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I bid adios to my brother-in-law, borrowed a Dr. Pepper from his fridge for later in the day and hit the road at 9:15. Before getting on the interstate, I stopped at Starbucks to trade an empty Starbucks coffee bag for a cup of fresh brewed. Add a slice of banana nut bread and you have the breakfast of champions! Total cost for breakfast - $2.08. Happy camper.
When I parked in front of the store, there was an older guy, obviously homeless, sitting on one of the outside chairs. Dirty, long stringy hair, bearded face, wearing two coats and a pair of gloves, he was busy waving his arms around and having an aggressive verbal argument with himself. As I got out of the truck and started walking toward the door, he stopped talking and waving his arms. As I passed him, with an upward nod of the head, he indicated hello like guys do with guys they don't know so I gave a responding nod. I expected him to ask for some spare change, but he didn't.
After I made it inside, I noticed he started back up with the arm movements and arguing and as I stood in line, I watched him through the window. He would behave normally whenever somebody was coming in or leaving the store, but as soon as they got past, he would start again with the odd behavior. He seemed to be desperately trying to wipe something off himself and throwing it down to the ground. Several times he jumped up and vigorously rubbed invisible stuff off his legs then slowly sat back down.
I guess the young man that had made my coffee (Jerry, according to his name tag) noticed me watching the poor fellow and when our eyes met, he said, "That's Phil. He comes here every Sunday morning. I've never seen him any other time. He never bothers anybody and always sits outside. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's a vet from one of the desert wars so I give him a cup of coffee and something to eat from the unsold food we were going to get rid of anyway."
After finishing my breakfast, I walked by the counter and told Jerry, "I'm a vet myself. Thanks for helping Phil."
As soon as I started to open the door to leave, Phil became still and quiet again. "Hey," I said to him, "you ok?" "I'm ok," he replied, "I just got these bugs on me. I get them off, but they keep jumping back on me." "OK," I said. "So do you need a couple of bucks to get some medicine or something?" "No man, I'm good. I got breakfast and smokes and I got stuff hidden. Money won't get these bugs off of me. I don't need nothing." "OK then. Take care."
He was the first homeless person I've ever encountered who didn't ask for money. In fact, he refused it when offered. I didn't know what to think about that. As I drove out of the parking lot heading south, Phil was once again standing up, wiping bugs off his legs.
(Please click here for the first post of this series.)
The trip down to my overnight watering hole (my brother-in-law's home in Dallas) yesterday was pretty darn boring & uneventful. But that's how it is when you travel via the interstate highways. BFT ran great, the sound system sounds great, and all of the toys in her worked great. The seats could use a little more padding and be a little less firm according to my butt, but they're not too bad and they look really good. Gas mileage was almost 21 MPG, which isn't bad for a truck with a 5L V-8 under the hood, but at $3.72 a gallon, that's a dollar bill flying out of the window every 5 1/2 miles. I prefer to look at it as me doing my part to stimulate the economy. I'm doing it for you guys. At least Michael isn't charging me anything to crash at his house. The Hampton Inn in Kerrville where I'll be bedding down the next 4 nights won't be so nice.
After a good steak at Logan's last night, we watched a movie on pay per view (he had a coupon to get a movie for free that was about to expire so we HAD to use it!), "Unstoppable," which provided some decent action, but had parts that stretched the limits of believability a bit too much; then a few rounds of boxing on HBO accompanied by a serving of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream (that's the heart healthy kind, right?). It's always fun to watch a couple of yo-yo's beat the crap out of each other. I would say it's a guy thing, but there were a good many women I saw in the audience getting in touch with their primitive side. We bid our goodnights around 11:00 PM, went to our respective rooms and dreamed of the good times I expect to have the next few days. Well, I did; I have no idea what he dreamed.
I'll get back on the road shortly. There's a Starbucks just down the way by the interstate so I'll stop there for a cup of go-juice and maybe a slice of banana nut bread and spend a couple more hours driving south on I-35. Then I get to start having fun! 2-lane roads await me and I'm looking forward to seeing what's around the next bend. I'll let ya know what I find.
You may be wondering about the title of this blog entry. It was 4 months ago today that I had a massive heart attack and died - twice. That sure as hell feel's strange to say. I am so fortunate that both times I flat-lined, several very competent medical personnel were right there with the proper equipment to bring me back among the living. Four different doctors have told me that I'm a friggin miracle - over 90% of people who have as severe of a coronary as I did get to leave the hospital in a box. As I write this, it's 8:00 in the morning, just about the exact same time I suffered what I now refer to as "The Event." I'm not only still above ground, but I'm probably healthier than I was when it happened. I have a lot to be thankful for and I'm very aware of that.
I'm not going to get all maudlin and Lord knows I'm not going to get preachy, but I've been asked by a number of folks if The Event changed my life. Dumb question, but very understandable. Of course dying changed my life! And what I learned is an old saying I wish everyone would take to heart - be happy while you're living for you're a long time dead.
And with that said, it's time for me to hit the road, crank up Willie Nelson and start singing along with him - On the road again...
(Please click here for the first post in this series.)
