6/14/2015
The bright sun powered its way through my eyelids. The powerful rays hit my skin and commanded me to get out of bed. My body ordered me to remain motionless. It was a struggle which my body lost. I got up, ate a couple of pastries, and set my body in motion.
When I stepped onto the country road, I began to sneeze. I knew I was in for a rough day. The temperatures had also roused the pollen and it was everywhere. I restrained myself from rubbing my eyes for a few miles but the itchiness got the best of me. The corn stalks were just beginning to sprout on the New York farmland. Suddenly a putrid scent violated my nose. When I reached the peak of a monstrous hill, I spotted the source of the aroma. I had correctly guessed familiar scent of cow manure. I spotted the cattle farm at the bottom of the hill. A couple miles past the farm Crystal awaited my arrival.
A nearby rest area provided us with a place to park for several hours because I was scheduled to be interviewed on Big Blend radio by my good friend Lisa Diane Smith. We figured we should play it safe and stick close to the area where I had a strong cell phone signal. We shared a cup of ice cream and watched the news while we waited for our call in time. We saw that two killers had escaped from a nearby prison and they had been on the loose for almost a week. I had glimpsed the story about the two convicts when we were in Vermont but the manhunt had grown larger since then. The supporting cast had grown as well. A husband and wife that worked in the prison had helped facilitate the escape of the two individuals.
The interview took place in the trailer. I lounged on my comfortable sofa and kicked up my feet while talking on the radio. When we wrapped the show, the sunshine had been covered by huge billowing clouds. Crystal and I thought it was a good idea to hit the road before any rain hit. Two miles into running, my a loud noise sounded. It was my cell phone. An alarm accompanied by an extreme tornado warning flashed. My fingers immediately hit the speed dial for Crystal but I didn’t get an answer. My only option was to run fast towards the black clouds that were rolling towards me. Luckily she wasn’t too far away. Moments after reaching the trailer flashes of lightning lit up the sky. The booming thunder soon followed which meant the storm was in close proximity. Another second later the downpour began.
We made our way to safety but we were still six miles shy of our destination. The mileage was the least of our worries though. Crystal looked at the ceiling while we took shelter and saw tiny beads of water forming. The low clearance from New Jersey had come back to bite us. I decided not to worry about the things I couldn’t control at the moment and Crystal decided to stay awake worrying.
The next day the dark clouds were gone but the humidity was sweltering. I began by making up the missed mileage from the day before. My feet were good at responding to deadlines. The times we have had to make it to a destination, the pain receptors in my body shut off while my legs shifted to auto-pilot.
I reached New Hartford/Utica in a short amount of time. We had plenty of sunlight to push on but, while we took a break in the parking lot of an elementary school, we received news that Rosemont Bed and Breakfast two miles away in Utica had agreed to host us for the evening. The news had brought new life into my tired body. I could hardly remember my last hot shower that wasn’t from a water bottle. I would shave my head clean and sleep deeply. We arrived at the Victorian style building and noticed it was the only property that had flowers and greenery. The colors gave the neighborhood life. The inside had cool photos and chinaware from a time passed. We had the pleasure of chatting with our hosts, Rita and Bob, for some time and found that we had many similar ideas and values. I couldn’t believe Crystal had found us this gem of a place.
Things continued to break our way when we stumbled into Palermo’s Pizzeria. Wouldn’t you know it was the second pizzeria we dined in on this trip that was owned by a Tony. Just like when we were about to enter Gettysburg this pizzeria treated us with generosity and kindness. Tony took care of us and made sure we had a large cheese pizza to dine on. We got to meet his sweet mother who had come to this country from Sicily many years ago. Nothing beat the Sicilian recipes for pizza on the east coast. We stayed in the place for quite some. It was the best meeting new friends on the road. We agreed that we would have to return to this place one day in the future.
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