tiny little black puppy, all skin and bones, hanging outside a run down plaza. The security guard had been feeding her for a few days since she'd been there. I felt compelled to help, and before I knew it, I was picking her up and bringing her back to the tent with me.. She had broken teeth, a huge bump on the top of her head, scars on her elbows, etc... It was heartbreaking... I packed up the camp and we started walking towards the highway... It began to rain and it became quite cold... mainly from being wet.. But I found the bridge crossing over into Arkansas! Was I meant to miss it last night? Was I meant to find this Pup? I looked down at her, & she looked up at me probably still unsure what to think of me.. It seemed she'd not gotten much love from humans prior to meeting me.. She was so cute! Though I had no idea what breed she was, she was the strangest looking dog I'd ever seen. After walking a few hours, an 18-wheeler stopped and waved us over... It was a female, and she asked us, "where ya goin'?"... I said, South... she replied... "Well, you gettin' in or what?" She drove us into Little Rock, where we stayed the night at a truck stop and planned to head back out with her in the early morning... The Pup insisted on sleeping in my sleeping bag... with me... BED HOG!!! Oh my goodness, and anytime I would move or adjust, she would growl! It was adorable though... and that next morning, while I was packing up the tent, she showed me some spark, and started doing zoomies around in the grass... like she now knew she was safe... and found her family... It was truly heart warming.. The lady dropped us off in Texas where I was immediately confronted by a police officer telling me I better not be asking anyone for money.. I still had over 60 bux in my pocket, & I didn't plan on asking anyone for anything... We spent a few days trekking around Texas, but it became clear having a dog came with much more responsibility... It was like all of a sudden having a child to feed and look after... We spent my birthday in a desert plane, eating some good food, playing catch and relaxing.. I was still in some serious pain, and having to carry my backpack, guitar, and now a leash in the other hand... It'd become too much to bear... and I wasn't about to turn my back on Pup and leave her behind... but she couldn't get on a bus with me... and she couldn't get on a plane... so my only option was to hitchhike back to New Hampshire... What happened next???
By Mark W. Donovan3 years ago in Wander
Parahoy Ahoy!
My father was right. There was a peace in the middle of the ocean like no other. A chance to look at night skies unblemished by light pollution. Just a pure net of darkened hues pinned up by stars of various luminosity and size. It was magic I’d never truly experienced before. There, accessible from my own balcony, were both the lullaby of ocean waves and sky full of stars to wish me to sleep. He told me stories about nights at sea, but he didn’t mention how beautiful it was to wake up to a morning sky over a calm ocean. There was a peace I needed waking up each day at sea, and that peace is part of why going on a cruise with my best friends will always be my favorite vacation.
By Josey Pickering7 days ago in Wander
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