Saturday, January 13, 2007
Today I am once again spending my time at Jeff Busby Campground. At about 10AM I roll out of my cramped quarters, pull on a jacket and realize that I don’t need it. I don’t need it, I am so happy. I think about the little bit of money I have and decide to do some light riding later. Whooohoooo. I cruised up to the top of the mountain, well-it’s the second highest point in Mississippi. I simply can’t catch my breath.
All jokes aside, the view is absolutely awesome. I look around and breathe in the fresh and clean air. I enjoy the view, walk around for a bit and read for a bit before heading down the mountain to get some gas and splurge on a diet coke and a small bag of popcorn.
As I am sitting at the outside table, I see a couple of different sets of bikes and either make sure to do the biker wave thing or engage them in conversation. Most of the bikes that came by and pulled in were Yamahas or Hondas. There were a couple of Harleys but they didn’t pull in. I looked at sissy bars and checked out the way the different bikes looked with people on them.
They look different out in the real world than they do in a showroom.
I decide to ride to the town of Eupora. It has a McDonalds, some churches, a couple of gas stations, a Dollar General, a Piggly Wiggly and a SuperValu. I decide to go to the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some groceries, very carefully spending my almost eight dollars. I comparison shop and I think things through. If I stay a couple more days at Jeff Busby, I could have some fresh fruit and some bread, as it won’t get beaten up on a bike ride.
When I get to the checkout, I get an incredibly unpleasant surprise. My account that I have/had the monies in, says insufficient funds when I try the $7.17 debit. In total shock I tell her that they will have to be put back. She says, “We could try to put it through as a charge.” I look at her and politely go, “No thanks, but if there is a problem that I don’t realize, I really don’t want to make it worse.” Thinking of the bank charges that would quickly accrue. Where was her head?
I mean if something is so wrong that I don’t have that small amount in my account, I certainly don’t want to push the envelope when I am this far away from home.
It killed me though. To put back apples and yogurt was rough. Man, oh man. What to do? I will need food fairly quickly.
I take a deep breath and immediately stop driving around and head back to the campground. I call my daughter in shock. She immediately says, “Mom, What’s your account number? I’ll put some money in your account. My response was “You can’t do that until I find out what is wrong.” But it really feels good to share that with her, even though she can’t fix it.
Then reality sets in, Monday is Martin Luther King Day and my bank doesn’t open until Tuesday. It’s supposed to get cold.
I look at my options and decide to just hole up at Jeff Busby for a few days, I could do worse. The restrooms are heated; the campground is nice and patrolled fairly regularly. I feel safe here. Ok, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll get a few groceries later and make sure that I have enough money for gas to get to the next stop.
I visit for a bit and decide to get a campfire going, ate some ramen noodles and drank some tea. For protein, I had some sunflower butter. I manage to get my lighter to work once again and light the campfire using the same burn leaves in a continual blast furnace maneuver until the fire starts.
I fixed my lantern somewhat, (different hole, different mantle) read a bit and head off to bed.
Today I am once again spending my time at Jeff Busby Campground. At about 10AM I roll out of my cramped quarters, pull on a jacket and realize that I don’t need it. I don’t need it, I am so happy. I think about the little bit of money I have and decide to do some light riding later. Whooohoooo. I cruised up to the top of the mountain, well-it’s the second highest point in Mississippi. I simply can’t catch my breath.
All jokes aside, the view is absolutely awesome. I look around and breathe in the fresh and clean air. I enjoy the view, walk around for a bit and read for a bit before heading down the mountain to get some gas and splurge on a diet coke and a small bag of popcorn.
As I am sitting at the outside table, I see a couple of different sets of bikes and either make sure to do the biker wave thing or engage them in conversation. Most of the bikes that came by and pulled in were Yamahas or Hondas. There were a couple of Harleys but they didn’t pull in. I looked at sissy bars and checked out the way the different bikes looked with people on them.
They look different out in the real world than they do in a showroom.
I decide to ride to the town of Eupora. It has a McDonalds, some churches, a couple of gas stations, a Dollar General, a Piggly Wiggly and a SuperValu. I decide to go to the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some groceries, very carefully spending my almost eight dollars. I comparison shop and I think things through. If I stay a couple more days at Jeff Busby, I could have some fresh fruit and some bread, as it won’t get beaten up on a bike ride.
When I get to the checkout, I get an incredibly unpleasant surprise. My account that I have/had the monies in, says insufficient funds when I try the $7.17 debit. In total shock I tell her that they will have to be put back. She says, “We could try to put it through as a charge.” I look at her and politely go, “No thanks, but if there is a problem that I don’t realize, I really don’t want to make it worse.” Thinking of the bank charges that would quickly accrue. Where was her head?
I mean if something is so wrong that I don’t have that small amount in my account, I certainly don’t want to push the envelope when I am this far away from home.
It killed me though. To put back apples and yogurt was rough. Man, oh man. What to do? I will need food fairly quickly.
I take a deep breath and immediately stop driving around and head back to the campground. I call my daughter in shock. She immediately says, “Mom, What’s your account number? I’ll put some money in your account. My response was “You can’t do that until I find out what is wrong.” But it really feels good to share that with her, even though she can’t fix it.
Then reality sets in, Monday is Martin Luther King Day and my bank doesn’t open until Tuesday. It’s supposed to get cold.
I look at my options and decide to just hole up at Jeff Busby for a few days, I could do worse. The restrooms are heated; the campground is nice and patrolled fairly regularly. I feel safe here. Ok, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll get a few groceries later and make sure that I have enough money for gas to get to the next stop.
I visit for a bit and decide to get a campfire going, ate some ramen noodles and drank some tea. For protein, I had some sunflower butter. I manage to get my lighter to work once again and light the campfire using the same burn leaves in a continual blast furnace maneuver until the fire starts.
I fixed my lantern somewhat, (different hole, different mantle) read a bit and head off to bed.
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