100207

rest area to Decatur City to Osceola, IA

Tuesday October 2, 2007

     7:50am  I just woke up. I crashed out by this lake at this awesome rest area. I'll take pictures.  

                  
                   I just took some pictures of the rest area. It's a really nice one. Right now I just went to the bathroom. I left all my stuff where I camped next to the lake.  

     9:07am  I packed up all my stuff and I'm ready to go. I left no trace. I even picked up other trash that was around here on the other side of the fence. I cleaned up pretty good.

     9:13am  I took pictures of these two information plaques. One is The Mormon Trail 

and the other one is Utopian Experiments in Southern Iowa.  

     9:53am  I just found out that the next gas station is only five miles away. I'm going to take off walking from this beautiful rest area.

     9:01am  Shit, I've been reading my chronometer all this time. I forgot to reset it when I woke up this morning. I'm walking North.

     9:07.25am  Mile marker 7. I'm going to set my chronometer.

                         I was loving those mile markers yesterday. They were awesome. Counting down .2, .4, .6, .8.

                         17.22 for the first mile. Kind of shabby. I'm going to take a shot of Riovida and keep going.

     9:27.37am  I'm taking off. I'm going to set my chronometer.

     9:44am  16.12 for that last mile. I'm going to reset my stopwatch and keep going.

     10:00am  Next mile was 16.46. I'm at mile marker 10. I need to subtract five seconds because I paused to pick some chips off the ground. They're damn good. I'm going to put them in my bag now. Some Cheesefix stuff. Cheetos, Doritos, Rold Gold and Sunchips. Hell yeah. The bag was just sitting on the ground. It was wide open, but I checked and it was still good. Wasn't stale or anything. No bugs.  Maybe somebody just dropped them out of the car recently.

     10:19am  16.12 again for the next mile. I'm going to keep going. Non-stop.

     10:32am  Coming up on the sign that says Exit 12, Leon and Mount Ayr one mile. There's a hospital. Damnit, my tennis ball just came off. At the rest area I sat down and carefully cut holes in the sides of the worn tennis ball, so I could still use it. Because I don't have enough tennis ball to last me five miles. It just came off right now. I don't want to stop and switch out another one. I have two other ones left. I'm going to walk this last mile without my walking stick. I'll just hold it with both arms.

     10:36am  16.99 on the last mile. Decatur City Kellerton Exit 12. It's probably like half a mile to the exit.  

     11:53am  I walked all the way to the Shell station here in Decatur City. I asked Karen permission if I could ask for rides and she said no. Not on the property. But, she's calling some ministerial services thing about getting me a ride or a bus ticket!

                     Man, I got here right in the nick of time. It just started pouring! Hopefully I can get a ride to Des Moines from that ministerial thing. I should've told Karen to make sure to tell them I am a missionary. I am.

                     Jackie, the manager here at the Shell station in Decatur City, she offered me a chair so I could sit down inside.

     12:56am  That was cool of her. I had a great walk to the Shell station here in Decatur City. Karen, this real pretty cashier, at first I asked her, "Hey, can I ask for rides?" She said, 'No, you can't do that on property." She called some ministerial office and they're going to come like in an hour and take me to Osceola where I can catch a bus to Des Moines! Hell yeah.
                     Then this dude who might've been Amish, he looked Amish. A lot of people in this part of the US have a similar look, with broad chins and puffy long beard. Not to mention this guy's name was Yoder, too. He just walked up and volunteered to buy me lunch! While we ate in the restaurant connected to the Shell I tried to tell him my story. He was real anti-marijuana. He's never tried it in his life. Anyway, I'm in the bathroom taking a shit right now. I had a yummy burger and fries. Thank you, Yoder. Welcome to Decatur City, Victor. I'm even getting help out of here, perfect. Thank you, Love. Thank you, Love.

     2:09pm  Officer Arnold 

 

is being nice enough to give me a ride to Osceola.

 

I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     2:27pm  I just got dropped off in Osceola. The bus doesn't come until ten forty five, fuckin' a. I have to find me something to do until then. Maybe I can take a nap somewhere, I don't know. Oh yeah, I told that cop my story, hell yeah! I'm going to walk around this tiny town and find some kids to talk to.

                    Oh yeah, when I was waiting at the Shell I ganked some batteries. Five thirty nine value. Fuck it, my mission is important. Money is evil. They can just write it off. Even though everybody in Decatur City was so nice to me and everything, like beautiful Karen and Jackie. Umm, but it's kind of important. It's for a good cause. I took the batteries.

     2:45pm  I walked to the Pizza Hut in Osceola and I'm taking a shit in the bathroom. I have to figure out what I'm going to do until eleven, sheesh.

     2:54pm  I just took a picture of Osceola.

 

It's a person's name. This big Indian totem here. Dedicated September 1993. "They cannot capture me except under a white flag. They cannot hold me except in chains."

     2:59pm  I walked by this Ridge Road. There's like a neighborhood here and shit. Hopefully I can find someone to tell my story to. Get smoked out. Yeah fucking right. This is Iowa.

                    Went down McPherson Street. Turning right on McLane. I see a Casey's gas station down there. I'm going to try and find somebody to tell my story to.

     3:22pm  Chris hooked me up with a cigarette in Osceola. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit. Thanks a lot.

                    Be sure to type up the chapter starting on page 106:
     

"What happens to people who live in the hands of the gods?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what happens to people who live in the hands of the gods that does not happen to people who build their lives on the knowledge of good and evil?"
"Well, let's see," I said. "I don't suppose this is what you're getting at, but this is what comes to mind. People who live in the hands of the gods don't make themselves rulers of the world and force everyone to live the way they live, and people who know good and evil do."
"You've turned the question round back to front," said Ishmael. "I asked what happens to people who live in the hands of the gods that doesn't happen to those who know good and evil, and you told me just the opposite: what doesn't happen to people who live in the hands of the gods that does happen to those who know good and evil."
"You mean you're looking for something positive that happens to people who live in the hands of the gods."
"That's right."
"Well, they do tend to let the people around them live the way they want to live."
"You're telling me something they do, not something that happens to them. I'm trying to focus your attention on the effects of this life-style."
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I just don't know what you're getting at."
"You do, but you're not used to thinking about it in these terms."
"Okay."
"You remember the question we started out to answer when you arrived this afternoon: How did man become man? We're still after the answer to that question."
I groaned, fully and frankly.
"Why do you groan?" Ishmael asked.
"Because questions of that generality intimidate me. How did man become man? I don't know. He just did it. He did it the way birds became birds and the way that horses became horses."
"Exactly so."
"Don't do that to me," I told him.
"Evidently you don't understand what you just said."
"Probably not."
"I'll try to clarify it for you. Before you were Homo, you were what?”
"Australopithecus."
"Good. And how did Australopithecus become Homo?"
"By waiting."
"Please. You're here to think."
"Sorry."
"Did Australopithecus become Homo by saying, `We know good and evil as well as the gods, so there's no need for us to live in their hands the way rabbits and lizards do. From now on we will decide who lives and who dies on this planet, not the gods.'"
"No."
"Could they have become man by saying that?"
"No."
"Why not?”
"Because they would have ceased to be subject to the conditions under which evolution takes place."
"Exactly. Now you can answer the question: What happens to people-to creatures in general-who live in the hands of the gods?"
"Ah. Yes, I see. They evolve."
"And now you can answer the question I posed this morning: How did man become man?"
"Man became man by living in the hands of the gods."
"By living the way the Bushmen of Africa live."
"That's right."
"By living the way the Kreen-Akrore of Brazil live."
"Right again."
"Not the way Chicagoans live?"
"No."
"Or Londoners?"
"No."
"So now you know what happens to people who live in the hands of the gods."
"Yes. They evolve."
"Why do they evolve?"
"Because they're in a position to evolve. Because that's where evolution takes place. Pre-man evolved into early man because he was out there competing with all the rest. Pre-man evolved into early man because he didn't take himself out of the competition, because he was still in the place where natural selection is going on.
"You mean he was still a part of the general community of life."
"That's right."
"And that's why it all happened-why Australopithecus became Homo habilis and why Homo habilis became Homo erectus and why Homo erectus became Homo sapiens and why Homo sapiens became Homo sapiens sapiens."
"Yes."
"And then what happened?"
"And then the Takers said, `We've had enough of living in the hands of the gods. No more natural selection for us, thanks very much.'"
"And that was that."
"And that was that."
"You remember I said that to enact a story is to live so as to make it come true."
"Yes."
"According to the Taker story, creation came to an end with man."
"Yes. So?"
"How would you live so as to make that come true? How would you live so as to make creation come to an end with man?"
"Oof. I see what you mean. You would live the way the Takers live. We're definitely living in a way that's going to put an end to creation. If we go on, there will be no successor to man, no successor to chimpanzees, no successor to orangutans, no successor to gorillas-no successor to anything alive now. The whole thing is going to come to an end with us. In order to make their story come true, the Takers have to put an end to creation itself-and they're doing a damned good job of it."

     5:29pm  I never told you that I made my way to the other Casey's on McLane and Long Avenue. I've been sitting here reading my book, wishing I had another dollar for some Buglers.

     5:30pm  Larry hooked me up with a dollar so I can get some cigarettes, in front of the Casey's. I appreciate it, brother.

     7:58pm  Ryan Sunquist.

 

I'm at the Casey's here. Ryan listened to my story and gave me a cigarette in the end. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, man.

     8:07pm  I'm glad I ran into Ryan Sunquist. He told me to watch my back for the KKK in this area. He said they don't fuck around. No storytelling in Iowa, hehe. I'm getting to Minnesota as soon as I can. I still have like three hours for the bus.

                    I finished reading my Ishmael book for the second time now. It's such an awesome book. I quoted a lot of good parts. Man, everybody needs to read this book. Check out the quote on the front of the book: "From now on I will divide the books I have read into two categories - the ones I read before Ishmael and those read after." - Jim Britell, Whole Earth Review

                    See, the Greyhound stops at this hotel here in Osceola. Earlier I went in and asked the guy at the front desk, "Would it be highly inappropriate of me if I sat in that dark room right there and got a couple winks?" He said, "Nah, I don't care." I went in the room and cleared this table off and put my head down on the table. I said screw it and went to my pack and extracted my rainbow pillow and crashed out on the floor. I just magically woke up at eleven fifty. The bus was supposed to be here already, but it's late.

     12:52am  The bus finally came more than an hour late.

Next day..