Day 79 - Seagoville to Terrill

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I had a great place to camp last night. A couple hundred yds to my right was the police station, and to my left was a shopping center with lots of restaurants, a Wal-Mart, etc. I was snuggled back near a barrier of trees, so had privacy, but didn't feel alone. I used the new tent stakes, and they are really nice.....but the ground is getting softer, so everything is easier. It rained during the night, and thundered a little, but the tent fly kept me dry. By morning it had stopped, and looked like a nice day ahead. My goal today is to get to Hwy 80 around Forney, and then head east toward Longview. I stopped by McDonald's for breakfast and to use the computer, and headed out on Malloy Bridge Rd toward Forney.

"You pickin' up cans too?", was the question from the guy I encountered on the way. I saw him ahead of me, picking up cans, and I guess by my looks he figured I was doing the same. I told him no, just walking. If I had said yes, he probably would have told me this was his area. It was getting near time to do the radio interview, so I started looking for more "bars" on the cell phone. It was also windy, but finally found a place where I could block the wind and get pretty good reception. The interview went well, at least from my perspective. Keith Larson does a good job with questions, so it's pretty easy to talk with him. I appreciate his interest and coverage.

I reached an intersection where a decision was needed......my directions said go one way, logic said go the other. So, I stopped at a business and asked Landa Whitney. She drew me a map, and I asked if she was from the area. "Nope, just lots of people stop here and ask directions", was her reply. So I set out with her directions as my guide. Forney is one of a few towns where I never walked through the downtown area. I prefer to see downtown, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. Mesquite, Seagoville, and Hobbs, are a few more. What I could see of Forney was nice.....I walked past some very nice housing, a brand new "Justice Center", and four new ball fields enclosing a central concessions area (much like Greenfield Park in Daleville.)

I stopped at a convenience store to rest and get something to eat, and while sitting outside, a nice young man approached and handed me a handful of change. He introduced himself as Heath, and his girlfriend (?) as Kayla. I'm sure he thought I needed the money......I need to work on my appearance! Whatever he thought, it was a kind and generous gesture. I also found Sundrop at the store, so stocked up on that. After resting a while, moved on to Hwy 80 and headed east. Hwy 80 is real busy for several miles outside of Forney, until it merges with I-20. I noticed a service road and asked how far it went. "All the way to Terrill", so I got on that and almost no traffic for about 10 miles.

Two guys, Paul and Steve, were traveling west toward Forney on Hwy 80. One spotted me and said to the other, "isn't that the guy who was in the paper recently? Let's go see." So they found an exit, got on the service road, and stopped alongside. We had a nice conversation, took a few pictures, and they had to get back to work. It was nice of them to take the time to stop and chat, that means a lot and breaks up the long periods of walking. I was soon in Terrill, and stopped at a Whataburger food place to get a bite to eat and use their wi-fi. The wi-fi didn't work, and the salad was so/so. Lesson learned. Up the road a ways was a Braum's ice cream place, so I stopped in there for a cone. When I stayed with the Casstevens, we went to Braum's after dinner, and I loved the "Cherry Pecan Cream" flavor.....so had a cone of that to go.

"Are you the man who was in the paper recently", was the question asked by Mike Durrett, of Mesquite, TX. He was in Terrill to do some work, spotted me, and stopped to talk. We talked about most everything, from his town of Mesquite, to how to fry okra. When Mike picks his okra, he leaves some of the stem. He leaves the pod whole, then rolls in corn meal, and fries the whole thing. Then you can eat it like a corn dog on a stick. You know, it makes sense to me. It was getting late, so I had to leave.

I noticed one of those Texas Rest/Picnic areas on the map, so headed for that to camp. I walked and walked, but never got there, It was almost dark, and I spotted a large mowed field with a couple of houses around. I walked over there, asked a guy if I could put up the tent and he agreed. He suggested I move closer to the house to get away from the train tracks. (the trains ran all night.) I set up the tent, and the guy's brother, Eric, came and invited me in the house to get warm. I went it for a while, and took the computer to charge the battery. Eric told me his wife just left him right before I got there (I found out later it was actually his girlfriend, but he was well into a case of beer at the time!) But it was ok because he didn't really love her, but would miss rolling over at night and reaching out to see she was there. We talked a while longer, me drinking tea, Eric and his beer. He was a nice guy, just a little mixed up at the moment. I told him she would probably come back after she thought it over.

We talked a while longer and I went back to the tent. Today was a really nice day......great weather, good roads, met lots of nice people, and tried to help console Eric. I'll really sleep good tonight.