Day One-Hundred-Sixty-One, Tennessee!

These motel stays do do me some good, but I never get much sleep. Even when I can prevent myself from watching Law & Order til four a.m. The man in the next room snored very loud. It kept me up most of the night. I was too self-conscious to sleep. I'm told I'm a snorer too.

I did get a shower but not a bath. I did not get my laundry done. And too much rest makes my muscles contract. They've grown accustomed to walking. So I was out the door at check-out time, if not a moment before. I was tempted to stay another night. But not very.

It was not such a very nice place. I was not very comfortable there. And I've got to conserve my motel funds for the next time it rains. It threatened too; I rather hoped it would. There were other motels nearby. They did not look so awfully much better but I was sure they were not any worse.

I took my time walking out of town, along the State Line Road. Where one lane is firmly in Kentucky, the other in Tennessee. I crossed back and forth a number of times, depending on where the sidewalk was best. And had breakfast on the south side. One p.m. and it still hadn't rained.

I've walked a lot of miles in the rain. I'm not a complete weakling. And in the cold, but this would be both. You're not going to get me out there. Not for Love or money. Well, maybe for Love. I've always been silly that way.

There were low grey clouds, overlapping. But it never did manage to rain. So off I went, southward into the great state of Tennessee. I rather cheated myself; I went in the back way. There was no Welcome To sign. So I cannot provide you with a photo. I'll try to get one when I leave the state. And I'll keep my eyes open for anything Tennesseey, so you won't have to take my word.

If I were inclined to lie I think this would read better. My adventures would have more depth. But all you get is the boring Truth: walking and blisters and food. I wake up, I walk, I complain a bit. It's the same thing every day. I thank you for your interest, but you may be cheating yourself. If anything really big happens to me I'll be too dead to type it up.

I did quite like Kentucky. Fulton was a bleak little town. In Tennessee my road broadened to five whole lanes with a shoulder on either side. Which was a welcome improvement. I guess it is pretty here. But it was so grey and cold I worry that I did not appreciate it.

There's a Baptist Church every two-hundred yards. They are church-buildin' fools. Each a denomination unto itself. I'm reminded of a good joke. I'll copy and paste it, I've just learned how, and it is too long for me to remember:

************

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!"

He said, "Nobody loves me."

I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"

He said, "A Christian."

I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?"

He said, "Protestant."

I said, "Me, too! Which denomination?"

He said, "Baptist."

I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Baptist."

I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."

I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."

I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."

I said, "Die, heretic scum!" And I pushed him over.

************

That ought to increase my word count, at any rate, and it is illustrative of a point. Namely, a lot of us are going straight to Hell. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

I walked all of seventeen miles. Not bad for a late lazy day. I don't know how much better I'll do tomorrow. I've got to get some laundry done. It is awful nice to have clean hair but I'm fast running out of socks.

Shortly before nightfall the clouds did part and I caught a glimpse of blue. Which means it is going to be cold tonight. I am wearing my teddy bear pants. But it should be a beautiful day tomorrow. I expect good things from Tennessee.


IT APPEARS that there is available in this part of the country a cable channel which shows Patrick Swayze's 1989 classic, Roadhouse, 24-hours a day. I'm not saying this is a bad thing.

I HAD MY TENT hanging up in my motel room to dry and air out a bit. Now it smells more like tomcat than ever.

I STOPPED in Milton, Tennessee for pie. My waitress called me "sugar." And "honey" and "sweetie" and possibly "darlin'." I like that. It makes me feel loved.

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