The Unexpected...
When 'planning' is not a priority, or more to the point virtually non-existent, we're constantly being blind-sided and confronted with surprises and unforeseen challenges. A bit startling to many, downright unnerving to others. All of us highly evolved, sophisticated humanoids do seem to instinctively prefer the seeming security of predictability and certainty!
The unknown is frightening to us and to be avoided if at all possible! Even to the point fabricated expectations that will never happen are preferable to those fearful unknowns. We want plausible, even only vaguely believable answers, not scary questions!!! In the beginning I was just like everybody else!
Once facing the constant unknown becomes 'normal', however, we soon discover most surprises are hugely enjoyable, and all but only a very few actually prove to be disappointments. Yes, a convincing argument could be made for 'efficiencies' to be gained through planning and some degree of certainty, but when those needs are not very important... well...
For this gypsy-by-choice, a mostly unscripted life has proven to be an amazing counter-intuitive style of living, but also one that has turned out to be enormously rewarding! Each new day is a 'blank canvas' upon which pleasant, unforeseen events will come to be displayed, and fond, unanticipated memories will be created for pleasurable reminiscences during infrequent times of inactivity.
After saying farewell to my good friend Punisher in South Dakota, our girl hauled her 'precious cargo' eastward across the remainder of South Dakota, then through Iowa and on to Illinois. At one of our stops for the evening, an urge was felt to contact another good friend and occasional traveling companion to see if he might be up for a little jaunt to Montgomery. Yep, I had yet another doctor's appointment in a week or so... No hurry, but lacking anything else calling us, I was more or less leisurely ambling in that general direction…
Jerry was quite receptive to the idea! Yeah, Big Wolf is always receptive to such notions, so the question is never 'would you like to go'; rather, it is 'can you get away?' This time he thought he could, so our girl's heading was tweaked a bit to take us to Rickman, TN... and to the lair of Big Wolf.
As we glided into Lafayette, TN, an hour or so before arrival in Rickman, we spotted the Pit Stop BBQ place. Better check that place out, I thought to myself, as it appeared we weren’t going to find any breakfast offerings along this route. Good outcome all the way around! Friendly folks, nice place, great smoked pig parts, and excellent coleslaw… delicious sweet-tea, too... a very worthwhile stop!
Upon arrival at the Wolf’s den, Jerry had the a/c in his garage/workshop humming and the temp nearing meat-hanging range. We immediately launched into the usual banter about previous coddiewomple experiences and thoughts about the wondrous discoveries awaiting us on the next... For his benefit, we even engaged in a wee bit of planning in terms of departure time and date, etc. And then...
In making his last-minute pre-flight clearance pleas to his boss, mostly just a formality it was thought to confirm his parole was still valid... we learned that headquarters had other plans after all... Any current or recovering husband already knows all too well how the hierarchy of plans, priorities, expectations, desires, and visions are arranged in any typical relationship, so... Legally we may control 50% of the assets theoretically giving us equal say, but, they control 100% of the sex, so that gives them ultimate leverage!
Jerry had to sheepishly bow out at the last minute of our grand ride 'plan' to the ‘Cradle of the Confederacy’ and beyond... Which illustrates another important point... Just because we diligently plan and thoughtfully sort out details in advance, those seemingly wise steps are no guarantee at all that's the way things will eventually work out! Often careful, detailed plans are little more than a temporary placebo.
The prospect of serious rain had once again entered the realm of 'likely events', so I was forced to take that into account and... ugh... plan accordingly myself. It did appear a 'window' was available if we were to depart very early in the morning and ride straight through on the slab to our next destination... We did...
It was quite serene and peaceful at four in the morning when our girl’s side stand was eagerly pushed upward, and her throttle enthusiastically twisted. That tranquility lasted all the way to the slab, but it soon afterward vanished in the frenetic early morning Nashville-bound traffic. I silently counted down the miles until we would make the turn southward onto the wonderful, but sometimes rather ‘lumpy’, bypass around the home of Country Music…
We stopped at the last Tennessee exit on I-65 near Ardmore, TN/AL, in the pre-dawn half-light for fuel and to take a much-needed break. A cup of Joe was definitely in order, so… I was enjoying that soothing elixir and admiring our girl when a curious thought crossed my mind… Something looked peculiar… out of sorts...
Heck, where was the T-Bag that was supposed to be hanging on the pillion backrest and resting upon the ‘whale-tail’ luggage rack? Had it been stolen? How could it have fallen off? Where might that have happened? Dang! The second travel bag we’d lost just this year alone!!! Something just wasn’t right here…
The eminent threat of rain was more than sufficient incentive to rule-out retracing our ride to try to find that AWOL bag apparently ‘lost’ somewhere in the darkness over the last nearly two-hundred miles. So, the mental calculations were begun of what was now also missing and what steps would be necessary to replace essentials… items like prescription meds, etc. Oh well, not all surprises, like I said above, are pleasant, but they do come with the deal…
We beat the rain to the motel in Montgomery, then set about making arrangements to shop for replacements of now identified missing items. Little more than an inconvenience really, so not a biggie at all, especially with the use of Sam's red ‘bug’ to get around… and nothing a therapy session at Jan’s Beach House Grill couldn’t make downright acceptable…
All was well, the two doctors' visits were a breeze, and then… whatever would come next was being looked forward to with much eagerness… No idea at the moment what that might be, of course, but… Such is the unplanned life of this free-wheeling wanderer… All I did know was that whatever unexpected surprises awaited us, they would most likely be awesome! That also proved to be the case, of course... I did make a mental note to redouble my cargo security checking steps, though!
DDT
A photo or two for those who find them necessary…
The incredible ‘Dusty Roads’… Mitch Ohemke.
