When the clutch pedal let loose and the car skid to a stop, a very similar experience came back to me.  My motorcycle did this exact same thing once.  The clutch was broken.  I made a few calls and the the thought was that the clutch cylinder went bad.  A mere $200 fix, not the worst thing to happen.  I was taught over the phone how to drive the car without the clutch, so Raymond and I were off to Wall, South Dakota (a mere five minutes down the road) to have the car checked quick by the local mechanic.

I kept the car in first gear the whole way there because I didn’t yet understand the bump shifting process.  The mechanic agreed with the diagnosis of a broken clutch cylinder and gave me a quick driving lesson for driving without a clutch. It was kind of fun driving the car using this method, and it was certainly an educational experience on how a transmission works.  The mechanic suggested we take the vehicle an hour down the road to Rapid City because they would be able to get it repaired much sooner.  I was out of contact with the vehicle’s owner because he was on a back country rafting trip for another day, so I made the executive decision to set up an appointment in the morning with Rapid City’s Volkswagon dealer.

We had hours to blow, so Raymond and I went in to Wall Drug and looked around.  Raymond is really into rocks and their energies and meanings when it comes to chakras and such, so he was immediately drawn to the rocks store.  I worked on handling a few things, but I had one thing I needed to do at Wall Drug – ride the giant jackalope.  That thing is awesome.  So when Raymond was done buying a few new rocks, we went in the back and I rode that mighty jackalope without a care in the world.

After my jackalope ride was over, it was time to head out to Rapid City.  I bump shifted the car onto the interstate and away we went.  I didn’t have any issues getting to town, and when we arrived I stopped in at a Chili’s to get some dinner.  At the time, Chili’s was doing this awesome promotion where you could get a free flatbread appetizer for free.  No other purchase necessary.  This flatbread was enough for two, so I treated Raymond to a free free dinner.  I didn’t have any luck with CouchSurfing requests, so we decided to sleep in the VW dealer’s parking lot in the car.

To pass the time before heading off to the dealer, we hung out in a parking lot for a few hours.  I asked Raymond to explain his rocks to me and he started digging around in his pack.  He pulled out various rocks and started telling me about them.  Apparently the rocks had special attributes that related to various chakras.  He had this one stone that was black that he told me was meant to be a grounding stone.  He needed to purify it so he lit some palo santo and started moving the burning wood around the stone.  Once he was done he asked me to hold it.  Once it was in my hand I noticed a strange tingle.  He asked me if I felt a strange tingling when he handed it to me, which I had.  He said, “Good, that means it’s been purified.”  Hmm, that was a little weird.  I thought maybe this stuff could have some truth to it.

He continued on and held various rocks to my head and other places on my body and kept asking me to tell him if I felt anything.  He tried several combinations of stones, but had no luck with me.  I guess my oneness with the chakras just wasn’t there.  We decided to call it quits and moved over to lighter subjects until it started to get late.  We bumped shifted the car over to the dealership parking lot and called it a night.

The next morning was met with heavy rain.  When I woke up I headed over to the dealership and checked in the car.  I explained to them how important it was to get it looked at ASAP and they were kind enough to move up my vehicle in priority.  Within an hour they had the car in the shop and diagnosed.  The clutch cylinder was fine.  The clutch was shot.  They showed me the estimated cost to fix it to be $2300.  I needed to talk to Scott.  Right as I was thinking “now what?” my phone rang.  It was Scott!  He happened to get home early from his trip and was calling to check in.  I explained everything and obviously he wasn’t happy, but this sort of thing happens (and I know I didn’t cause the clutch to go – the car did have 190,000 miles on it!) and he knew he could get the job done closer to $600, so he started calling around.

Ray was starting to get antsy.  This was the first time he had traveled in such a way and he still had the “go go go” mentality.  I told him he was welcome to leave at any time and that he didn’t need to feel obligated to stick with me.  Shortly after I got a call from Scott with the plan.  He had set up an appointment across town for Monday to get the clutch replaced.  It was currently Friday, so I had 3 days to pass in Rapid City.  I told Ray about it and he simply didn’t want to wait.  A short time later he had gathered his belongings and we said our goodbyes.  I asked him if he had any form of protection because to me, his appearance seemed like it might attract the wrong kind of person.  He did not.  I handed him one of extra pocket knives.  Not only could he use it if he were in danger, but hitchhiking and going to something like the Rainbow Gathering is a place everyone should be carrying a pocket knife – they are simply a useful tool.  He then dug through his bag and handed me an amethyst crystal.  It was a protection crystal.  It was sort of interesting how I exchanged a physical means of protection for his spiritual means of protection.  We hugged and he was off on his way in a shuttle to the nearby Wal-Mart.

I hung out at the dealership for a bit and then drove over to the other mechanic to drop off the car.  I hung out there for the afternoon and tried to figure out what I was going to do for the next few days.  I planned to sleep in the car throughout the weekend and go out during the day, but the town was pretty big and I was on the edge of town.  I talked with the staff at the mechanic’s and managed to acquire use of one of their bicycles for the weekend.

Around 4:00 I got a text from Raymond telling me that he didn’t hitchhike out and that he was staying down at the rescue mission in the middle of town for the night.  They offered food, lodging, showers, and laundry.  It seemed like the place I should go to. I hitched a ride with one of the mechanics after work and soon Raymond and I were back together eating a rather delicious casserole at the rescue mission.

The environment at the mission was a little awkward.   I certainly felt out of place with these people.  Here I was, a person who, if I wanted, could simply go home to my comfortable home and money, amongst people who had no home or couldn’t afford to feed themselves.  I felt like I was cheating them out of what they needed.  I made sure to be last in line for food and only get one serving.  They needed it more than I.  The world had been more than kind to me even when I gave up my home and money for this summer.

It was time to check in for the night, and as I was waiting in line to check in, I received a call.