A 'Pair' To Draw To...
The first day of this outing had been absolutely near perfect, and the following two were pretty much the same. Those last two, however, were a bit milder, and on the third I actually had to pull over and shed a layer... even open the jacket vents for a while... Never hot, but way too warm with everything on and buttoned up! By late afternoon, however, those vents had to be mostly reclosed, but no additional layers ever had to be added back.
Ahhh, right where I'd wanted to be... Only a short ride to the rendezvous spot in Decatur, AL, the next day... and the feast that would be an integral part of the ceremony to be held at CF Penn's hamburger emporium. Man, it just doesn't get much better than that! Friends, fellowship, good burgers (to me anyway), and the return of my well-fitting socks... I've missed them more than I'd thought I would...
Wonder if Jim had them washed, etc... He's a Marine, ya know, and those guys don't consider any garment even modestly soiled unless it's been worn for at least a month... Oh, I did decide to have his socks washed... Actually, it was my daughter... She'd asked if I had anything needing such, so I just included Jim's with my other stuff... No, I'm not a Marine...
That third day was the longest of the three, but still not all that long. It only seemed so because we'd taken all back roads, missed a turn (what's new, huh), and gotten a somewhat later than appropriate start. When punching a clock is never in the planning mix, these things sometimes happen... Oh well...
What a great ride it was, though! Dang, I find it hard to believe at such times that I ever take any time off at all!!! Just endless riding through scenic, rural countryside along nice roads in great weather... towards CF Penn's palace of palatery joy! Yep, I'm definitely going to have to do lots more of this!!!
I wonder how Jim & Suzanne's ride is going...? Possible rain sprinkles for them, it appears... More likely on their return, though. I should be OK, coming from the south, but who knows... Like I've said before, I just don't trust those forecasters any more... Wonder if anybody else might show up? No one at all has said anything, so... I dunno... I reckon we'll see...
At the moment I'm contemplating our tire air pressure situation... I know we need a few pounds, and I do have the gizmo to attend that deficiency quite handily... On the other hand, that would mean riding the remainder of the day with a discharged power pack.
We'd most likely be just fine, but... there is a truck stop right next door to this motel, and I'm confident they will have an air pump station... It'll be pricey, of course, but... We'd still have an emergency charge available with our super duper universal gizmo! OK, time to load up and go see if anybody else will show...
I rode up in a light drizzle pretty much all the way. Just barely enough to keep the roadway moist with a little spray easily avoided by socially distancing our girl from other travelers. More of a nuisance than anything, really... OK, normally I'd have just stayed in for even something that minor, but we didn't have far to go, and others just might also arrive. I do have my reputation to protect, ya see...
I arrived early, but two 'camp' type chairs were on the expanded covered entryway, so I perched my fanny in one of those and commenced pondering. Big Wolf and CB, pulled up in their cage, and... Holy Cow! Somebody did make it after all! Jerry and Mural then joined me out of the by then almost unnoticeable precip. We had a very nice chat, even got to chat with some locals who also found humor in being such dedicated patrons.
picture to urlAt four minutes to the appointed hour (1pm), a decision had to be made... Either we would go inside and begin our meal, or this hapless dude would have to be restrained in irons... Mercifully, the call to enter had been made...
I ordered my usual three, but later had another one added to the tab. Jerry and Mural had their choices, but I didn't really notice what those were. Half an hour later my phone rings, and it was Slacker... "Where am I?", he pitifully inquired... Well, you ain't here but we are, came my reply... I proceeded to give him final directions, and he and Suzanne arrived in a few minutes.
We had a very nice visit talking about this and that, then we retired to the
'front porch' for further discussions... That's where it happened... I need to correct a few things said earlier... No, I dined only upon burgers, but I probably should have had a helping of crow, too. Anyway...
I said before that Jim is a Marine... then I made that statement about soiled clothes, etc. Well, I now would like to add that Marines are also prone to exceed expectations by going above and beyond and out of their way to take care of others. Jim is a good Marine!
I pulled out his recently washed pair of folded socks from my jacket and handed them to Jim... He then walked over to his Wing and retrieved a rectangular shaped object wrapped in gift paper... I peeled away the wrapping and there was a package containing six pairs of rather sturdy looking socks! I was blown away! Next time we travel together, I may claim to lose drawers or even jeans... We made the swap…


To most that may not seem like much, but to this infrequent recipient of thoughtful, generous gifts, it was very special and it came from a good friend, too... all the more special! Dang, no misty eyes or anything, but I was indeed moved...
I’ll take quality over quantity anytime, and today was an excellent example of why I might say such a thing.… Talk about a pair of pairs to draw to!!!

I returned to the same motel I’d stayed in the evening before, and I even got the same room again. I left those socks out so I could look at them now and then… and ponder about this day… and another six pairs now to consider... Ya know, for a loner, I sure do have lots of friends!
DDT