ben, the guy taking initiative in composting in the twelve tribes community of chattanooga, gave me a ride out of the city on I75 to ooltewah. i'd made a sign with cardboard i got at the deli that said "Asheville, CAN PAY GAS". it didn't seem to help at all. after more than an hour trying to hitch there i finally got a ride with this cool, old guy named bruce. he told me some stories from his life as he drove out of his way to bring me to the next highway junction.
from there i rode several miles to get to a place where i could hitch from on the east side of cleveland, TN. i'd asked a couple guys for a ride who were in a pickup at a gas station where i stopped to get water. the black man who was driving asked me if i knew the lord's prayer. i did not remember it, so he recited it to refresh my memory. i expressed to him that this was the first time i'd heard that prayer that i really felt it in my heart. he told me if i said this prayer i would be sure to get a ride. i said in my mind as much as i could remember of it while i rode on.
i made my way to a good hitch spot. there i lubricated the bicycle chain after removing my bags from the bike in preparation for another attempt. very soon after finishing that task and sticking my thumb out, a woman pulled over in a van!
she told me right off how she used to hitch hike and now she picks up hitch hikers... but they are offensive and often ask her for money.
this woman was a midwife, and said that day she had a baby to deliver. then she was going on vacation to the florida keys with her relatives. she said she could use some time to relax, and decided to drive me all the way to murphy, where i could easily ride the rest of the way to brasstown. this was fifty miles farther than she was going, but i decided to accept. it seemed like it would be good for her and i was curious about this woman. we had some good conversation. i shared with her the purpose of my trip and some thoughts i'd been having on the topic of spirituality. we really saw eye to eye.
when we were getting near murphy she got a call informing her that the baby was on it's way. she would not be able to make it back in time. i felt terrible, and wondered why it was happening this way for her. she dropped me off there, several miles short of murphy. before i got out of the car she said, 'let me give you some money'. i was like, 'no, no, no...' as she pulled out a hundred dollar bill and put it in my hands. she insisted, and i felt i should accept it. she must be able to afford it. feeling dumbfounded, i got my stuff out of the van and grabbed one of the bracelets i made to give to her. she gave me a hug from the driver's seat and then was off to try to make it to the birth.
i didn't even get this generous woman's name. what a trip.
the ride to brasstown after i got to murphy was really nice. the forest and landscape of rolling hills was very pleasant and the weather just right for riding. i arrived at 6pm without mishap to the home of my hosts, who i'd been connected with through a friend who used to be a workstudy at the folks school. they put some leftovers on to heat up for me and showed me the bucket toilet before heading out to a movie.
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