12/11/2014
Once again Crystal and I found ourselves spending the night in the parking lot of a shopping center. There we stumbled upon Gatti’s Italian Food. We entered the establishment with growling tummies. Fortunately, they were willing to help us quell that hunger. They gave us plates and bowls for the salad bar and buffet as well as two cups for drinks. I started with some fresh chilled fruit and vegetables. I felt the nutrition entering my body with each fresh crunchy bite. Of course I had to eat plenty of pizza to replenish all the energy I put into running. With our appetites silenced, we returned to the cold trailer. The lights of the parking lot dimmed as did my consciousness.
Crystal started day 102 with a call to Jennings Daily News. She gave them our story and they asked us to go to the newsroom for an interview. There I chatted with Aubrey Broussard about our journey and our goal. Like the other reporters and news staff I had previously encountered, she was able to give me the skinny on the places in the community that would benefit the most from our books. I made a note that we had to return to Jennings after the completion of our expedition.
I ran two miles and found myself on the east side of town. I passed a water tower that proudly proclaimed the Bulldogs were the state golf champs in 2002. A little farther down the 90 hwy east I discovered a miniature golf course. After another mile golfers were striking golf balls and riding around in their carts. Funny, I wouldn’t have expected golf to be so popular in those parts.
Most of the day my feet ran on grass. Being in the bayou, I also ran over yet another bridge. Seeing some of the French influenced architecture and country settings took me to another time. The towns of Louisiana have the unique feature of being called corporations and the counties are called parishes. These corporations were very reasonably spaced. There was never a dull stretch where I feared getting stranded. The proximity of the corporations separated the day into digestible pieces. The scenery constantly changed and before long I found myself in Crowly. A sign proclaimed it was the rice capital of the United States. It would explain all the rice fields I passed during the day.
For dinner we found a Chili’s restaurant. They were interested in what we were doing and graciously donated two dinners to us. We dined on spicy black bean burgers and had plenty of strawberry lemonade. It was a great way to wrap up the day.
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