Wednesday’s Miles: 120.9 Total Miles: 1502.9
This morning
was to be a relatively easy morning. It
was to be a traveling day but the traveling distance wasn’t to be great. Since I had packed the bike before going to
bed, I was going to be free this morning to type up the blog post for the last
couple of days. After a few minutes of
easy-peasy typing, I would publish the journal entry and be on my way.
I typed and
typed and told my stories and I was oh so proud of my literary genius. Unfortunately the “genius” was not very deep as…..SOMEHOW…..instead
of publishing the entry, WHOOSH, I swept it away into a cyber abyss never to be
seen again. I fear, based on what sounds
came out of my mouth, that had I been making a audio or video it would have
lost its Family Friendly standing.
I had also
killed all the time that was being considered necessary for this to remain a relatively
easy morning. Ahhh, such is the life of
a 1) novice writer, 2) non tech savvy novice writer, and 3) an impatient non
tech savvy novice writer. It was
apparent at that point that I was much better off moving onto the day rather
than trying to recreate the literary genius-ness that that no longer existed.
I gathered my
last few items, threw them into my backpack, handed in my keys, and headed out
the door. In minutes I had weaved through
the few roads in Waterford that got me onto I-75 and heading north.
Traffic was, I
thought for 8:00 on a Wednesday morning heading into Flint, MI, reasonably
light and free flowing. I will have to
admit to you that the good, old, proverbial thin blood that has taken over my system
over the last 3 decades was making itself known. I thought it to be a bit chilly. I know that the Michiganders that were my
fellow travelers on I-75 were probably complaining about it being too hot but………… It was not cold but I could swear that I could
feel a chill.
At Bay City I
shifted over to U.S. 10 and started heading west. My goal was Clare, MI where I had a couple “old
time reunions” planned. I got off of
U.S. 10 at Clare and immediately stopped for gas. From the gas pump vantage point I could see
my hotel so I knew that I was “safe” for the day.
After filling
up I pulled to the side and sent a text to a classmate that I have only seen a couple
of times over the last 55 years, Ruth. I
told her that I was in town and that I would meet her at the Cops and Doughnuts
Bakery in Downtown Clare. She quickly
responded that she would be there in minutes.
I rode the mile or so into Downtown and got a parking place almost in
front of Cops and Doughnuts. I went in
and…….OH MY……they do have some remarkable pastry in that place. I am pretty much a sucker for and have
generally made it known that I would sell my soul for good cinnamon rolls……and
they had great ones. I knew that I
wouldn’t be able to decide if they were good or not by only eating one………..so I
bought two. Decadent but worth it!
About that
time Ruth showed up and we picked a table out on the sidewalk and talked and
talked and talked for the next two plus hours.
By the way, the chill that I spoke of earlier was no longer a factor and
I was sweating sitting there in the sun.
We said
goodbye and I rounded back around to the hotel.
I was at a Quality Inn just off of U.S. 10. It was a nice place and the gal who checked
me in was friendly and efficient.
I got up to
the room and the first thing I did was to try and recall my previously typed
words and get them published………for real this time. After typing (and probably doing an overkill
with my constant saving) I finished the entry and while holding my breath, I
pushed the “Enter” key and………..YAY……….it made its way to the public forum that
you apparently are part of.
That gave me
time for a call home and a short rest. I
want you to know that it is Day Eight of this excursion and I have not seen ANY
TV. I gave this some thought and since
no one was speaking to me in French I assumed we had not been overrun by
Canada. Then again, I remembered that
the border was still closed because of covid and only “essential” people could
cross……….since I wasn’t sure an invading force would be essential or not I
figured that we were safe for a while.
I received a
message from just about my oldest friend on this planet. By “oldest” I am referring to the length of
time because I am 10 months older than him so I can’t officially call him “oldest”……well,
I can but I would be lying (not that I haven’t lied occasionally in the
past). Larry was the first neighbor I
talked to when I was 7 years old and my parents moved us from Pontiac to Waterford. We remained moderately inseparable for the
next 15 years or so and then, as life does to many, we got stretched and pulled
in different directions. So there has
been gaps. Some of those gaps have grown
to years. But the bond has not faded in
the least. Larry lives only a few miles
out and a couple towns over from Clare.
I arranged that I would stop there for the night and that after a couple
of appointments he would join me and we would sit and chat until……..well,
until.
He said he was
on his way and he was close so I headed down to the lobby to wait. The wait was a short one. He pulled up and parked next to my bike. I walked out, we hugged, and immediately we
were talking like we had just seen each other last night instead of 20 years ago.
We drove to a
Big Boy a couple parking lots away and went in.
The little gal who took care of us, Kelsey, didn’t realize at the time
that she would have us sitting at her table for 4 hours. We talked and laughed and talked and didn’t
laugh for a long time……and we finally ordered something to eat. I then sent a message to Jim, who also lives
in Clare. Jim is the same age as Larry
and because they went to church together they had known each other since early
elementary school………but had seen each other since their graduation 55 years
ago. Jim came by the Big Boy stayed with
us for about an hour. Finally, we bid
Kelsey goodbye paying her generously for all the time we kept her table and
Larry took me back to the hotel. Another
hug and he was off. I’m not sure either
of us have another 20 years in us so we had better not wait so long for our
next reunion.
I went to the
room, gave Lisa a quick call, and got ready to dive into the REAL reason for
this trip…………kids who are no longer kids and grandkids who are quickly
approaching the end of kid-dom themselves.
I am probably going to be a few days before I get back to you so don’t
leave me now. Stick around and see where
this party takes us.
If you enjoyed
your read give this a Like and Share. Also, feel free to drop me a
line by email at donbova1966@yahoo.com, in messenger, on my Facebook timeline,
or a comment on the blog. Lastly, if you have missed previous chapters
all you have to do is find them over to the right and catch yourself up.
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