Don't Wee-Wee In The Trashcan

It was a long day yesterday. From the packing and cleaning the house, to the getting George and Cat to the vet, and finally the drive. It took us about seven hours and we should have been here by just under six. I took a wrong turn in Tupelo, MS and ended up in Corinth, MS before realizing I was going the wrong way. The blue arrow on the map shows the way I was supposed to go and the red arrows shows how I did go. Fmom was giving me a hard time for awhile, but the scenery was really nice, so I kept telling her to thank me for showing her such beauty.

We stopped one time on the way to Little Rock. We pulled into a combo service station/diner. We just had to use the facilities, but the place was packed with people in for lunch. I get Fmom out of the car and to the entrance of the women’s bathroom, and then I go into the men’s bathroom. I lock the door and turn around and see a hand written sign that says, Stop peeing in the trash can. If you can’t find the toilet, then go outside. I did miss the trashcan and came back outside to wait on Fmom. At first I was a little hungry and was going to get something to eat, but after the sign, I decided to bypass the food in that place. We finally get to Memphis and the traffic is pretty heavy. Remember for me at home, six cars at the red light is heavy traffic. But Memphis is really heavy. I have to admit, compared to some cities I’ve driven in; the drivers there were fairly nice.

On any trip Fmom is always the voice of doom. If we come upon a tanker truck carrying chemicals, Fmom will want me to speed around because it might be a terrorist. I keep telling her, “You know I bet if there is a terrorist driving it, he’s been waiting for some old Southern woman to drive by.” She always says, “Just shut and drive faster.” Well this time she’s telling me to drive fast across the Mississippi River Bridge going into Arkansas. She’s telling me she doesn’t want to be on it incase the New Madrid earthquake fault starts to act up. For those that don’t know, the New Madrid quake was the worst to ever hit the United States. I’ve heard it made the Mississippi River run backward for a few days. I know it changed the course of the river in some places. We safely get across the bridge into Arkansas. This brings back memories for me, because I grew up (until 13 y.o.) in this area of the country. As we go by the exits on the interstate, I know the farm I grew up on is about 40 miles away. We went by the place some years ago and it’s unrecognizable now. The buildings, tree and pastures are gone and everything is used for planting. When we drove by, I could even tell where my house used to be. It’s sad really. My Dad had a good farm, but the people who bought it only wanted land for planting crops.

Well it’s another day of maneuvering through traffic and then by tomorrow night we’ve be home. I definitely want to pay attention on the way home and not get lost again. The way my luck goes, if I take another wrong turn, I could end up in Chicago.