4/17: E. Tennessee

We all got up pretty late, and pretty hungover; mine more from being allowed to smoke inside a bar again. Devin had moved the bus to a theater parking lot at some point, and immediately went into cleaning mode for quite awhile. It reminded me of trying, still, to remove all remaining evidence of last night's March of the Pigs.

My skepticism surrounding Chad's veggie oil was proven ludicrous. The barrel was completely full of the cleanest oil I have seen to date, and in such a place behind the strip mall where we could simply pull along side, using the electric gas- pumpy- thingy to take it straight into the tank. Chad was working, so we gave he and his co- workers a tour of the bus and then were off, completely full, with an extra 15- gallons loaded in extra buckets they had given us. Even the weather was perfect. 75... sunny. I honestly got the impression that Tennessee was trying to make good on the night before!

While we were there, Chris received a call from his friend, Trent, who lives outside of Washington, DC confirming that we had a place to stay when we arrived. We now had our next destination solidly in place.

Devin made a quick stop to pick up filters, then we were off for a quiet day of reflection, riding, and watching the beauty of E. Tennessee pass us by. There were lots of thoughts considering that we were doing this part MUCH too quickly. This part of the country would be killer on foot! I didn't dwell on it much however; something else is driving us, and to continue the metaphor, I am making a conscious effort to play the role of that side- car passenger.

Chris and I also discussed our different perspectives regarding Oklahoma City, and some budding ideas regarding the perception of "moral superiority" as it applies to imposed dogma. I need to step the fuck back occasionally and try to remember that I often don't have nearly enough information to presume to judge. Oklahoma City was one of these times. I wasn't "one of them" because I had been brought there, randomly, as a passenger with people who DID belong! Duh, douchebag.

We finally left I-40 after nearly five full days, getting on I-81, then crossing in to Virginia sometime around midnight. Devin decided to skip Virginia Beach, choosing instead to take the route thru Washington to Delaware. We've set a tentative off- load point: Annapolis, MD. Another fucking "plan" (ha!)...

4/14: Oklahoma City

First, allow me to apologize for the annoying formatting errors lately; posting with Pocketmail to this temperamental template takes some getting used to. I was happy just to have paragraphs last time.We came into Oklahoma City sometime around 10pm while getting directions to our new destination: a place Devin described as both a "punk house" and a "collective" populated by "raving feminists". "How interesting THIS should be!", I thought to myself as the "plan" (ha!) changed from hanging out on campus in Norman, to this supposed anarchist enclave.

Mel and her friend, Salty, were waiting outside for us when we finally found the house on OKC's northwest side. It quickly became evident that this house was in a very eclectic neighborhood, a bit like Denver's Capitol Hill. This surprised me a bit. In fact, as Chris later pointed out, the city in general has a feel similar to Denver, just no mountains. By now I was expecting to be pleasantly surprised by this state everyone seems to ignore until tornadoes strike!

Mel and Salty are in their mid 20's, and wearing the uniform of non- conformity: old jeans, thrift store clothes, lots of black. That would be a theme that held thru the night: non- conformist conformity. Mel is quite attractive (despite her best efforts), affable, authentic, with a warm, hypnotic smile. The kind that energizes a room. All while still somehow keeping you at arm's length! Salty, on the other hand, has a librarian look because of the typical pointed glasses, but she emanates an odd vibe; call it Creepy Spinster Librarian. Rather than arm's, she was at city block's length.

Devin & Leif had known a friend of Mel's from the collective in Taos, so they took to each other immediately, chatting about common acquaintances and experiences. Leif was in his own world as usual, while Chris and I were excited to be there, yet also realizing quickly that we were out of our element. We took a quick tour of the house, which had its charm, but would drive most people batshit. It reminded me a great deal of the house I grew up in, so I took to it immediately. Then it was off the the liquor store for beer, lessons in 3:2 beer, and the night got underway. Some things transcend and never go out of style.

Upon returning to the collective, it immediately became obvious that we weren't simply imagining out separateness. We sat outside chatting and drinking Bud Dry for probably 45 minutes before anyone else came out. People were coming and going however, most looking pretty much the same: black clothes, thrift- store clothes with goofy do- it- yourself haircuts to apparently express individuality. Or perhaps tell each other apart. Either way, I found it amusing that they all seemed to be silently saying "fuck conformity!" while wearing the anarchist/ punk version of a suit and tie! A few were complaining how they had just worked fifteen hours unloading trucks, and other various menial jobs. How very cutting edge it is to work 15 for The Man, paying taxes, while still living in squalor. Anyone else find that odd? Rather than cutting edge it seemed to me to be a bit... foolish. How can you stick it to The Man while paying taxes on the overtime you just worked?

Among some of the people that came and went were a few I really enjoyed. Max was a traveler from somewhere in California, Brooke was a stunning blond who in my opinion had little interesting to say, but was quite interesting to look at! Then there was Nicole. A true gem in my experience: an attractive, lighthearted, free- spirited young lady who makes me LAUGH! Alot. She and her three- legged dog were a burst of needed positive energy! I believe she ventured off to another house, much too quickly in my then "sick- of- pretension" opinion, where they were having an outdoor showing of Twister. I thought that was a funny movie to be showing in Oklahoma. I wish I would have joined them!

The rest of the night was spent accidentally setting Salty's hair on fire, chugging beers trying (and failing) to get to some comfort level in this odd place, while trying not to be too judgmental of these folks. They opened their space to us after all, and I did appreciate that. I guess it's that I hate seeing idealistic, well- intentioned people caught up a dogma because they're trying to avoid another. At least they HAVE ideals, however, and also to their credit, I heard NO mention of Obama nor any foray into the standard two- party dialectic. In fact, no politics at ALL! Perhaps I'm not giving them enough credit...

The night ended at about 2 with the two of us STILL wondering why the hell we felt drawn to Oklahoma, since it apparently wasn't this. We ran into an uber- friendly cat on the way back to the bus; I miss mine! Chris has D & D; I have cats...