Page 88 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

the fog naturally thickened the higher up the span we went. There

was very little traffic so we made it without incident.

I got to travel with Tina Turner today. Lois’ hair had overnight

taken on the color and the wild abandon of Tina’s most famous
celebrity photo. Something in the hair washing water I suspect – a

real screamer first thing in the morning. I suppose it was cruel to
laugh but it was impossible to avoid it without bursting.

The Gray’s have met their match. We met a man tending to the

needs of a wayside park whose verbal skills will remain in our lore

forever. The people in these parts speak very quickly but this
fellow was a machine gun. Lois, Nelle, Kathy – take a second-row

seat.

We were the only wayfarers at the park and he was at the door to
the restrooms as we approached. I made the comment that caring

for the park in January must be challenging. He said there was
nothing to it as they close the park the first of December. Good

bladder control must be a requisite of winter travel in these parts.

He then went into a 10 -15 minute non-stop, animated,

interesting, and rapid-fire treatise on the vagaries of the weather
over the past few years (hotter and much less snow) and his many

employment pursuits (rancher, wayside park custodian, winter
road inspector, and local fire department volunteer).

I must admit that I missed some of the details as I became

fascinated more by the manner of his speech than the content. I
was mildly alarmed that he might never take another breath and

pass out in mid climatological dissertation.

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