Catheads & Bacon...

We pulled away from Jasper heading west... I had a vague idea of where we might wind up, but I really didn't care too much... so long as it was the result of something positive and not the reverse, that is! I'd just come to an intersection, and... either stay on the course I'd been on or turn onto a new one...

No rhyme or reason, just whatever struck my fancy at a given moment. When we’d done this last winter, I’d at first figured we were heading for south Texas. We ended up in southern California! Last summer, we’d wound up in Alaska…

Often, I’d realize a broad smile had crept across my face. I was breaking the rules again: coloring outside the lines, running with scissors, skipping class, or ducking out of a meeting. Things for which I'd have gotten into trouble for doing in my former life, but now those very things were so necessary for me to explore different thoughts, and more importantly, different ways of thinking about everything. More than merely new and unfamiliar actions; rather, a serious mental exercise was being pursued.

Civilized, communal living imposes so many rules upon us… limits on everything! Obviously, that is necessary, but it does chaff us a bit now and then when some bureaucrat or ‘legislator’ seeks to impose his/her will upon us in some way that makes no sense to us.

We bristle and complain, but in the end, we comply. Perhaps ‘no plan’ is my way of finding release, an outlet for a lifetime of playing by all the rules and expectations of normalcy…and, it is fun!!!

However, it is also far more difficult than I ever imagined it would be! A lifetime of conditioning is hard to overcome or casually toss aside. It has taken constant effort and constant reminding of the task and its purpose; and, now and then even a personal reprimand! Still, it started out as an experiment and ended up an addiction… There is no going back, either…

Many times I'll wind up a hundred miles or so from where I’d thought I would be come day’s end. Close enough, I figure! What’s the difference anyway, I ask myself? I’ll ride most of the day, then get a motel room some place… Which one or where are just incidental details… unimportant in the broader scheme of things.

I was on a spiritual journey, after all, not one of schedules, locations, tourist destinations, sites, or a rendezvous… I was searching for personal growth, anyway, and not engaged in some sort of resume building mission or seeking to rack up bragging rights…

The weather so far has been spectacular… well, except for the cold. I know, you folks from the 'other' side of the Mason/Dixon Line have little sympathy for us Dixie Dudes on that score; but, to this guy who lived for twelve years south of a town named ‘Frostproof’, well… it is a pretty big deal.

It is more than tolerable, even enjoyable, however, when one is properly prepared and garbed… I was both, so I was thoroughly enjoying not being hot! No frozen precip has been encountered, so I have no complaints at all… OK, if you count frost, there has been a wee bit of that.

I was riding along mid to late morning, with nothing in particular on my mind… I cruised into Marlin, TX, and easily negotiated the modestly rough railroad crossing so conveniently placed right in my path… No big deal, except that it had slowed me way down, and that had facilitated my looking a bit more closely at the town and its buildings…

There it was… my kind of place! Lucy’s Café a block south of main street, and there were several cars and pick-ups parked right outside! Plus, it was not even a usual mealtime! A sure sign of good food inside!!!

I wasn’t particularly hungry, but one doesn’t always find a place like this at just the right time. More often than I care for, when I wait until I'm actually hungry, I find myself eating at a fast food joint… but not this fine morning! No sir, Ol’ Lucy's staff was about to meet the bug killer!

I had to circle the block, because by the time I’d decided to go there, I’d gone a bit too far into the intersection to turn… I circled the block and came up on the side, finding a parking spot right in front of a side entrance. See, when things are 'right', stuff just falls into place and everything works out…

I took my time with the dismount and disrobing… No need to rush or make this into some sort of chore… A bit of foreplay, if you will… I sauntered inside, and had a look-see… Yep, enough folks in there to study, and the line where we were to order wasn’t long…As I stood there, I also saw the dreaded sign, breakfast daily until 10:30am… and it was 10:45! Oh well, something else, then…

I asked the gentleman behind the counter, who offered to take my order, if they still had any breakfast… He turned around and inquired of the cook, who told him they did! See there? Just like I said! I ordered biscuits ‘n’ gravy with a side of bacon… a large sweet tea, too…

My meal arrived faster than I’d expected… WOW! Those biscuits were huge! I’ve had ‘cathead’ biscuits before, but compared to these, they were mere kitten-heads! Homemade, naturally, but quite good… The gravy was also good, and the bacon… well, I’ve never had any that wasn’t good! Ummmm, except for those two strips I got in a ‘Bacon Bloody Mary’ that time back in Idaho… Anyway, this time it was good…

After dining, I stood outside to consider my next move… the older guy who’d waited on me inside came out with a broom and began sweeping… I stated he was obviously not Lucy, and he smiled and said “No, she's my daughter.” We began to chat and a most pleasant few minutes passed… Soon it was time to go AOS/KSU… What a great way to get in touch with America, and one's self, this type of ride is!

DDT