In November I drove a long way, from the Appalachians of central Pennsylvania to the proverbial heart of Texas. I am probably a little too proud to have made it from Canton, Ohio to Waco, Texas without, yes, WITHOUT a GPS!
Within my memory, I had never been further south than Maysville, KY, (with the exception of traveling the entire length of the Eastern Seabaord).
I gasped at the beauty of crossing the Mississippi at sunset, the fabled Big Muddy Laura Ingalls had told me about since my childhood. Over 100 years later, my crossing was slightly faster and quite a bit less dangerous than hers. I screamed in horror at the sight of my first "foreign" roadkill--an armadillo. A similar sound escaped me when I drove past a "sleeping" puppy looking creature, the coyote. Later I pretended to be a cowboy, chasing a train as our routes--its tracks and my highway held parallel for awhile, Johnny Cash in the background. I discovered my newest dislike: Texas driving, and my newest favourite food tie: a fierce battle between Texas toast and authentic Tex-Mex. I fought with the frustration of not knowing where the nearest Target was, or which grocery stores to go to. I was homeless for 2 weeks. I lived out of my car, and slept on people's floors and the occasional couch.
Now, almost 3 or 4 months later...
Some improvements I've made: cooking. I can proudly say I'm a better cook than I was when I left Pennsylvania. With only 2 other roommates, there is enough room in the fridge and pantry for more food, and more experimentation, with fabulous results most of the time!
Another improvement is stretching my people skills. My supply of energy reserved for working with and meeting new people is being expanded all the time.
....
Things I can't do: give someone a ride to the gas station to fill up a makeshift can of gas.
And the look of the overweight father's eyes when I told him how far away the closest gas station was terrible. His two young daughters were with him, and their car had ran out of gas beside my workplace. They slowly trudged off with my post-it note directions, and I didn't see them again.
