Day 13: Bolivar, Tennessee to Grenada, Mississippi. 122.60 miles.
On a bird note:
This morning as I was putting on sunscreen, I listened to a mockingbird go through it's morning song and mimic progression. I wondered what I listened to before I became all birdy and ignoring the mockingbird, I heard the traffic on the street and an air conditioner hum. Those aren't jump at you sounds so I figured I must have ignored sounds in previous years and spent the sunscreen time alone in my mind.
On a slight downhill, I listened to two white-eyed vireos singing from opposite sides of the road and thought some more about the what did I do before birds question. I think (maybe) (perhaps) (not entirely sure) the birding has helped increase my awareness while decreasing (albeit slight) ruminations.
On a scary note:
I tend to worry more about the cars coming at me than the cars behind me. Today at Mile 108, I watched a red Jeep jump out into my lane to make a pass on a car. I was wearing my reflective bright yellow safety vest and so I sat up taller in my seat and began waving my left arm with the hope the driver would notice me. I'm guessing the driver noticed because he then threw his left tires onto the rumble stripped shoulder on my side of the road so the only option I had was to run my bicycle completely off the road. I missed getting flattened by just a few seconds (besides missing scenery, this is a main reason why I don't like riding with my head down). Thankfully my tires are 700x32s and the off road wasn't steep, filled with gravel, rocks, or anything difficult, just weeds and grass. The same thing happened to Erik and Karen today except they were able to escape their oncoming vehicle on the rumble stripped shoulder.
On a happier note:
During lunch on the University of Mississippi campus, a bearded fellow (Mike) walked over to us and chatted with us about our trip and his own travel hopes. I needed to use a restroom and asked Mike if a bathroom was available in Coulter Hall (the University's biochemistry building). He gave me good news, but also told me the building didn't have a bathroom on the first floor. After a thinking pause, Mike remembered that the floor the front doors open to is considered the second floor and that the bathroom is actually on the third floor even though the third floor is probably really just the second floor. Mike gave me detailed directions on how to find the elevator, but warned me that the second time he used the elevator, he entered and the elevator wouldn't go up or down. It was stuck. He was worried he would be trapped, but discovered if he pushed the 2nd floor button, the doors to the elevator would open and he was free to leave.
I pushed the elevator up button from the 2nd floor and when the doors open a relieved student was standing inside with a tank (larger than the student) of liquid nitrogen. I stepped into the elevator and the kid went into a slight panic. He had difficulty with his words, but what I gathered was that the elevator was broken and he had been stuck and when I pushed the button from the outside I had saved him. But now I was in the elevator and the door had closed so were both stuck with the rather large tank of liquid nitrogen. In a calm, reassuring voice, I told the student I had heard about the elevator problem and all he needed to do was push the 2nd floor button (all of the other floor buttons were lit so apparently the kid had pushed everything but the 2nd floor).
The doors opened and the kid quickly walked out declaring he was going to find someone to tell about the broken elevator. I left to find the stairs. And the liquid nitrogen stayed behind.
Track 11: Luna - The Old Fashioned Way. Some love is short, some love is long. Sing to the ghosts of a dream gone wrong.
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