Wednesday, July 22, 2015

July 22 I Promised Stories-Dylan



So I told you that my bicyce broke down 10 miles east of Tucumcari, pronounced two-come-cary, but I left out the part about Dylan. If that really was his name. He was the second person on this trip that I have felt uneasy to be around. After the bike was able enough to get back on the road, lower gears working and tires at minimum pressure, I saw a man pushing a cart down the interstate. 

Now bicycling on the highway is legal but there are postings that say you are not permitted to walk on them. My friend Malene however assures me that she did just that often when she walked from LA to Albuquerque. Dylan’s cart would be recognizable to construction workers as one used to move rubbish off a job site. It’s a light weight wheelbarrow built for easy dumping into a truck. 

He saw me coming from about a half mile away. He was off in the brush far off the road, away from his possessions. As I got close he was young and slender and had a smile and was really not that scary until he told me his story. Dylan is walking from Amarillo TX to Barstow CA. We talked long enough for him to tell me that he is eating whatever he could forage, cactus and lizards are what I remember. He said he spent three days in Tucumcari. I hope there aren’t many missing pets there. 


The other person that gave me concern was the homeless vet I met near San Bernardino CA. I helped him get his bicycle tire patched and bought him a soda. But shortly after I made myself help him I saw that he had a gun and other weapons. I have never been comfortable around weapons and this man was at times coherent and at others somewhat detached from a normal interpretation of reality. another reason to be opposed to war for sure.

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