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                                                                                                 Ukiah to Willits to Arcata, CA

Monday May 28, 2007

     5:40am  I woke up about fifteen minutes ago underneath some tree by the onramp. I'm out here again. The cars are coming slower right now. I should go take a shit, but I'm going to stand out here and see if I can get a ride. I can hold it. There's no cars anywhere. Not even on the highway.

     6:17am  In no time Maryanne pulled over for me. She's giving me a ride to Calpella.

     6:43am  I never told you. I got a ride not that far away, I'm still in Ukiah. They didn't have any gas stations in Calpella, so she dropped me off not that far. State Street and Lake Mendocino drive. The Middle Eastern guy in the gas station didn't like me too much. He let me use the restroom though. I'm going to walk to the onramp.

                    I'm already on the onramp flying my big WPTPMJ sign. The cars aren't coming that fast, but it's alright. I'm passing time by spreading the word. I'll get a ride eventually. Hopefully all the way back to Arcata. Hopefully in the morning I'll have the money in the mail and they won't shut me down.

     8:00am  About five minutes ago this highway patrolman stopped, ran my ID and told me to get off the shoulder. There's a Chevron there, but I already asked permission to ask for rides and they told me no. I might just stand right in front of the place with my sign and ask for rides. Hell yeah.

     8:57am  I am still standing on the onramp right next to the No Pedestrians sign.

     10:28am  Finally, I got a ride. I walked back to the gas station and Brandon is hooking me up.

     10:37am  I just landed not that much further. On a different onramp. Exit 55B.

     11:02am  Wow, out of nowhere! Some guy saw me, slammed the brakes on and backed right up to me slamming the breaks on again! David is hooking me up with a ride to Willits. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     11:19am  I am in the town of Willits. I just got dropped off in the Ray's parking lot. The guy who dropped me off was crazy, he was cool.

                     In Willits this guy told me about some free meal and I was looking for it.

     12:44pm  Anita was nice enough to give me some money for breakfast. I appreciate it, Anita. Everybody gets credit.

     12:54pm  I was up in front of Burger King and this dude came up to me and asked me where the weed was at. I smoked him out and he brought me over to a better hitch spot out of town. What were your names? Frank Tino and his girl Shara Tino.

     12:59pm  The Tino's are giving me a destination in Laytonville. At the Chevron gas station make a left and go all the way down. Look for the grey building complex and ask for Danny. He said he'd give me some nuggets. That he would hook it up.

     1:03pm  I just got dropped off a little bit more North on 101. On the North side of Willits.

     1:14pm  I had like a dollar in change, so I went to the Patriot gas station nearby and bought me an apple fruit pie.

     3:36pm  Laytonville is 22 miles away. Eureka is 132. Crescent City 215.

     4:11pm  Tracy is being generous enough to pull over. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks. Did my sign have anything to do with you pulling over? He said it sure did. That he turned around and came back. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     4:50pm  The car just broke down. 83 miles away from Eureka.

     5:08pm  I had this great idea. I asked Tracy, "Just because your cellphone doesn't work right here, does that mean nobody else's would either?" He said, "No, some people have service here." I told him, "I'll get us a phone. Be right back." I went to the highway and threw a couple people the universal need-a-phone hand signal and like five seconds later this brother pulls over with a weak signal. We appreciate it, John, for helping us out. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

                    John: "Be sure to hit Black Rock City. Burning Man. When they get fully populated it's like the third or first largest city in Nevada. It'll peak at about forty thousand. There's no money in the city. You can gift, you can trade, that's it. The only places you spend money is, you can buy ice and that money goes to the local school. You can buy coffee, tea and that money is recycled. In other words it's self-sustained. To keep the camp up, the big center tent, that's how they get their supplies. They have an entertainment stage. Poetry, music, you name it. Anything from Asian monkey chanting to flute, electric violin. Just everything, but you can't spend money. Week of Labor Day." Anyway Tracy took off walking like six miles I think he said.

     5:27pm  Let me describe what's happened so far. This guy Tracy, he turned around to pick me up. That wasn't the first time somebody turned around after seeing my sign. He came and got me, but then we broke down a little bit less than eighty miles from Eureka. We haven't passed Garberville yet. Leggett, I think we're close to. At first he didn't know what to do with his car. I asked him, "Would a cellphone help?" I got us a phone quick. He called somebody and then Tracy took off walking, six miles I think he said.

                    There's no room going North, so I'm over here on the other side of the street. I have my sign facing Northbound traffic. Hopefully I'll get a ride this way. I don't know.

     5:36pm  I was in the most awkward hitching position. The road before the big parking lot Tracy had pulled into was all windy right before it, and I didn't have that much of a choice of where to stand. I walked down before the lot and stood on the side of the cliff wall thumbing cars, hoping they would pull over for me in the dirt lot just ahead. I set up my sign by the parking lot, on the other side of the street, so the WPTMJ was visible. I walked in front of it so people would see me first, thumbing them, then read the sign and hopefully pull over. In no time, in like five minutes after I started thumbing Heath Blair pulled over for me.

     5:39pm  I have to make an update. We picked Tracy up. He was walking. We passed him up and Heath thought he was some road worker because of his orange pants. I said, "No, I know that guy. He gave me the ride to that empty lot and his car broke down." So we turned around for him. Boy was Tracy glad.

     7:20pm  About fifteen minutes ago I got back to Arcata. I have to layer up. It's chilly up here.

                    That was so awesome how I scored a ride straight here. Presto-manifesto! I'll go to the Endeavor tomorrow. I'm going to go to the donut shop and spange up a donut.

     7:55pm  JC Bell hooked me up with a cigarette in front of Don's.

     8:34pm  I'm out here in front of Don's asking for spare change for a donut. Terry walked by. I hit him up for my story, but he said that he wasn't in the frame of mind to listen. I told him, "Well, that's what he website is for." He volunteered to get me two donuts! I appreciate it, brother. Thanks.

                    SISPAUL@suddenlink.com

     8:38pm  Let's see, I got plenty of gasoline for my stomach right now. I ate an apple cinnamon roll and a chocolate buttermilk. I'm going to go do some typing. I think they close late tonight. I took my last hit of weed. I'm going to get some typing done at the school. I've even got an extra donut for lunch. I have a cigarette behind my ear. I forgot what I was thinking. I smoked my last bowl. I'll be scraping resin from now on. Until I get hooked up with some more. Just watch it happen.

                    Oh yeah, that's what I was thinking. I don't care if my webpage gets shut down. Even if I get a big ass bill for letting it get cancelled, like two hundred dollars, I'll spange up the money and just put it back up. See, because if my webpage gets shut down, rumors will start flying when people try to go to my site and it doesn't work anymore. Then all I'll have to do is put it back up, and psyche! People will think the worst. That I got taken out. Then I'll just put it back up and made you look!

     8:47pm  I was walking in front of the college and all of a sudden, Kayla saw me and asked me if I was hungry. I told her, "I walk for a living. I can always eat." She hooked me up with all this Chinese food. Vegetarian stuff. Like I say, as long as I am not hungry anymore. If it's good for me, even better.

     8:49pm  Erin, somebody else hooked me up with some Chinese food, so I had some to share, Erin came up to me and offered me all these pastries. I appreciate it, Erin. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

                    Hell yeah, blessings galore!

     9:17pm  Dude, I hiked all the way to the library for nothing. I'm stupid. I'm all stoned. Umm, today is friggin' Memorial Day. No wonder the library isn't open today. At least I got a good hike out of it. I need to take a leak.

     10:30pm  I hiked all the way to my camp by 101 and Somoa. I'm going to crash out.       

Next day..