My Run in with the Law

I guess the emo post was good catharsis because I felt better immediately and had the courage to ask a few more people for interviews. One of them was a very neat guy: my age but with a plethera of stories and life experiences. We ended up talking on the back of his V-8 pick up (so very southern) outside a McDonald's until it was too late for me to drive to a new town. He advised me to places to sleep, warning "Oh by the way, the law here has nothin' to do 'round here, so ya might wake up with a tap at yer window." I nodded and smiled but thought, yeah right, I've done this lots of times with no problems.

Sure enough, at 7:30 in the morning, there were two knocks at my back window. I screamed and practically jumped through the roof which in turn startled the police officer into stepping back. Apparently, the site of a dead looking girl in the Baptist church parking lot scared the secretary as she came in to work for the day. After explaining and running my license, everything was cool and they went on their way. And what do you say to the middle aged lady who calls the cops on you? "Hi, I'm traveling across the U.S. doing a survey..." She begrudgingly filled one out for me. I was able to get more surveys from old men at McDonald's, young people at the post office, and the two guys who worked at a car repair shop. "Peanut," the main guy who did my oil change, did the best change I've ever had done for my car right there in McRae, Georgia. Plus even though they threatened to charge a Yankee extra, it was still cheaper than any place in WA.

Feeling much better that I did a good job, I set on my way to my aunt's place in North Carolina. I spent this morning cleaning out a chicken coop and swimming with my little cuz. Next week I'll head back west to Tennessee and then to Ohio then back to Tennessee again to experience some real Appalachian culture and hang out with the people of the town thanks to some wonderful missionaries willing to host me even though they have never met me.