062104

 

Las Cruces to Alamogordo to Tularosa to Ruidoso, NM

Monday June 21, 2004

     6:45am  I woke up at like 6:30 this morning. I crashed in the booth by the baseball field. It was so awesome how it just fell in my lap. Right next to the Greyhound station.

                   Oh yeah, last night around 4:20 the sprinklers came on. I just covered myself with my rain poncho and fell back asleep. I feel great!

     7:18am  I'm having a good wake-n-bake safety meeting with some of the other home-bums in Las Cruces. What were your names? Rodriguez and Flood. I smoked them out.

     7:34am  I just found out a ticket to Alamogordo is only $12.50. I have five dollars. Oh yeah, and to Tularosa it's only like three dollars more. Oh yeah, I told that lady in there about my mission. She wouldn't listen to me, but I got her email address. First she offered to give me her physical address. She told me, "You could send me some literature." I told her, "I don't do snail mail." Umm, I'm hungry. I'm going to go look for a taqueria.

                   I'm walking down Amador now. 

                   Turning left on Alameda.

     7:59am  I asked this guy who looked like a crossing guard where the nearest taqueria was. He told me, "There's a Denny's next to the bank tower." So that's where I am going.

     8:25am  I had a really good safety meeting here in the shade. In front of the Doña Ana County Manager's Complex, across the street from the Doña Ana County Courthouse. I see a Denny's over there. Let's see if I can score. I did my Tai-Chi, my stretches. I'm walking to Denny's now. Wish me luck.

     8:32am  Rudy, the manager at the Denny's is hooking me up with some gasoline for my stomach. I appreciate it, Rudy.

     8:37am  Man, I called that shit. Denny's always hooks me up. Denny's gets hella-props with me.

     8:48am  I had a badass breakfast. It was better than a Grand Slam. I have a full belly now. French toast with some eggs and bacon and sausage. It was cool.

     9:07am  I went back in the Denny's and used their restroom. I took my army pants off and brushed my teeth. I had a great breakfast. I'm going to walk around and talk to people now.

                   Hmm, I'm going to head to the highway. Let's see if I can get to Tularosa today.

     9:12am  I looked at my pocket atlas. I have to hit Hwy 70 to go to Alamogordo. I asked some people and they told me that Main Street turned into Highway 70. I'm walking down Main Street now.

     9:36am  I came over here behind Mastery and Life Center of Religious Science. I'm going to sit down in the shade and smoke a cigarette/rest my feet. These two ladies just got here and I'm curious as to what they do here. Religion and Science don't usually go together. I'll tell them my story. Maybe I can get some bus fare.

     9:38am  I knocked on the church door and this lady came out. I asked her if she could refill my water bottle and she said sure and invited me in. I asked them what they did there and gently squeezed my story in. The lady I talked to was really interested and we went around the corner and sat down to talk. She let me get through a lot of it, but after a while she wouldn't let me finish. Not because she wasn't interested, but because she had some obvious time-constraints. Her name was Mary, I think. She asked me, "Are you going to be in Las Cruces for a long time? There are people I would like you to meet." I told her probably not, that I had a lot of work to do. Then, at the last minute I remembered to ask for bus fare. I told Mary how I had five dollars and the ticket to Alamogordo was like $12.50. Without hesitation Mary pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it to me. Most excellent. Thank you, Mary. Her email is maryjean@zianet.com.

                   Dude, I just blew that lady's mind at the church I stopped in at. Actually, to put it in her words, I bent her mind. And guess what. She gave me ten dollars too! So I've got fifteen dollars. I'm going to go buy my ticket to Tularosa. Back to the Greyhound station.

                   Did I call that, or what?

     10:32am  I stopped and smoked a cigarette in the shade. I'm going back to the Greyhound station now.

                     I walked past something that said rescue mission on it. I went inside and asked them directions to the Greyhound and if they had anything I could munch on. Both requests were granted. Bobby hooked me up with some sandwiches. I appreciate it, brother.

                     I'm going to walk to the Greyhound station now.

     11:05am  I am here at the Greyhound station. I just weighed all of my gear. My whole quadforce. My two bags, my walking stick and my water bottle(9oz full). All this weighs a mere 29.1 pounds. My Adidas bag 7.8 lbs. My backpack with my boots attached weighs 17.1lbs. I have streamlined my possessions to a mere thirty pounds. The recommended weight of your stuff should be one third your body weight. Hmm, I weigh 160. What's that divided by three? A little bit over fifty pounds is what is recommended for my weight. Ha, I did twenty pounds better.

                     The more you know, the less you need.

     11:18am  I just bought my ticket to Alamogordo. It was fourteen and something in change. Man, I want a cigarette.

     11:39am  I just got out of the bathroom at this place across the street from the Greyhound. Save Mart, I think. I'm going to look for a cigarette. I bought a lighter for fifty four cents.

     11:42am  Betty hooked me up with a cigarette. She was in a car driving by that had stopped at the light. I gave her the universal cigarette-bum hand signal and she hooked me up. I appreciate it, Betty. A Marlboro Light. Thank you, Love. I wanted a cigarette.

     12:15am  I boarded the bus to Alamogordo.

                     I found out that it's only thirteen miles to Tularosa from Alamogordo. I am thinking about walking it.

     1:35pm  I am in Alamogordo now. Alamogordo.

     1:37pm  Mary hooked me up with a cigarette here at the Greyhound station. I appreciate it, Mary.

     2:00pm  Holy shit. I went up to all the people boarding the bus. I was the last in line. When I got to the driver I told him, "I don't suppose you could give me a courtesy ride to Tularosa? If not, that's cool. I should be able to walk thirteen miles before sunset." The driver, Mr. Island went inside the Greyhound station to check something. When he got back he told me, "Let's go." Sweet! The universe provides!

     2:03pm  I am on my way to Tularosa! I can't believe this! This is a first for me. I can't believe I actually scored a courtesy ride on a Greyhound bus! Hehe, my name ain't Victor for nothing.

                   And just like that, I am off.

                   On my way to save the world.

     2:18pm  Entering Tularosa Village Limits. Not City Limit. Village Limit.

                   That was so awesome! I scored a courtesy ride to Tularosa! I thought I was going to be walking. Mr. Island is awesome! First time ever for me to score like that on a Greyhound.

                   36 miles from Ruidoso, 104 miles to Roswell.

     2:29pm  Passing by Tesoros de la Tierra. Some gift shop. Oh, they sell fossils in there. Let me go ask them some questions about my fossil.

     2:30pm  I walked in and I asked about my fossil. It's called an Ammonite. Somebody told me once it was called a Nautilus. The guy chimed in with, "A Nautilus is modern. Ammonites are extinct." He told me it was forty one million years old. It's from the Permian Age.

                   Cool, it's my good luck charm.

                   Kickass, that guy knew exactly what it was! It's forty one million years old. It's from the Permian Period. The Midland/Odessa area is known as the Permian Basin.

     2:59pm  I walked over to that donut shop(6-20-03, 8:21pm)). CJ and his wife were there. He hooked me up with some more donuts. Oh yeah, and they were getting ready to close. It's perfect that I showed up there when I did. Any later I would've had to wait until tomorrow. Like I say, I just want to follow up and let all these people know I am still working on the mission. I asked CJ if there was a swimming hole nearby and he told me about this creek. He told me to go down Bookout road and some other directions. That's where I'm going to go.

                   Umm, I've been walking for a while and I don't see any water anywhere.

     3:42pm  I'm going to walk onto this property and ask these people if they know where the water is.

                   Umm, I'm going to sit under one of these big trees in their front yard and rest/smoke. I think I'll go to the Subway and get hooked up. That's where I scored last time.

                    I walked up to the owners of the property and they didn't know where there was any water close by. I just walked back to the main street the donut shop is on.

                    I walked up to this laundromat and played this pinball game for a long time.

     5:12pm  I had this presentation with these little kids in front of the laundromat.

     6:07pm  I went to this grocery store called Lowes. I ran into this homeless dude that was asking people for spare change. All of a sudden, this one guy comes out and goes up to the homeless guy and asks him where he needs to go. The bum tells him, "The Mescalero Reservation." I chime in with, "Hey, can I score a ride there too? I'm trying to get to Ruidoso." The guy looks at us, says, "Okay, that'll be five dollars each," and walks inside. The bum hadn't heard what he said and asked me. I told him that the dude wanted money. The bum got all pissed off and said, "I ain't paying for a ride. Later." He took off. Anyway, the guy comes back out and asks me where the bum is. I told him, "He said he didn't want to pay." The guy says, "I was just kidding about the money." I kind of though he was too, because I stuck around. Anyway, this guy is being cool enough to take me all the way to Ruidoso.

                   He was drinking a beer the whole time he was driving. I was frightened for a bit. He pulled off the road in some concealed place and said he had to take a leak. He even said, "I could shoot you and throw you in the river if I wanted to." I told him, "Hey, it's your karma." My tremor acted up a little, like it always does and he noticed it. He asks me, "Are you scared?" I told him, "No, that's my tremor acting up. I am fearless." He ends up driving me by St. Joseph's Church at the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and I took a couple 

pictures. He even pulls over to pick up some people walking on the side of the road and takes them to Peña, a housing community in the mountains. He ends up dropping me off at the Travel Center at the Apache Casino, where I had been last year(6-19-03, 1:45am). The casino is only a couple miles away from Ruidoso so I'm going to walk into town.

     7:20pm  Time for a quick update. I got dropped off at the Apache Casino. I've been here before. Last year that trucker dropped me off. I went in the same bathroom I went in last year. I remember eating my MuscleBlast 2000 in it last year. It was chocolate flavored. I remember making friends with the waitress and she hooked me up with drinks. I remember all of it. Oh yeah, that guy who gave me a ride here, his name is Ruben Peña. He told me not to use his name, but he kind of pissed me off, so I don't care. Damn alcoholic Apaches.

     7:30pm  I'm walking out of the casino, by the fuel pumps. This truck just drove by. I gave him the peace sign and this Apache stops the truck and asks me, "What does that mean?" I told him, "You don't know what that means? It means peace." He asked me, "Piece of what?" I told him, "Peace be with you." He goes, "Oh, Okay, well thank you," and drives off. Like he didn't know what the peace sign meant.

                   I'm still walking down this road. Man, no one waves back in this town. This part of New Mexico is really ignorant. The Apache tribe themselves seem to be ignorant alcoholics.

     8:02pm  Haha, I had given the peace sign to this truck earlier and he turns around and pulls up to me. The first thing he yells at me, "Is Jesus your savior?!" I told him I am my savior. I tried to tell him my stuff but he wouldn't have any of it. Even though he handed me a KFC dinner, proving me right. When I asked him for his name and tried to give him credit for his generosity he said it was Fred, but he also said, "It's from Jesus. Fred is nobody. Fred is dead. My life does not belong to me. I should've been dead. But, it's all because of Jesus that I have any kind of generosity in me. It's only because of Jesus that I have any kind of compassion. Man, it's only because of Jesus that I can even care or love someone. It's unbelievable. I never could care. I never could love. I never could show kindness." I told Fred, "I think you're selling yourself short. It was all you, Fred." He said, "No! Because I was bad. There was nobody badder than me. I didn't care about nobody!"

     8:05pm  Fred wants to give me a prophecy. What is it, Fred? Fred: "I prophesize to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the compassion and divinity of his presence that five days from now, on June 26, someone is going to say, "I love you." Alright, let's see if that happens.

                   These ignorant Apaches frustrate me. This dude turns around, stops and gives me some food. Then the first thing he says is, "Do you know Jesus?!" I told him I knew me. That I was saving myself." I tried my hardest to tell him about Fawn Journeyhawk. Right in the middle of me trying to tell him he yells, "God, I forsake you. Drive the crazy spirits from this man!" Ha, he thinks I'm crazy? When I got tired of him I just came out and asked him, "Have you always been this ignorant? Thanks for proving me right," and I walked off.

                    I'm walking in Ruidoso now. There's a big electric sign that says, "WELCOME TO RUIDOSO, FIRE RESTRIC IN PLACE, NO CHARCOAL GRILLS, GAS GRILLS Okay, NO FIREWORKS, NO OUTDOOR WATERING, NO OUTDOOR SMOKING, ENJOY YOUR STAY."

     9:26pm  I came over to this bench in front of a Mexican Restaurant. That ignorant guy Fred hooked me up with a big KFC platter. I am so hungry.

     9:30pm  Oh yeah, the FINA gas station where Bubba's(6-20-03, 5:14pm) mom used to work is closed down. I have Bubba's number on the nametag of the backpack. Maybe I'll give them a call.

                    I'm over here talking to Michael Woodall. He warned me that around here you have to be wary of bears. He told me that anywhere trash cans are outside, that anywhere on Hwy 70 up until Mescalero, there are bears. Then when you get out in the desert there are coyotes you need to be careful with. That they'll come after you.

     9:38pm  I had a really ignorant conversation with these kids at the Sonic.

Next day..