Dispatches from the road

 Dispatches from the road

Dispatches from the road by Bill Poindexter

Now I’m gonna post this tonight which means I’m doubling up today so don’t get any ideas I’m not gonna do this on a regular basis, but I might. I’ve got a Lotta nice comments from you all and I really appreciate it I was telling Aimee just the other day that I’m lonely on the road I like talking with people when I’m on the bike and nobody’s biking with me I got nobody to talk to. Oh by the way you’ll notice I’m throwing in some Ozark country slang as well figured if mark twain to do it I can do it not that I’m any mark twain but nor was he a Bill Poindexter, right?! I think I would like told Mark though. So today today was good I had a little bit of a wind on my back so that helped and I rolled from Houston to  Summersville, had a little food sat out on the bench in the middle of their city park talk to a nice lady whose dog Jack came over and hung out with me a while. I never found out the woman’s name but she was very nice kind of by herself in the gazebo eating some food occasionally feeding Jack and then yelling for Jack when Jack went off to places he wasn’t supposed to go which is kind of normal for a dog don’t you agree? When I was walking my bike out of the park I looked at the woman’s square in the eyes and told her to have a great day she perked right up and told me to have a great day well that’s set me off to where I am now the town of Eminence, Missouri and this is turned out to be kind of a cool town, about four or so miles outside of Eminence the whole landscape changes from not so hilly to very very hilly I guess these are the Ozark mountains which pretty cool eminence is the first one of these places that I’m stopping at and the people are very nice so I pulled into town I have to tell you I was tired because whoever told me yesterday that there were lotta hills in Eminence they were right because just to get in Eminence you have to climb three or four or five massive hills and we’re not talking hills we’re time massive hills that are angled so the grade is really really hard it was very tempting to push my bike but I made it I didn’t get off the bike. But as I rolled into town and it’s a fun little town I immediately look for a local like to talk to you to partake in knowledge regarding camping for free in the area and I came up on the first one he was on a quad he was a older gentleman probably late 60s maybe mid 60s had a torn Henley Work shirt torn at the elbows old work pants old shoes and a beard that made him look like John Muir if you know who John Muir is and you should because I’m gonna be talking about John Muir when I get into Kentucky but that’s another time and another person this gentleman was very kind though he said to me he looked me square in the eye and he said “you want a place to stay tonight for free?”

I said “yes sir that’s exactly what I want”

and he thought a moment and he came up with the place he just told me to go down the street cross the bridge take a right head halfway down the road then take another right and head down into the creek and there’s a place down there were locals like to hang out in camp. Well there you have it I said what’s your name sir “my name is Ken

Montgomery” he said with a sparkle in his eyes as he perked up and I said “well Ken thank you very much”

and he said you’re quite welcome he said “I’d let you stay with me but I’m renting a place in and I don’t think they’d let me have a visitor. “

And I said that’s OK and I looked at his hands his nails were long and filled with dirt as lanky body is stain beard but he had these wonderfully greenish gray eyes and a smile with worn teeth from age and I stuck out my hand in he shook it and smiled …I don’t think anybody shook his hand for a while we talked for a few more minutes and then he stuck out his hand and I gave him a handshake. Well we parted ways. But before I was going to head to that campsite I decided I need to get some coffee as I ran out of my little instant packets so I rolled up and down Main Street looking for the store toms best way I think it’s called I’ll three or four locals sitting out in front of a bar barbecuing smoking cigarettes drinking beer were giving me shit telling me to get in an easier gear and I just looked at him smile I said I am in the easiest gear they burst out laughing now I told you I’m not much of a cyclist I go along way but I know how go slowly Well then an interesting thing happened I went to the store Thom‘s grocery store and there was a man who was on his knee trying to carry a box of something in four cans of something but he couldn’t find a way to stand up with the box and the four cans of something so after a while me just watching him and standing behind him-As he didn’t even know I was there, he smartly took two cans and the box of something left two cans on the ground and proceeded to stand up on two legs and walked to the counter to the checkout counter in which case I saw him do it so I picked up the two cans followed him he didn’t know I was behind them and handed him the two cans and said here you go friend and he just looked at me and smiled it was funny. Well I went and found my coffee and I was in line and there was a gentleman standing in line before me looking straight at me and he said you’re on your bike right and since I had a helmet on I said how can you tell? He laughed he started talking about he used to live someplace where he used to ride on the Katy Trail and I listened and I asked him do you live in Eminence by chance he said yes I do and I said well I got a question for you I’m on a long distance bicycling tour and I’m looking for a place to camp for the night for free would you happen to have any ideas and he looked at me and he started nodding and said “I have a place you can stay because I own three cabins one’s unfinished but you can use it and if you want to you can go down to the creek below the property and just pitch a tent if you’re looking for privacy.”Well this gentleman whose name is Captain Ron by the way at least that’s what he says the locals  call him captain Ron just like the Kurt Russell movie. Anyway Captain Ron came back to his place I rode my bike behind him he showed me everything and here I am I’m on a patch of dirt below the property right next to a spring fed stream, I have the use of the cabin if I need it I can take a shower and use the toilet and get water from up there which is nice I’m glad to be back on a patch of dirt though versus that hotel room last night I won’t do that again I don’t mind sleeping in somebody’s home but I just do not like hotel rooms. Well I will send you some pictures I made a fine dinner of a: tortilla, dry salami, mozzarella cheese, mustard, avocado, some sage from Kansas City dried sage,and some dandelion greens I foraged here in the creek bottom. 

Lesson from today lessons I know well that if you ask for help people are always willing to help you but if you don’t ask a lot of times they’re not gonna offer because they don’t know you need help something to think about and people genuinely want to help with her was Ken Montgomery or Ron, they both got a sense of doing something good helping a fellow human being therefore humanity is alive and well!

Well again a disclaimer, I dictated this so hopefully I got everything I’ll go back and check it later but I’m gonna go ahead and post it tonight so they’ll probably be a few mistakes but you can just have mercy :-) you by now you know what I’m doing if you’re following me and if you don’t just go to the website from the other post. The sun is going down the temperature is dropping I got a nice hot cuppa coffee I’m gonna drink and do a little meditation and maybe a little writing in my journal thanks again for listening to my words even though you’re reading them. Peace and love Bill