Road Trip

On the road again.  I've been talking about traveling with new acquaintances lately.  When asked if I'd traveled a lot, initially I didn't think so until I started thinking about the places I've been.  This will  be my fourth trip to New Orleans, the third since Katrina.   And NO isn't exactly a preferred destination of mine.   Travel arouses my core being, drawing out ideas and experiences I normally wouldn't think about.  For instance:

As someone who grew up in corn country I'm obliged to give the crop report.  No evidence of any planting or farmers in the fields anywhere north of Vandalia.  There's lots of water in the fields.  Like an idle teenager, nowhere to go and nothin' to do.  Further on I came to Rend Lake.  The  banks were indiscernible, completely under water.  Driving down the interstate, Rend Lake College was on the west side of the road and a penitentiary on the other.  Options provided by our society, I suppose.  The juxtaposition struck me.  Housing options?  Do we have a clue about what makes people tick?

The day's destination was the Interstate BBQ in Memphis.  A fine meal was had.  It's national reputation is a little warn, but the atmosphere was genuine, not gussied up.  Fits like a glove in Memphis. In honor of the occasion, I ate a full slab.  That was a challenge.

I crossed the Mississippi in southernmost Illinois.  Piles of water everywhere with more due from upriver.   Why do we choose to live in the predictable path of nature's fury?   Can we call it a tragedy when the inevitable happens?   It still is tragic of course.

The land in Southern Missouri and Arkansas along the Mississippi is flat as a pancake for miles and miles.  It makes central Illinois look positively hilly.  Really.  If the levy breaks, or is broken on purpose to protect Cairo, there will be a huge lake there.  The mighty river reclaiming what man had taken.

I'm sure some think I'm a little touched for driving a thousand miles in two days.  There are airplanes, after all.  When I get in a car with a distant destination, it seems there's adventure in the air.  Things to see, people to meet and observe, customs to learn and fuel for appreciation of the human spirit.

Tomorrow the adventure of Tour du Rouge begins.  I've  arrived in Houston, met a few folks and registered.  A welcoming attitude as big as Texas.  Dinner tonight then on the road in the morning.  I met the ride director.  He promises headwinds.  Fair warning, I guess.