I spent the night on this 1940's-era futon at Dee's house in Mankato, Kansas (65 miles from our previous stop). Dee calls it "the original." It was Ryan's turn to sleep in a bed, but he absolutely refused. He is aggressive in his generosity. He says he holding out for a king sized.Dee waited on us at a place called Critters, where the owner, Kathy, paid for our dinner. Dee's son is a cyclist, which partly explains her sympathy for us. But I mostly think it's just because she's nice. Her home is tastefully decorated in the paradise aesthetic. Palm trees, sea shells, bright colors, sun and sand. Nice. A little taste of where we're headed for. She has three cats and three dogs, most of them rescues, her most recent adoption became a mother of nine pups just six weeks ago.
Note: If any body cares, the maps to the right have been updated to accurately reflect our course to date, including all the stops along the way.
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Yesterday's dead bird post gave me a flashback of a personal avian encounter. I was cycling along a country road when a small-sized bird careened like a snooker ball off the windshield of an oncoming car. The bird then popped me square in the chops. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time.” Well, tepid sparrow must be on the express take-out menu.
Unfortunately, the affront took me by complete surprise. I was derailed and pitched into a ditch complete with thorny thicket. My new 6 panel cycling shorts were slashed in the seat with a dog-eared rip that exposed my derriere to the elements. Emergency repairs on the well-traveled road required daring insouciance and great humility. Squatting down with my shorts around my ankles as cars whizzed by, I surveyed the damage. I briefly flirted with the idea of using my trusty Zippo to cauterize the gash. Synthetic fabrics should melt and therefore fuse, right? Rather then risk instantaneous combustion (there’s oil in that Butt’r), I turned to my patch kit where with vulcanizing fluid and a mix of patches I was on the road in no time. Best to be “semper paratus.”
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