Wisdom On the Road
September 5, 2013 § 2 Comments
As you may have noticed, I took a bit of a hiatus from this site over the past month. We moved, then went on an epic road trip that saw us drive from our home near Boston to Portland, OR, for my sister’s wedding and back. Saw some amazing sites, met some really interesting people along the way.
Driving out of Portland through the Columbia Gorge was perhaps the most eventful part of the journey. My wife wanted nothing more than to swim in the Columbia River. So we stopped in Mayer State Park, about halfway between Hood River and The Dalles. Here we met a man named George. He was a retired trucker, spent thirty years driving the Seattle-Los Angeles run which had left him pretty much fed up with cities. Can’t say I blame him. So, he hit the road in his retirement. He was a 21st century hobo. He slept in his pickup truck and drove. His plates were from Washington state. Said he would drive down to Arizona for the winter. He headed into town now and then for a hot meal, check his email, get his Social Security. He carried with him a copy of the Good Book. George kind of reminded me of Buck 65’s character in his track, “Wicked and Weird.”
George was very excited about our road trip, said it would change our lives, it was good for our souls. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it was good for our souls. Said that the problem with most people is that they get caught up in the moss, they get stuck. George is right, this is most of us, this is probably all of us. It’s hard not to get caught up in the moss, quite frankly. But that doesn’t make him any less right.
A chance encounter with a random guy in an Oregon state park parking lot. Perhaps the most memorable part of out trip.
Matthew Barlow 
People you meet briefly on road trips add something to your experience, I agree. When we stayed at a B and B near Balmoral castle our hostess shared some interesting stories about “my neighbour, the Queen”, just neighbourhood gossip, I suppose!
Yeah, George was just one of the many characters we met on the road. He said the trip would be good for our souls. I think he agreed. I love the gossip about the queen! I would imagine she’d just be considered another neighbour in many ways.