Just some funny things that happened, or were said, over the 5 months...
(First, some of Stoat's Quotes. Some are self-explanatory. Some can't be explained.)
We were sitting in Miner's Diner
someplace in Vermont. Stoat asked the woman how far it was to the nearest
store. She said " 'bout a half a mile."
The Stoat Quote: "Hmmmm, five tenths."
SQ: "I have a book with nothing but words in it."
SQ: "I have to start reading signs." (This said after he turned north at Maine Junction and followed the white blazes of the Long Trail for over a mile.)
The caretaker at a campsite in Vermont
was trying to chat with Stoat as he walked past. Stoat was in what he describes
as "The Zone". This just means that he isn't paying too much attention
to things in general.
"Where'd you stay last night?"
she asked.
"Ummm, I don't know. Menora" he
said blankly.
"Menora? I've never heard of that"
she said.
"I really don't know where it was"
he confessed.
"Oh, where ya goin' tonight?" she
said with an irritating amount of energy. "Ummm, I don't know."
Stoat was once asked "Do you speak English?"
Stoat was trying to stop smoking on this hike. On his fifth day he was talking to a dayhiker. They talked for several minutes and said good-bye and headed on their ways. The man turned and yelled back "Do you want a cigarette?" He didn't know if Stoat smoked or not. He just asked out of the blue, and after they'd already separated.
I was put up by a very nice couple in NC. She was telling me where the shower was and where I was going to sleep. "Do you have shampoo?" she said. Before I had time to say anything, she looked at me like "Dumb question, huh?" I had a wonderful time there. Thank you George and Joyce.
As I was hiking into Newfound Gap, on Christmas Day, I started passing the hordes of dayhikers that are typically found between Newfound Gap and Charlie's Bunion. I had my full pack, full beard and the general hiker look that 1,900 miles will put on you. A woman looks at me and says "Did you make it all the way to the top?" I assume she meant to Charlie's Bunion. I won't tell you what I answered.
Ke Kehaawe, Pokey and I went to the Whistle Stop Diner near Clarendon Gorge, in VT. As we were sitting there, eating cheeseburgers, the two waitresses were not 3 feet away from us, having this conversation (near verbatim):
Waitress #1: So, what'd they give
you for the pain?
#2: I don't know, but they knew
when I woke up.
#1: I had my tubes tied after my
second. I wasn't going through that again.
#2: My mom asked what they were
going to give me. When they told her, she asked if it would hurt the baby.
They said "She's pregnant?" Like they couldn't tell I was 8 and a half
months pregnant.
Pass the ketchup...
The Post Office in North Woodstock had mail for me. It was addressed to my Trailname, not my real name. Here is the conversation I had with the woman, (again, verbatim or close):
Me: I have mail here with my Trailname
on it. Can I get it?
Her: I need to see some ID.
Me: But the name's not the same.
Her: That's okay, the picture will
be.
Pokey and I kinda ran out of food
at the Allentown shelter. When we got to the Eckville shelter, we decided
to hitch to a town and pick up some essentials. We got a ride with some
very nice folks that took us all the way to a town called Stone Mountain,
PA. This town was a long way from the Trail, and wasn't much of a town.
The general store, which was also the Post Office, still had things on
the shelf from the '50s (literally). I asked the woman if she took credit
cards. "No. No credit cards" she said very quietly. "Do you take traveler's
cheques?" Stoat asked. "Traveler's cheques? What are they?" she asked.
The guy who gave us a ride cashed a couple of traveler's cheques so we
could buy stuff like jelly that was dated 14 months earlier. 'Twas better'n
bein' hungry. The couple took us back to the Eckville shelter, which is
right on the road. We decided to spend the night at Eckville shelter, ordered
pizza and met Machu Picchu and Huayna. A good day, indeed.
(I hope to add more to this as I am reminded of stuff. As I am reminded
of stuff, I will add more. The more stuff I am reminded of, the more I
will add. Adding stuff that I am reminded will make there be more.)
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