Computers: Always a Form of Income

I usually try to keep a low profile everywhere I go, but it's difficult in small towns, where everybody is curious about an unfamiliar face. And so, before I knew it, Bryan had me cornered in exactly the kind of redneck drama I hadn't wanted to be involved in. (Feel welcome to ask me the details in person.) So I bought Harley a $1 burger to assemble a posse to safely escort me out of town. They stopped at the city limits where the sidewalks ended, but I got on my bike and rode on. (Harley even called me in half an hour to check that I'd found County Road C.) Since most of these people had felonies on their records and couldn't leave the state of Ohio, my first target was obvious.


I then continued along small county roads westward, westward, westward. When they would end, I would jog alternately north and south and then take the next westward road I could find. The sun was killing me (it was right about summer solstice, so the sun was at the most scorching angle possible). It was humid and muggy. I ran out of water and rode dry for a while—which was beyond unpleasant—until I passed a church where they gave me water to fill my bottles.

While the constant westerly wind is annoying, this makes me glad I'm biking east to west. This way, civilization slowly, gently loosens its grip on me, allowing me to get used to new conditions gradually. In Chicago, I will try to obtain more containers for water that will be comfortable to carry. It will also soon be time for bear canisters and spray, water purification filters, and possibly a solar-powered phone charger.

By evening I was in Syracuse, IN, where I met Justin and Amanda. They gave me water and let me take a shower, which alone was enough to make me quite happy. They also fed me the best dinner I'd had in a while. Then I got a good night's sleep on a real bed, which was doubly nice given that Harley had woken me at 5 AM and had me listen to his music. I slept until almost noon.

When I woke up, I found that Justin had patiently waited for me. He then patiently waited as I did laundry and had breakfast, and then we went to harvest radishes and spinach.


Then we made lunch.


This morning, Justin found me work. A friend of theirs needed help with computers. Computers are a real nightmare for most people, and I'm glad I'm able to help at least with that. It's also some money for the road.

So I got into Justin's truck,


and, after some trouble due to the fact that the steering wheel was on the right and the stick shift was on the left, took off to do some work.