LONG DAY

6:00 a.m. this morning, Baton Rouge, LA; I was on I-12, eastbound at 40 degrees, then 15 hours & 50 minutes, 908 miles, 3 gas stops, 2 meals, 6 pees later & 7 degrees, arrived in Grandview, MO. My plan was to drive until it got dark but it went like this. The wind out of the north was testy, made driving difficult. On overpasses and open spaces it pushed us around and I was reminded of my old dune buggy. It had a really short wheel base; tar strips on the highway would bump us off course at 50 mph. So I had to pay attention and use both hands, all the time. Cars passing would create a Bernoulli effect between us and the Mazda wanted to move over, close and personal. Semi’s just the opposite; got a lift and a push toward the shoulder. It made driving with the cruise control almost impossible, more trouble than it was worth. 

I pulled off at the Macomb, MS exit; drove a mile into town looking for breakfast. They had all the fast food stops near the exit and the old town was bare bones. Nothing but empty store fronts, pay day loans and finger nail salons. All I could think of was the town’s reputation from the 60’s. Macomb, MS was Ku Klux Klan-Central. Couldn’t help but think about all the different ways they had for killing troublesome blacks and Yankee trouble makers. Hang ‘em, shoot ‘em, burn ‘em, drown ‘em, turn the dogs on ‘em, explode ‘em, run over ‘em, baseball bat ‘em and they would still be working at it if the world hadn’t come with cameras. All of Mississippi was subject to that deadly bigotry but Macomb was in an orbit of its own. Realized I didn't want to eat there; was glad to get back on the InterState. 

Another hour, through Jackson, MS I didn’t want to get off the path too much. I lost a lot of time in Macomb and didn’t want to do that again. There were a couple of places but I was past the exit before I saw them and decided not to go back. Another 15 minutes north, Canton, MS is where I usually get fuel. LOVE’S Truck Stop doesn’t have a kitchen, just an Arby’s fast food and I wasn’t buying. It was starting to look like lunch before I could find eggs and bacon. Then I saw the black and yellow sign; Waffle House. I hadn’t been in one of those in over 20 years. My kids and their friends would eat there cheap, even with the smell of hot grease and full ash trays on every table. I was already off the road so I stopped. No ash trays and the grease wasn’t as bad as I remember. I got cheese in my scramble, 3 strips of bacon were just right and hash browns, not bad. My kids used to cover a glass of water with a piece of paper and turn it upside down quickly, on the table top, then pull the paper out; left it for the waitress, no way to upright it without a big spill and clean up. 

The higher the sun rose, the stronger the wind and I started thinking about stopping early, sleep at Motel 6 in West Memphis and hope for calm winds tomorrow. Traffic was snarled and ugly there so I kept on, keeping on. I had two water bottles and the sun was starting to angle down, behind my left shoulder. It was after 3:00 and I decided to stop in Cape Girardeau, MO. The Cracker Barrel restaurant there is easy to spot with plenty of time to make the exit. I stopped there once, several years ago. The host asked me “Smoking or Non Smoking?” I asked if she was kidding and she didn’t even blink. “You mean they still let people smoke in restaurants here?” Her boss looked over from behind the cash register. The girl said I could sit in the no smoking section. I told her, “You know, a no smoking section in a restaurant is like a no peeing section in a swimming pool.” Her boss came over and asked if there was a problem and I told her no. I don’t remember where I ate but I hadn’t stopped there since. But they took away the ash trays in Canton, MS, maybe the world would catch up to the Cape. Looking at the menu, I realized there was nothing on it that I wanted. When the young guy came to take my order I asked him for directions to the nearest Chinese place. Turns out, it was just across the highway; The Great Wall Buffet. I was liking this a lot better. Hot & Sour Soup, ginger green beans, fried zucchini, stuffed crab and fried shrimp. The young lady who seated me spoke perfect english, in a soft, measured tone. But when another attendant said something to her, they slipped into Chinese, talked over each other, louder, higher pitched and much faster. I think they were naming children. When I was in the army, someone told me, “The way Chinese choose a name for their kids is to throw a tray of silverware down a staircase.”  But she was nice, brought me a second pot of hot tea without me asking. I drank of my water, leaving the glass right side up and left a nice tip.

It got dark on me south of St. Louis but the wind had died down and I made a deal with myself. If I saw a Motel 6 in time to stop, I would. But I didn’t, and I didn’t. So I’m unloaded in Grandview, plugged in and ready to jump in the shower. It takes a day for me to recoup after driving all day. I’ll do something useful but the nap will come before lunch and another one in the afternoon.