Mondo Bungle

July 13

A knock on the door woke me up early. "Are you up?" Someone called from behind. I wasn't, but I'd better get there. Got dressed quick, just put on the pants I'd taken off last night (I really only had two pairs and didn't want to dig for the other one), and kept on the clean shirt I put on last night after the shower, my first time changing it, and pretty much my last. Can't stress enough how much I screwed up with the packing. Left the room with all my stuff packed up and ready for travel.

"You want a bowl of cereal? It's pretty much all we have, some fruit over here." I was offered.

"Uh, no I'm fine. I'll have one of these bananas though." I declined the cereal. Unpeeled a banana for breakfast and got a glass of water.

"Suit yourself." Husband sits at the table eating a bowl, wife gathers herself and anything else for the day. She had herself a doctor's appointment this morning. I downed my water, tossed the peel, and now stood next to my bags as the couple prepared.

"Ready?" The man said as he slapped my shoulder. I looked at my stuff for a moment.

"Yeah." We all left the house into the cool morning air. The trunk was opened for me to put my bags. So we left this area. It was a community in itself, can't recall the name at the moment, but we passed a high school, and several long neighborhoods. "You can drop me off at the library in town." I said. I took note that it was open today while there yesterday. We drove to the hospital first as it was nearest.

"All right," wife said to me as she was leaving, "Be careful, be safe, have fun. See you." I waved as she got out and made her way to the building. The man drove off right away, I stayed in the back seat while the passenger was vacant. It was silent until we made it to the library. We both got out now and went to the trunk. I grabbed the bags and set them down.

"Here you are." He said, extending his hand for a farewell shake. "Whatever you're looking for, better find it and get back home. Make some realistic goals, settle down, and it will be easier." He said with a slight smile, half joking half serious.

"I'll think about it." I said while gripping his hand in mine, still limp. "Thanks for, everything, take it easy." He got back in the car and drove back the way we came. I stretched out my arm for a still wave as he drove away.

So, I went up to the library doors. It opened at nine, I imagine it was barely eight now. Guess I'll wait. First I walked to a store I'd seen a few blocks away. Bought a hot and ready breakfast bowl as I was hungry now. I wasn't at all earlier, even then, I don't really like eating so quickly after waking up. This plus a drink was about five dollars, I had a bunch. I walked back to the library and sat outside on a bench and ate. The walk probably killed twenty minutes. Other patrons began gathering around waiting for it to open. A scruffy man came and sat next to me. "Where are you headed?" He asked, assuming I was traveling with my bags.

"Not sure. As far as I can go." He nodded once, simply. He told me where there were shelters around here but I didn't pay much attention. I looked at my breakfast, mostly gone, and I was full. "Do you want the rest of this? There's like a few bites left."

"Sure, what the hell." He said. I handed it to him along with the included plastic spork. I got up and picked up my things, the library was getting ready to unlock the doors.

I was here for maybe two hours, wrote another entry for this journal, wasted the time I was allowed with a one day computer guest pass. When I was done, I bid farewell to anyone I was talking to online and set out again. Walked yet again to the place I'd been dropped off. It was about noon. I felt behind, having been here as long as I was. I don't know why. Like I said, I don't have a schedule, destination. I just wanted to keep going. I felt uncomfortable, anywhere I was. No matter where, I've always had a similar feeling. I never wanted to be anywhere, always wanted to be somewhere else.

I had full bottles of water and still an okay amount of food with me but I stopped at a supermarket and bought some carrots. Felt like I hadn't (and wouldn't) eaten many vegetables. Can't hurt right?

I stood now on the side of the highway heading east, near the beginning of town. I took about my notebook and scrawled "SLC" in sharpie on a page, for a general idea of where I was going. I was here for a while, in the baking sun. Cars drove by, sporting Utah license plates, passing me by whether they had room or not. I waited for some time, an hour I would guess, when a sedan stopped to the side a ways past me. I looked back and saw a figure wave me over, so I shuffled to the car with my things.

A man got out of the driver's seat and opened the trunk. "You're going to Salt Lake City?"

"Yeah."

"Well join us!" He said enthusiastically. "We're on our way there now." This was fantastic, I thought. The other day getting a four hour plus ride to Elko, and now here all the way to Salt Lake. What luck. The man told the backseat passengers to make room for me after I set my things in the trunk, keeping a water bottle and the notebook I was using as a sign. Two girls roughly my age at a glance made room for me on the far left. The man introduced himself and everyone else. A nice family, bilingual to some degree. Wife (I assume) in the passenger seat, speaking in Spanish, or accented English. The man was fluent in both, and did most of the talking. One of the girls back here was as well, one wasn't. We headed off now.

"We're on our way to a concert in Salt Lake City tonight." The man explained.

...

It was a mostly silent ride, a long ride through the flat desert. Satellite radio played at a low volume.

After some time, we made our way into Utah. The girls in back and woman up front had been sleeping most of the way, but began to act more lively in the latter portion of the drive. We drove through the salt flats at a high speed, as the road was completely straight for miles. I observed the flats, quite an odd feature. Sparse dunes reflected on the ground. The endless white sea created this mirage effect, like we were driving on water. "Look, Lauren." The man said, pointing out to the wastes. Confused, I looked. He pointed more things out to a Lauren. The girl beside me replied.

"Is your name Loren too?" I asked her.

"Yeah." she said and chuckled. "Oh, we've got two Loren's in the car."

"We probably spell it different." I said. The girl on the far right began to be much more lively as well. The family conversed and laughed with each other as we continued into this state, new to me. The man played some Rush songs over the radio, to my enjoyment. "2112" entirely, was nice. I'd later learn this was the concert they were attending, although the girls would stay behind in a hotel room.

Many hours had passed before we entered the town of Salt Lake City. The way we came, I barely saw the Lake, but could still make a small portion of it out. We drove into the city limits. Under an overpass we passed a homeless man flying a sign, and we would stop soon after at a burger king. "Is this fine? I know you don't really have anywhere to go but we're on our way to our hotel now."

"This is fine." I said. "I'll figure it out." I smiled. We all got out and stretched our stiff muscles. I grabbed my things from the track to leave.

"We don't have much money," the man said.

"Oh you don't have to give me anything." I said.

"Come on now." He said, waving off my gesture. He dug around his pockets and in the center console for anything. "Let's see, three dollars and some change." He handed me. The woman now did the same, offering me a five. "Here, we have a lot of food we could spare." The man offered.

"I think I've reached maximum capacity." I said. "I have some food still too."

"Nonsense." He laughed. "Here, take something." He handed me two bottles of warm soda, a coke and a Dr. Pepper, and a can of Pringles.

"Well alright." I said, managing to stuff it away.

"Be safe youngster! Find your life!" He said in farewell as they drove away. The girls in the back waved.

Well, this is a pretty major checkpoint, I thought to myself. A large city. Let's see what I can do, it could go either way. I walked back to where I saw that homeless man. "Hey, do you want these?" I offered the chips and one of the sodas. Really had no room and didn't want to carry them in hand.

"Really?" He said in surprise.

"Yeah I'm fine giving them up."

"Hey thanks a lot man." He said. "Where are you coming from?"

"Elko."

"That's a far one. Got a lot of stuff there huh? Really livin it up. You might want to think about ditching it. Been homeless for twenty years and left everything behind. My life is right here." He motioned to a backpack.

"Yeah I know. It's a lot. Do you know where a library is?" I asked.

"Yeah.." He continued to give me directions to a train station and what to do from there. "You can't miss it, takes up a whole block. It's legal to fly signs here man. I made a lot just right here, going to another spot now. I've got a black habit, it's not a big one, but it is what it is."

"Yeah, hey thanks for the directions. Sorry the soda's warm."

"Hey, at least it's wet. Watch out around here with all that junk. There's creeps who'll jump on it first chance they get, take it all. Show no sign of anything of value." I walked in the direction of the station and while nodding.

"Thanks, see ya later." He said it was about four blocks down this street. I walked for five or so, turned around some, some more, couldn't find anything. I did find a snowcone shack that I was interested in. I walked slowly past while reading the menu, circled back to it after deliberation. Just two dollars for a large, I couldn't resist. Up to the counter I met a young lady.

"Thanks for stopping." She said.

"Can't go wrong with those prices." I ordered a blackberry.

"Are you traveling far? Where are you going, what are you doing here?" She asked, preparing the cone.

"Who knows." I said. "Just walking around."

"Oh. I hope you enjoy it here while you stay."

"Me too." She handed me a nice looking drink, I thanked her and paid. Before leaving, I inquired about the station.

"Oh the train? Yeah it's right on this side of the street three or four blocks down." Thanked her again and continued. The old man gave me some bunk directions. Right way, wrong distance. I was lost there for a second. Am I not lost anyway?

[this day will conclude next post]

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