"Have you ever been to Los Almos, Ruthie?" he asked with a smile.
"Nope" I replied, "But that's kind of out of my way right now."
"Well, I can take you down to interstate 40 tomorrow if you want to stay at the house tonight. My wife and three boys live in a town right outside of Los Almos...about 7,000 feet up on the side of a mountain. Do you want to go?"
It turned-out to be a very interesting stay...
Monday, January 29, 2007
My January Journey V
When I got to the small city of Raton...just over the New Mexico border...I stood for hours and never got a ride. I couldn't figure out why.
After I wandered into a hospital with trembling hands and a very red face, I was told about the "gun-toting hitchhiker."
"Well" I said, when I was warmed-up enough to talk again, "I'm a fifty-one-year-old hitchhiker without so much as a jackknife."
Two people from the hospital drove me over to the local convenience store where I ate and drank coffee until the sun rose again.
During that time, five cops from various jurisdictions came in and got their nightly refill of java and donuts.
We discussed the bad hitchhiker and they all promised me that I would get a ride out in the morning.
Whatever that meant.
When the sun rose, I walked up to the interstate and got a ride from a preacher's kid. He dropped me off in a town called Las Vegas, New Mexico.
I waved goodbye to him and then noticed the big red and white sign that said: "Correctional area. Don't pick up hitchhikers."
I stopped and my shoulders slumped. I considered crying.
Then, right on cue, a man in a white pickup truck drove past me, stopped and then began to back up...
After I wandered into a hospital with trembling hands and a very red face, I was told about the "gun-toting hitchhiker."
"Well" I said, when I was warmed-up enough to talk again, "I'm a fifty-one-year-old hitchhiker without so much as a jackknife."
Two people from the hospital drove me over to the local convenience store where I ate and drank coffee until the sun rose again.
During that time, five cops from various jurisdictions came in and got their nightly refill of java and donuts.
We discussed the bad hitchhiker and they all promised me that I would get a ride out in the morning.
Whatever that meant.
When the sun rose, I walked up to the interstate and got a ride from a preacher's kid. He dropped me off in a town called Las Vegas, New Mexico.
I waved goodbye to him and then noticed the big red and white sign that said: "Correctional area. Don't pick up hitchhikers."
I stopped and my shoulders slumped. I considered crying.
Then, right on cue, a man in a white pickup truck drove past me, stopped and then began to back up...
My January Journey IV
The man in the National Guard was in uniform when he stopped his truck and picked me up.
He told me that he is nearing retirement and he had a decision to make: Either he took early retirement and remained Stateside or extended his hitch and risked being sent to the mess in the Middle East.
I told him to retire and stay put.
"You know" I said, "If it comes here then your family, friends and everyone here will need you. They will rely on your training and expertise. I think you should stay here. Stand tall and guard the home-front."
When he dropped me off, he handed me a wad of money and told me thank you.
And when another guy drove me to interstate 25, south of Denver [I had to dive south and get away from the polar path known as interstate 70] I counted the cash that the
National Guard guy gave me. That night I bought a motel room with his contribution...
He told me that he is nearing retirement and he had a decision to make: Either he took early retirement and remained Stateside or extended his hitch and risked being sent to the mess in the Middle East.
I told him to retire and stay put.
"You know" I said, "If it comes here then your family, friends and everyone here will need you. They will rely on your training and expertise. I think you should stay here. Stand tall and guard the home-front."
When he dropped me off, he handed me a wad of money and told me thank you.
And when another guy drove me to interstate 25, south of Denver [I had to dive south and get away from the polar path known as interstate 70] I counted the cash that the
National Guard guy gave me. That night I bought a motel room with his contribution...
My January Journey III
I was furious! And even though I walked down poorly-lit streets in an industrial area...I never got jumped. My glare of anger kept everyone away from me.
I finally got a few rides and ended-up shivering in the early morning cold outside of Columbia, Missouri.
A State cop finally stopped and took me to a truck-stop. Then a guy who is the spitting-image of the late tv-journalist Ed Bradley picked me up and took me to a travel center about forty-miles away.
He threw me ten-bucks which I used to get breakfast and a very hot cup of coffee!
Then two sisters from Maine drove me in to Columbia, Missouri.
We used their cell phone to track down a homeless shelter in that city. It is operated by the Salvation Army.
The man who answered the phone told me that I couldn't stay there because I didn't have a photo ID card.
The temperature was 18 above zero when he made that decision.
So the ladies from Maine took me to the store where I bought some eats with my other plastic card. Then they took me over to a motel and bought me a room with a plastic card of their own.
I went back on the road the next morning...and made it through [brrrr!!!] K-K-Kansas and then met a man from the National Guard in Colorado...
I finally got a few rides and ended-up shivering in the early morning cold outside of Columbia, Missouri.
A State cop finally stopped and took me to a truck-stop. Then a guy who is the spitting-image of the late tv-journalist Ed Bradley picked me up and took me to a travel center about forty-miles away.
He threw me ten-bucks which I used to get breakfast and a very hot cup of coffee!
Then two sisters from Maine drove me in to Columbia, Missouri.
We used their cell phone to track down a homeless shelter in that city. It is operated by the Salvation Army.
The man who answered the phone told me that I couldn't stay there because I didn't have a photo ID card.
The temperature was 18 above zero when he made that decision.
So the ladies from Maine took me to the store where I bought some eats with my other plastic card. Then they took me over to a motel and bought me a room with a plastic card of their own.
I went back on the road the next morning...and made it through [brrrr!!!] K-K-Kansas and then met a man from the National Guard in Colorado...
My January Journey II
I arrived in the early evening on an old, tin-canned dog to the ancient bus station in downtown St. Louis.
And, like a line of other people, I waited...and waited...and then got the news: Storms had closed the interstate after Kansas City. So...only those passengers with tickets to KC and no further could go on the next buses out in that direction.
I stood there with the ticket that had cost almost $200 in my hand and raised my voice.
I explained that I wanted to at least go to Kansas City. Also.
The Greyhound "staff" turned me down flat. And they refused to refund the rest of my unused ticket or help me in any way.
Sooo...I got mad. And I hitchhiked out of the city. Amazing but true.
And, like a line of other people, I waited...and waited...and then got the news: Storms had closed the interstate after Kansas City. So...only those passengers with tickets to KC and no further could go on the next buses out in that direction.
I stood there with the ticket that had cost almost $200 in my hand and raised my voice.
I explained that I wanted to at least go to Kansas City. Also.
The Greyhound "staff" turned me down flat. And they refused to refund the rest of my unused ticket or help me in any way.
Sooo...I got mad. And I hitchhiked out of the city. Amazing but true.
My January Journey
And just where have I been?!! On the road, Campers...on the long,cold,ice-covered path to point B.
I hitchhiked down to Barstow, California and then battled my way past the mindset of paranoid drivers [who I'm sure all watched that new movie"THE HITCHER"
and the frosty face-slapping storms in Texas, Oklahoma and Texas [before I finally turned north after reaching Greensboro, North Carolina and discovering that trucker pee-bottles look even worse when left frozen on interstate ramps].
While on my January Journey I met several interesting characters, including a Mennonite woman who [after I traveled with truckers from North Carolina to Washington DC to New Jersey and back to Virginia] talked me into getting back on a [Aackkk!] Greyhound bus. She helped me get a ticket from Marion, Virginia to Oregon.
Did it work out?
Oh HECK NO!!!
Sure, I got on the bus...but then came St. Louis...
I hitchhiked down to Barstow, California and then battled my way past the mindset of paranoid drivers [who I'm sure all watched that new movie"THE HITCHER"
and the frosty face-slapping storms in Texas, Oklahoma and Texas [before I finally turned north after reaching Greensboro, North Carolina and discovering that trucker pee-bottles look even worse when left frozen on interstate ramps].
While on my January Journey I met several interesting characters, including a Mennonite woman who [after I traveled with truckers from North Carolina to Washington DC to New Jersey and back to Virginia] talked me into getting back on a [Aackkk!] Greyhound bus. She helped me get a ticket from Marion, Virginia to Oregon.
Did it work out?
Oh HECK NO!!!
Sure, I got on the bus...but then came St. Louis...
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Gerald Ford: Words Not Ignored
After two days and a good rest, I am getting back on the bus again in a little while.
I really needed that break!
I watched a bit of Former President Gerald Ford's funeral [the big one] this morning on CNN.
And I shook my head as the present President George Bush escorted the former First Lady Betty Ford down the aisle in that huge cathedral.
But then I thought about the videos, those precious, priceless interviews that Mr. Ford saved for after he passed over.
His words rang in my mind. And I smiled.
Gerry didn't want the present war the way it is being fought today in the Middle East.
And George Bush could walk Gerry's wife all the way to Crawford, Texas. And he'd never make his war policy right.
He might have had the last walk with Betty Ford.
But former United States President and Commander-in-Chief Gerald R. Ford...got the last word in.
The right one: PEACE.
Amen.
I really needed that break!
I watched a bit of Former President Gerald Ford's funeral [the big one] this morning on CNN.
And I shook my head as the present President George Bush escorted the former First Lady Betty Ford down the aisle in that huge cathedral.
But then I thought about the videos, those precious, priceless interviews that Mr. Ford saved for after he passed over.
His words rang in my mind. And I smiled.
Gerry didn't want the present war the way it is being fought today in the Middle East.
And George Bush could walk Gerry's wife all the way to Crawford, Texas. And he'd never make his war policy right.
He might have had the last walk with Betty Ford.
But former United States President and Commander-in-Chief Gerald R. Ford...got the last word in.
The right one: PEACE.
Amen.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Busing Like A Bad Dog!
Soooo...was the problem with Greyhound just limited to me?
I decided to circulate around the bus station in Chicago after I returned from the library and find out.
One woman told me that she misplaced her ticket after falling asleep on the bus [When you are tired, it is easy to lose your MIND on that rolling sardine can!] and said that she had paid for her ticket with a credit card.
When she contacted Greyhound about getting a replacement ticket, the "customer service" person that she spoke to told her to "be more responsible" and then disconnected the call.
Another man bought his ticket and started his journey from Watertown, New York. His final destination is Corvallis, Oregon.
When the ticket agent in New York set-up the man's itinerary, she routed him through Denver!!!
Well, when the man got to Chicago he realized that he would be delayed [Ya think?!] and asked the Chicago Greyhound staff to re-route him.
When he spoke to the Chicago Greyhound "customer service" person, she told him [I kid you not!] that "only a stupid fool would have bought a ticket through Denver." THEN, she re-routed him, re-issued his ticket and CHARGED HIM TEN-DOLLARS FOR THAT "SERVICE"!!!
I wonder how many times, every day, incidents like those described above, take place either in Chicago, or somewhere within the Greyhound company network?
I would like to hear about ANY negative experiences that you, my Campers, have had with Greyhound.
That company needs a serious and total shakedown. And then Greyhound needs to shape up!
Every business in the United States has rules that it has to follow in order to legally operate as a business.
Greyhound is thumbing its nose at some of those rules.
I have a rule of my own: Whenever I am a customer, I expect quality service.
That rule starts the second that I put my first dollar down on the counter.
And I bet a whole bunch of dollars that every Camper that reads this will agree with me.
I decided to circulate around the bus station in Chicago after I returned from the library and find out.
One woman told me that she misplaced her ticket after falling asleep on the bus [When you are tired, it is easy to lose your MIND on that rolling sardine can!] and said that she had paid for her ticket with a credit card.
When she contacted Greyhound about getting a replacement ticket, the "customer service" person that she spoke to told her to "be more responsible" and then disconnected the call.
Another man bought his ticket and started his journey from Watertown, New York. His final destination is Corvallis, Oregon.
When the ticket agent in New York set-up the man's itinerary, she routed him through Denver!!!
Well, when the man got to Chicago he realized that he would be delayed [Ya think?!] and asked the Chicago Greyhound staff to re-route him.
When he spoke to the Chicago Greyhound "customer service" person, she told him [I kid you not!] that "only a stupid fool would have bought a ticket through Denver." THEN, she re-routed him, re-issued his ticket and CHARGED HIM TEN-DOLLARS FOR THAT "SERVICE"!!!
I wonder how many times, every day, incidents like those described above, take place either in Chicago, or somewhere within the Greyhound company network?
I would like to hear about ANY negative experiences that you, my Campers, have had with Greyhound.
That company needs a serious and total shakedown. And then Greyhound needs to shape up!
Every business in the United States has rules that it has to follow in order to legally operate as a business.
Greyhound is thumbing its nose at some of those rules.
I have a rule of my own: Whenever I am a customer, I expect quality service.
That rule starts the second that I put my first dollar down on the counter.
And I bet a whole bunch of dollars that every Camper that reads this will agree with me.
Ruthie On The Road, Update
Greetings and a wish for a Happy New Year from me to you, Campers!
I am somewhere in South Dakota today and will be here overnight [I rolled in here yesterday] and then I'll get back on the road tomorrow.
I FINALLY got out of Chicago and rolled through the night from the border of Illinois, to Wisconsin, Minnesota and finally South Dakota.
As I traveled, the weather got worse. Yesterday morning, I was exhausted and the snow and ice were blowing and building-up everywhere.
So...since it was New Year's Eve and I hadn't slept in a bed in a few days, I decided to get off the bus and spend a couple of days at this motel.
It's a nice place and because I am a bus customer [I had my ticket re-issued through Jefferson Lines] I got a nice discount on the cost of my motel room.
Yeah, baby, yeah!
They have a continental breakfast AND a coffee-maker [with java fixins], a hair-dryer, iron [with full-size board] and full cable in the room for under $45.00 [on a holiday!].
It sure is great to run across a business that treats customers fairly!
I am somewhere in South Dakota today and will be here overnight [I rolled in here yesterday] and then I'll get back on the road tomorrow.
I FINALLY got out of Chicago and rolled through the night from the border of Illinois, to Wisconsin, Minnesota and finally South Dakota.
As I traveled, the weather got worse. Yesterday morning, I was exhausted and the snow and ice were blowing and building-up everywhere.
So...since it was New Year's Eve and I hadn't slept in a bed in a few days, I decided to get off the bus and spend a couple of days at this motel.
It's a nice place and because I am a bus customer [I had my ticket re-issued through Jefferson Lines] I got a nice discount on the cost of my motel room.
Yeah, baby, yeah!
They have a continental breakfast AND a coffee-maker [with java fixins], a hair-dryer, iron [with full-size board] and full cable in the room for under $45.00 [on a holiday!].
It sure is great to run across a business that treats customers fairly!
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