I intended to leave Atlanta yesterday but got caught up once again in my daughter’s extremely busy life. My help was needed until she returned home from her job that allows us all to fly free (except for her work hours) around the country – standby, but free. So I’m happy to help for that reason as well.
So finally today, I’m ready to leave.
First though, I have to wait until the temperature gets firmly into the 40’s. Atlanta is cold, despite being in the south.
So whilte waiting for it to warm up, I head to my to my tire guys and to have my back outside dually repaired. It’s a new tire but has had a slow leak in it almost since I bought it. I didn’t want to head out with a leaky tire.
An hour, several great conversations with the men who work there, one thin nail removed, hole patched and $60 later, I’m on the road, ready to get a feel of the country post tRump…
I’ve received a few smiles while driving down I85 through southern Georgia to Montgomery Alabama. I decide to take a smaller route, highway 80, to Selma and then cut over to I59 south at Meridan Mississippi to connect with I10: through the deep south. 80 is a surprisingly pleasant route, little congestion or traffic, no white guys in white pickup trucks belching black smoke out their tail pipes in front of me.
At rest stops where I try to make eye contact and remain open to conversing, several strate white couples do smile excitedly and engage in benign conversation with me: one couple was formerly from New Jersey (my home state), another couple was on their way to visit grandchildren. No one talks about either the results of the election nor the messages on my truck.
I can’t tell if their smiles are gloating or condescending. They’re definitely excited and I’m not quick enough to think how to initiate a more meaningful conversation to the sidewalk smiles before they jump back into their waiting vehicles.
I’m kinda curious, wondering if this will continue to be my experience. And will have to put some thought into what to say, what to talk about, if I want to know how people are feeling and what they are doing. I kinda feel I’m getting the screen version of interactions – surface and glib.
Maybe what I’ve chosen to paint on the back of my truck doesn’t reach anyone.
I made it to the Louisiana/Texas state line. I had to keep driving during the warm hours so I pushed myself through 700 plus miles of u.s.ofa. roads.
Time to turn down the veggie oil and rest. As usual, the Texas Welcome Center is totally overrun by tractor trailers so I do a u-turn and head to the Louisiana Welcome Center, maybe 4 miles back the way I came on I10, which is a much more pleasant, less crowded rest area.
