061503

 

Midland, TX

Sunday June 15, 2003

     7:28am  I just woke up at Tim's. I crashed on his couch under the fan. I woke up, went to the storefront and smoked a cigarette while I read one of Tim's Playboys. I'm going to clean out my Adidas bag and organize a bit. Nobody else is awake. Man, this place is really cool, what he's done to it since I was here a month ago. It's almost a bonafide tattoo shop. Oh yeah, he sold his hearse.

     7:56am  Tim woke up and gave me a cup of coffee. I drank one of my liquid nutrition things and I'm all fueled up. I'm walking down Big Spring. I'm going to walk to that church, that mission that gave me the Greyhound Voucher that didn't work last time. I'm going to see if they will give me another one(hopefully that works). Wait, let me walk to the big Presbyterian church and ask for directions there(like I did last time).

     8:14am  I walked to the church to get the address of the mission. It turns out to be closed today(go figure). I'm going to see if I can talk to a pastor or deacon.

     8:17am  That mission that I went to last time is closed on Mondays, but I was told to return at 9am to talk to Brad Elder. I have forty five minutes to kill. Sweet, I can walk to the library and check my email.

     8:27am  The library is closed. That sucks. It's Sunday. I'm going to go find a park and smoke a cigarette.

                   Okay, I'm standing here at the Midland County courthouse. There's some benches right here so I'm going to smoke a cigarette. Let me read these plaques outside:

                   "The Midland Man: The oldest human remains in the new world. Found in a ranch nearby by pipeline welder Keith Glasscock. Fossilized skull, ribbon-hemmed bones had been exposed by weather conditions. Tests indicate these were bones of a woman that lived between 9,000 and 9,500 b.c. Nearby were bones of an extinct species of horse, camel, mammoth, peckery, wolf and sloth, tools and signs of ancient campfires. Doctors Fred Windorf, Alex D. Krieger. Archaelogists Claude C. Albert and Geologist Kitty Stewart are anthropologists that have made studies of this discovery. 1966 The Great Historical Survey Committee, TX.
                   The other one on the other side says: Midland County was created and organized in March, 1885. First known as the junction to many trails on the side of the last commerce raid into Texas. In 1881, the Texan Pacific Railroad is built. Equal distance between El Paso and Fort Worth. This became known as Midland. The first settler was a sheep man in 1882. Cattlemen came with Herefords in 1888. Water wells and windmills lured small farmers. Became headquarters for 1928 Permian Basin oil discovery. In 1945, it's first well came in. The Midland Man is the oldest skeletal remains in North America. 18,500 b.c. was found in 1954." 1967 is the date the plaque was written. Oh yeah, sorry if it's not exact. I had trouble understanding what I recorded.

                   Whoa, there's this big statue of the Statue of Liberty lady holding up the torch. It says, "With the faith and courage of their fore-fathers who made possible the freedom of these united states, The Boy Scouts of America dedicate this copy of the statue of liberty as a pledge of everlasting fidelity and loyalty. 40th anniversary of the crusade to strengthen the arm of liberty. 1950"

     8:52am  I'm back at the church and everything is closed. I smoked a cigarette at the courthouse. Now I'm going to patiently wait for Brad Elder.

     9:03am  I'm sitting down on this bench in the church while I wait for Brad Elder. I'm reading a quote on the wall. It says, "Serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Peter 4:10"

     9:13am  I spoke with Brad Elder. I told him a little condensed and censored version of my California story. I left out the marijuana part. He walked off, let's see what happens.

     9:20am  I talked to Mr. Elder and I was sitting down again. This guy walked in carrying two boxes of donuts and he offered me one. It was a good donut. How very generous of him.

     9:28am  I'm leaving The First Baptist Church. Brad Elder had told me I needed to talk to Pastor Steve Wilkins tomorrow. Patience is virtue. I can wait. I'm going to go back to Tim's and see if he'll let me crash there again. If not, the Salvation Army is just down the railroad tracks.

     9:49am  I walked to Tim's place. Him and Marion were outside. I asked Tim if it was cool if I crashed there again. I assured him I could always stay at the Salvation Army. Tim told me he wanted some time with Marion(and gave me a wink), so I told him not to worry about it. I borrowed his restroom and he made me a cigarette for the road. I'm going to go down to the Greyhound station and see if I can talk to some people.

     9:53am  I'm just walking down the street and I found this old box to a Jacob's Electronic thingy. That reminds me of when I was seventeen and had bought a 1978 Porsche 924. I had bought a Jacob's electric ignition for it. I bought new parts for that car for eight months. I didn't know shit about cars, so in the end I threw it in a shop and they got it running in one day. It's a whole other story.

     10:00am  I walked up to the Greyhound station. I'm going to talk to the guy at the counter. It's some Mexican dude. Maybe I can hit him up for a courtesy ride. Let's see what he says.

     10:14am  I'm talking to Ruben here at the Greyhound station. He's telling me I should really visit Newtown, ND. The Sioux Indians live there very minimally.

     10:40am  The coolest shit just happened. I was telling the dude at the Greyhound my story and he had to do something. I told him, "Okay, to be continued.." When he came back he asks me, "Hey man, you want to smoke?" I asked him what kind of smoke he was talking about. He told me only the good kind and asked me if there was anyone outside. If there was we would have to wait for them to leave, but there wasn't. He then reached into his pocket and hooked me up with a little bud. Sweet! I've got some traveling weed! Shit happens for a reason. I hadn't brought any with me, but I still had my one-hitter tucked under my water bottle(just in case). So, the little weed Ruben hooked me up with would go a long way. I'm going to go surprise Tim and smoke him out.

     10:48am  I'm all stoned, badass. I came to the right place. And, Ruben just gave me some weed so I'm thinking he might just give me a courtesy ride.

     11:22am  Ruben ended up not being able to hook me up with a bus ticket, so I have to wait until tomorrow and talk with Pastor Steve. Now that I have some weed, I'm going to go smoke Tim out. I'll make his day better. He was all stressing out.

                      Right now I'm walking through this alley behind the Greyhound station. I want to go walk in the neighborhoods and see who I can talk to. I'm on my way to save the world, hehe. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Ruben smoked a blunt with me at the Greyhound station.

     11:26am  I'm walking down Washington and D street. This little dog started following me and this kid ran up behind it. I asked him if I could pet his dog and he tells me her name is Lady. At first Lady was scared of me and my stick, but I let her smell me. Hehe, made friends with the dog.

     12:21pm  Tim had warned me not to drink the water in this town. It just hit me. On the way up here, I kept seeing all these waste disposal/sewage/sanitation places. I figured that's why there water is so dirty here. All the trash from the city is being dumped out here in the country. This place is getting shit on out here.

     1:19pm  Tim told me that he used to travel a lot on a motorcycle. He told me he could ride 2,500 miles in one day. What he would do is ride behind truckers. He'd chill in that resistance-free air pocket right behind the truck. Saves tons on gas mileage and as long as the trucker is speeding, so can Tim. And, if there is ever any trouble, he could just drift off and disappear.

     1:29am  I got bored so I told Tim I was going to walk to the Salvation Army and see if they'd give me some food. I told Tim I would most likely return and smoke him out some more, too. Umm, Tim asked me to omit him smoking weed from my journal. Sorry dude, nothing but the truth. If people want to use my writings as evidence for anything, then they are only supporting the fact that all of it is true.

     1:56pm  I walked over to the Greyhound station, I'm bored. I'm going to smoke the cigarette Tim made for me. Whoa, there's a lot of people back here, shitloads. I'm going to make some friends. Whoa, hot girls. Cool.

     2:12pm  I'm out here in front of the Greyhound station. I noticed a guy having to get off a bus because it was too full. He had to wait for the next one. He was talking on a cellphone. I asked him if he could spare any minutes. I was almost positive he would tell me yes since it was Sunday. He hooked me up and I called my trucker friend Thorne. I met Thorne last time I went to California(when I got my shit stolen in LA). Thorne delivers cars coast to coast all the time. He told me he was always driving through San Antonio and the next time I needed a ride just to call him up. I finally got a hold of him and he was in California already. Bummer. He told me it would be a good ten days or so until he went back to the East coast and came back. I told Thorne thanks anyway, that I would be in California in ten days anyway. I told Thorne I would keep him updated.

     2:17pm  I'm talking to Tyler, the guy who leant me his cellphone, about my plan.

     2:46pm  Dinner at the Salvation Army is at 5pm, so I've got some time to kill. Right now I'm walking around the neighborhood by the Greyhound station.

     2:47pm  Cool, I just found me a brand new pack of Now and Later chewy candies. I stepped on it, thinking it would be an empty wrapper. It wasn't empty. Now, should I take it and eat it? Could it be forbidden fruit? Hmm, every candy has its own individual wrapper. It should be alright to eat. Hmm, I think I shall partake.

     3:10pm  I'm passing the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, on Wall and I street.

                   Okay, I walked down Wall Street and I see a fast food-type Mexican restaurant called Taco Villa. Hmm, I'm hungry. I'm going to hit em up. Let's see if it works.

     3:25pm  Cruz at Taco Villa hooked me up. This young kid employee came outside and asked me where I was walking from. I told him my ideas and mission and he was impressed. Badass, I got a big fat taco.

     3:38pm  I'm leaving Taco Villa. While I was walking by, I gave them the peace sign and they yelled at me and called me over. The employees asked me, "Hey, you want a mug?" I told them I was ok with my water bottle. That I needed my hands free. Man, this is a cool part of town. Taco Villa is on Illinois and Andrews highway.

     3:44pm  I'm on the corner of Andrews highway and Michigan. There's this big chapel in the background. I'm going to walk there. It's Sunday. I'm sure there will be somebody there.

3:47pm It's the First Baptist Church. Dr. Gary Dyer, Pastor.

             Okay, I went inside that church and stood at the back. There was this choir practicing and I didn't want to interrupt. All these young white kids were singing. I stood there for like five minutes and nobody asked me what I wanted. I bet all those kids in the choir noticed me, my rainbow beanie and walking staff. When I decided to leave, I turned around and gave the kids the peace sign. A lot of them gave it back while they sang. Hehe, cool.

             I walked down Garfield. I'm turning left on Cutberth.

     4:11pm  I was walking down Cutberth and I noticed something to my left. Like a big cross. Cool, another church. Lemme see if there's anybody else there.

                   Okay, I'm at the Trinity Presbyterian church and it looks like its closed. How weird that all these churches are closed on a Sunday.

     4:21pm  I have to celebrate real quick, hehe. I just passed the Memorial Christian Church. There's no cars anywhere. I'm going to go bum a cigarette at this Exxon right here.

                   Got a cigarette from this lady at the Exxon. She said sure. Now, I'm going to smoke it. Hmm, downtown is that way. Hope I can make it in half an hour. Let's see.

     4:36pm  I sat down at some closed gas station. There's an air hose right here and people came up to use them. This big family in a car pulled up and the dude driving told me, "A little on the left-front." He wasn't being serious. I laughed and told him, "Only if you tip me." I was just kidding, but he got out and put air in his own tire. I told him I wanted to tell him what I was going to do. I told him I had found a way to fight the world's greatest problem. He got this cocky attitude and told me, "Man, I've been fighting that for years. Where have you been?" He just got in his car and left. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

     4:44pm  I'm walking down Andrews highway, turning on Michigan.

     5:00pm  Walking down Wall and turning on I street. This blue mustang just pulled by with two white guys in it. They yelled, "Fuck you!" at me and drove away. Idiots in their death-machines.

     5:04pm  I'm at the intersection of College Avenue and H(I believe).

                   I went down College and turning right on South G street.

     5:09pm  Okay, back at the Greyhound station. I got like a mile left to get to the Salvation Army.

     5:24pm  I'm at the Salvation Army. I'm going to eat. Whew.

     7:24pm  I ate at the Salvation Army and I walked over to Tim's. We hung out and smoked some cigarettes and some weed. Umm, I mean only I smoked weed. Yeah. That's the ticket, hehe.

     7:26pm  I just left Tim's. I'm going to walk to the Salvation Army and take a shower.

                   Okay, I'm over here by Lorraine and New York Avenue. I just stopped to talk to all these kids, these teenagers. I told them all my ideas and my California story. I just want them to know.

     8:42pm  Behind the Salvation Army, they have these couches that are waiting to get picked up by the trash man. I was just sitting on a couch smoking a cigarette and these kids rode up on bicycles. They said, "Hey, there's the man," and came and talked to me. It was the same kids that gave me directions to the Salvation Army last night. Their names are Isaiah and Javier. Everything's cool. I'm all stoned.

     9:01pm  Okay, I think I'm going to go to the Salvation Army. I'm having too much fun talking with these kids, hehe.

 

Next day..