DRIVE, WE SAID

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PROOF OF ALIEN BUGS, THE THING TRUCK STOP, NEW MEXICO

We left Monday with our cargo van full of stuff for humans and pets: food and towels and linens and water and toilettries. Also dog and cat crates, leashes, collars, ID tags, doggie milk bones, chew toys, bleach, kibble and so forth.

We made it to Baton Rouge and back up to St. Francesville where our gracious hosts made us dinner and forced us to drink wine and beer we ourselves had brought.

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The next day we drove to a food bank that declined our attempted donations: their wherehouse was chock-full of corporate donations. We left there and went to the Salvation Army. Missed our exit, and that combined with lots of traffic added over an hour to our journey. Finally we made it, and the folks who were working there were helpful and kindly representatives of their peaceful army.

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From there we headed over to LSU and their agricultural department.

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Inside the Ag Dome was where all of the dogs and cats were housed (though many of the larger dogs were in "the barn"), and after donating and off-loading the crates, food, bleach and leashes, collars etc., I signed up to volunteer, was given a brief tutorial with other volunteers, and then it was time to clean cages and change out dirty water bowls for clean water bowls.

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The woman in yellow was a co-ordinator--quite patient and kind.

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Looking west inside the dome, filled with crates, animals, volunteers and dust...not to mention golden rays of light.

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The Humane Society made its presence known:

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Duct tape and bailing wire, and where a back window might say "Homecoming" it instead cried foul:

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With no place to stay anywhere close to LSU we made a decision to leave: we had made our donations, did some volunteer work, and had started to become part of the homeless problem ourselves. We got on the westbound 10 and drove through Lafayette, Port Charles--we stopped at some gas station/cajun food joint:

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The next day we drove across Texas...the sunset pic was taken near Ozona.

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New Mexico brought us to Bowlin'...and an Indian depicted with great sensitivity. The folks working inside the gift shop were white, but kindly. We all gotta be something.

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Stopped in Tucson for Chicago Style sandwiches...

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Today, Sunday, my wife and I drove over to the Dream Center and volunteered our home for a person or persons who could use a place to stay. The screening process is supposed to take two weeks.

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They had a lovely trailer...

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All for now--tired, worried, blown away, off to the doctor tomorrow for a problem that began before our journey. Who can say where any of this leads?

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Comments

Anonymous said…
I had trouble posting a comment when this first came up but thank you for the pictures and for what you did. Others express it better but I feel it just the same.