Pat Bean's blog

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” – John F. Kennedy.

Adventures with Pepper: Day 34

Old cars and political observations were the highlights of this day on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was quite windy the day I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway from Meadows of Dan in Virginia to Julian Price State Park in North Carolina, a mere 117 miles away but which took all day drive.    Mother Nature’s bluster plucked fall’s leaves off the trees and sent them swirling across the parkway like pieces of colored glass in a kaleidoscope.            Along with listening to the hum of the wind as it glanced off Gypsy Lee, I heard several conversations this day that put my mind outside the parkway and tuned into the bluster of politicians’ blowing promises around they probably wouldn’t keep.

This tangled mass of leaves claiming this tree trunk reminded me of the tangled mass of people who together are America. Hopefully we can all learn to co-exist as peacefully. — Photo by Pat Bean

There was the conversation I overheard at the High Piney Spur Overlook. The guy doing the speaking had been showing off his shiny red restored vehicle, one of several I saw this day on the parkway. I suspected there was an old car rally being held somewhere along the route – or perhaps the parkway is simply a place old car enthusiasts like to drive their vehicles.            Anyway, the proud owner of the red vehicle was saying: “I don’t think the country’s as bad off as they are saying. People are eating out and buying new cars,” then with hardly a breath in-between thoughts, he added “It was that Iraqi war that caused all the problems, we didn’t need that.”

The night before, I had overheard a fellow sitting around a campfire at Meadows of Dan ask: “What do you think about where this country is heading?” I didn’t hear the answers because I was walking Pepper at the time, and she, not as big an eavesdropper as me, was pulling me along at quite a fast pace.

Later this day, when I bought some snacks after buying gas, I handed the clerk a dollar too much. He quickly handed it back to me, noting that he always tried to be honest.

“I guess that’s why I could never be a politician,” he then noted, before telling me to “Drive safely now.”

     Book Report: Travels with Maggie is up to 60, 424 words.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day

Bean’s Pat: Morning Mist http://tinyurl.com/azmp3vw I like the idea of each morning holding a mystery in waiting.