Leaving Lake City and Jonathan’s Farm so soon was a somber decision, but I wanted to get to Arkansas to see my friend and needed to get moving.  Jonathan and Laurie were kind enough to drive me out to the interstate and dropped me off at a gas station down the road.  After we said our goodbyes, I headed to the back to search for a decently sized piece of cardboard to write “ATLANTA” on.  I ended up finding a real quality piece in white to really have my Sharpie pop on the background.  I started heading towards the interstate and had to use the bathroom.

I stopped at the next gas station down the road and noticed a few officers talking to a guy sitting out back who had a few bags next to him.  When I came out I asked him if he was traveling and he made a grin and said that he was.  I told him I was too and sat down with him to chat.  I don’t know what it was about this guy, but he was about 40 years old, wore dress pants with a tucked in button down plaid shirt, was a little rough looking with a five o’clock shadow, and the most piercing eyes.  He introduced himself as Bill Moore and we were soon telling each other about our recent travels.

Bill’s story was a sad one.  He was living in a small trailer in Oklahoma when the recent tornado came by and destroyed his home.  He took cover in the bathtub of the trailer with his dog and the tornado threw his trailer several hundred feet.  Upon landing his dog had been pierced through the chest by a pole and he had to suffocate his own dog because it was suffering and had no chance of survival.  As he told me this his eyes watered up and it was clear how much this experience had affected him.  He was also under rubble and was only able to get out after the rescue workers came by with their long poking poles and heard his calls for help.

After he was rescued he needed to relocate because there was no home here for him anymore.  He traveled to Tallahassee to see his son who was living with his ex-wife.  He stayed a few days enjoying the time he had with him before his ex-wife forced him to leave because she didn’t like him around.  He told me about how he had no money left and would be getting a big insurance check in the next week or so, so he hitchhiked out to Lake City the day before in preparation to head north towards Indiana where he had family he was going to stay with. He told me about the night before when he slept on a bench in front of the IHOP across the street and had the cops called on him.  He explained to them that they had no shelters for homeless and he had no choice but to sleep somewhere in public.  They eventually let him be and the next morning he went into the IHOP in hopes of getting a free meal.  By the time he left, he had a free meal and $30 in donations.

As we talked he asked me if I wanted a soda and I told him I had water and that it was fine.  He insisted on buying me a soda so I finally accepted the offer.  He returned with a beer for himself and a soda for me.  That’s when his story started to seem strange.  When he sat down again he started over with his story and recalled the tornado, suffocating his dog while in tears, and traveling to see his son.  Shortly after two other homeless fellows came over and he introduced me to them by name.  I was starting to wonder if his story was an act.  He seemed to know the names of the gas station attendants as well and a few people who walked by.

Act or not, Bill was a really interesting character and gave me all sorts of advice for my travels.  He seemed to know a thing or two about being on the road and kept telling me I’d be really successful in my journey.  He felt like I was the type of person someone would want to help, such as himself who wanted to buy me a soda when he didn’t even have much money.  As I was preparing to leave I thanked him for his time and told him I was off to hopefully make it to Atlanta today.  He looked straight into my soul with his piercing eyes and told me “Not hopefully, you will make it to Atlanta today.  The good Lord is looking out for you.”  Something felt a little weird inside me and then he shook my hand and I was on my way.

I got out to the on ramp and set up.  It was going to be a hot day so I lathered up on sunscreen and waited.  It took about an hour, but someone stopped and picked me up.  I noticed he had PA plates so I was excited to see where my ride was from.  In the car were two guys named Royce and Brian.  Royce was from the Allentown area originally, which is down the road from where I go to school.  He and his wife moved to Georgia four years ago on a whim and were planning to return to Pennsylvania in the next year or so.  Royce was not going to pick me up initially, but his friend Brian who used to be a truck driver told him to stop.  I was certainly glad Brian was in the car.  We talked for a little and then Royce told me to sit back and relax as we made our way an hour up I-75 to Valdosta, GA.  Royce turned up the radio and it was a Christian talk show.  We quietly listened to that until we reached Valdosta.  When we arrived they let me out at a gas station, I thanked them, and off they went.  I appreciated the ride because I was now in a much better location for getting another ride north.

For whatever reason, I saw a Wendy’s and decided to take a break in there for a little while.  When I went in the atmosphere seemed different from other fast food joints.  There was a woman working there who had this clearly noticeable positive energy surrounding her.  She came over to me and offered me a cup of water and eventually we started to talk.  She told me about how she treats all of her customer’s like family and that she finds it amazing how the most unexpected people end up in her store such as myself.  She asked me if God told me to stop in here to meet her, and I just sort of chuckled.  I didn’t know what to say.  I did recall almost walking into a KFC and deciding to turn around and go down to the Wendy’s instead for no real reason. She loved the idea of what I was doing and thanked me for coming in and talking with her.  She wished me the very best and told me I’d be in her prayers.  I was ready to continue and walked towards the interstate.

Sometimes as I’m walking towards the interstate I keep my sign out to the side just in case I get lucky and someone passes who is willing to pick up a hitchhiker before I set up shop on the on ramp.  I was not out of the Wendy’s for 30 seconds before I noticed a guy stop along the on ramp.  I was still a little ways away from the on ramp but I walked a bit faster in case this guy had actually stopped for me.  Sure enough, as I got close he waved me over.  I was astonished.  All he could see of me was a big blue rain cover over my pack, some legs, and a sign and he decided to stop and wait a few minutes walk up the road for me.

As I approached his truck he was pulling a trailer full of dirty looking barrels and the back of his truck was filled with an assortment of dirty tanks.  He looked like quite a character with a bandana around his neck, cowboy hat, and gruff looking facial hair and a mustache.  He told me he was heading to Atlanta and to jump in.  In his truck he had a CB radio and a laptop set up like police have in their patrol cars.  I noticed he had a handgun holstered to his hip as well.  I could tell this man was a stand up guy, so noticing the handgun actually put me at ease.  It’s my opinion that if a person has an appropriately holstered weapon on their person, they are likely much more trustworthy than someone who isn’t. He introduced himself as Gil and we were off.

I was quite curious about what the deal was with his setup and asked him about it.  He explained to me that he used to be a federal agent (case and point about the firearm) and that he likes to remain connected to the world.  He explained all the stuff he was hauling was for collecting vegetable oil as fuel through his truck.  He was just in Valdosta to pick up a large supply of oil.

Gil is a true confederate through and through.  He told me all kinds of stories about the Civil War and the atrocities that got covered up by the Yankees after they won the war.  He pulled up a website about the Civil War on his laptop and had me read about this and that about the war.  It was actually really interesting and I enjoyed hearing a southerner’s version of what happened.  It was interesting that he noted that most southerners weren’t mad because they lost the war, but because of how the north treated the south and trashed the south after the war.

Gil also told me about how he used to hitchhike while he was in the military told me this really funny story about this one time he got picked up.  He was hitchhiking back to base once in his uniform and came across a hippie.  The two of them ended up at a really bad location and a cop ended up stopping and telling them to jump in the vehicle.  They both went to get in the back of the car and the cop told Gil to sit up front.  Gil complied.  The officer then drove off knowing where Gil was trying to get to and started berating them on the stupidity of walking where they were and was just in general really hard on them.  As they arrived at the base the officer let Gil out and Gil went to open the door for the hippie and the officer said “Don’t you dare open that door!” Gil asked why and the officer said “I’m letting you out here, but this ones getting dropped off in jail tonight!”  The hippie’s face had a terrified expression and the officer waved to Gil and drove off.  That poor hippie!

Gil and I talked for the full three hour ride, and as it turned out, he lived right up the road from my friend who I’d be staying with in Atlanta that evening.  He dropped me off at a Waffle House and was on his way.  My friend showed up and we went off to see the town.

I guess Bill was right, I would make it to Atlanta today.