what the terms of this guarantee are
about this guarantee, because I'm distracted by the extremely bizarre product being advertised
Headstones up front, greenhouse in the back. Some of the display headstones have names and dates on them; is this normal?
They sit back-to-back and provide conflicting information. (Brookville is miles down the road, not just back at Rt. 949.)
Earlier today a huge storm blew through. I parked my cart and took out my rain gear. As I was fighting to get my jacket on in the gale-force winds, a branch came crashing down from a tree and smashed into the handlebar of my cart, bending the metal and toppling the cart over. I was able to bend the handlebar back to roughly its original shape, and nothing else was damaged, including me!
A couple let me hang out on their covered porch for a bit this afternoon during a downpour. They brought me a chair to sit in, a bottle of water, and a copy of "This Was Your Life!" The husband was very geographically knowledgable and talked to me for a while about my walk, and then dove headfirst into a lengthy and awkwardly phrased monologue about accepting Jesus as my savior.
For all your junk, rusty junk, and worthless rusty junk needs!
I set up my tent in their yard during a lull in the rain, and dove in just as it started pouring again. I got to visit with Bill and Mary later in the evening when things cleared up for a while. They let me take a much needed shower and sent me off with a bag of food for the road. Mary also offered to drive me to Ohio so I could skip the rest of the PA hills, but I sadly had to decline.
A woman pulled up next to me this morning and gave me the food you see above. She had seen me earlier and thought I could use something to eat, so she went to the nearest store and picked this up for me.
A mile or two down the road another woman pulled over and dashed across the road to hand me some money. "I don't know if you've fallen on hard times or what, but here, buy yourself some lunch."
Chuck invited me in for coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I took a water fill-up instead. Fred and Ralph were really excited about my walk; Ralph showed his admiration with that most universal of gestures: the fist bump. Chuck also said something that I'm quickly coming to understand (I'm paraphrasing): People are the same as they've always been; it's just sensational news coverage (and the human tendency to focus on the sensational) that makes the world seem like such a dangerous place. For the record, this view was excellently expressed by Rosemary in a comment on an earlier post.
Left to right: Shokie (the dog), Fred, Ralph, Courtney, Birdie, Brandon, Chuck
A franchise owner's house? Some kind of local headquarters?
There was a time in my life when I would have trembled in awe at the idea of a taco dog.
Not much rain this time, but some snow and a lot of hail.
The sign reads: "Mary Ann Iron Furnace 1844-1851"
Marianne, PA
Last night I stopped at the American Legion in Knox to see if they'd let me pitch my tent there. They wouldn't, but a couple of people at the bar made some phone calls and found me a nearby lawn I could use. Gary Sr. (Whitehorn) bought me a few beers and I sat and talked with him and his son Gary Jr. (G-man) for a while. They had a lot of good stories to tell (during their military days, Whitehorn danced with Jayne Mansfield and G-man had tea and dates with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia), and they were both really supportive of my walk and the fact that I'm doing it all for its own sake. They offered to drive me to their house for the night, and G-man said he would bring me back to where I left off in the morning, but I'm still hoping to find lodging each night en route, so I set up my tent in the nearby yard instead.
And they're still here!
(FYI, the town's name is actually spelled "Nineveh", contrary to the sign.)
Speaking of wildlife, did you know PA has a sizable elk herd? I didn't!
Jason L. Haas, where are you?
Pennsylvania has a whole set of color-coded detours already signed and ready for use.
I offer up a prayer of thanks to the God of Nectarines every summer
Accidentally coated with tar when they were paving the road?
The porch blends seemlessly with the architecture of the rest of the house.
Back up the road a bit, a local pastor/auto dealer stopped me to talk. He gave me five bucks to buy lunch and wanted to give me his card, but couldn't find one on him. As his wife dug through the glovebox looking for one, he chatted with me. "So where'd you start? New York City? That's great, that's great. Now, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" And so the sermon began.
As you may recall, I was given an Applebee's gift certificate by Denee and Scott a while back. It's valid in the greater Pittsburgh area, including, it says, State College and Altoona. I found an Applebee's right on my route in Hermitage, PA, closer to Pittsburgh than either of the aforementioned cities. But they refused to accept my gift certificate, so I continued on down the road toward the greater Cleveland area.
As I walked past, Gary yelled up to me from the parking lot. He was waiting outside while his wife was in the doctor's office. He was really excited about my walk and wished me the best of luck.
Almost all of my direct interactions with other people on this trip have been positive, like this one. If you've been reading this blog, you know that.
But I do sense a lot of suspicion and unfriendliness from people as well. People glaring at me, not returning my waves. The thing is, none of this is worth reporting; the negative stuff tends to be non-events. And, of course, I could be wrong about these people. Maybe they didn't wave back because they didn't see me, or maybe they did and I didn't see them, or maybe they were just really focused on driving and not hitting me. I'll never know for sure.
Kind people tend to be outward-reaching, while the suspicious ones withdraw themselves. Thus the kind people will always be over-represented on this blog, because they're the ones engaging with me and giving me something to talk about. And making my trip as wonderful as it has been so far.
My first night in the Buckeye State was a great one. As I was setting up in the back yard, Darlene made me dinner and brought it out to me. She also did my laundry and let me take a shower. Chad and Brandon (pictured) thought my trip was "awesome!" (Their sister Ashley was a lovely young lady, but wasn't around when I snapped the photo.) And this morning when I was heading out, Darlene made a donation to my walk, which I playfully like to call the Get-As-Far-Away-From-Here-As-Possible Fund.
My favorite trio of names so far: Moadus-Fuda-Flask. It just rolls right off the tongue!
I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but the fine print at the bottom of the sign indicates this guy's name is Eugne Lucci (sadly, it's actually Eugene).
