People of the Wind

With Peter's penchant for meeting Folks, we seem to attract crowds at every mini-mart. 
Jim (our driver) decided that his favorite quote of Peters is:  "Mini-mart ice machines make life worth living."

In Jet, Oklahoma (don't you wish you thought of it) we stopped for ice and water and the young lady at the cash register told us- oh, if you're using your own bottles, just fill up on whatever you like.  Peter started gulping something called "Sunkist Cherry Limeade," and suddenly became very animated.

The pile of shirtless little kids with crayons jumped down from the dinette and swarmed around him, asking about the bikes and gear and where the heck we had come from.  We drank soda and chatted about our trip for half an hour.  They wanted to hear over and over, "How many miles you think you come so far?"  "Ain't Virginia on t'other side of the ocean?"  "When you think you gonna get there?"  "You know any movie stars?"

It felt a little like we had dropped out of a space ship.  Their mother was carrying around a sleeping toddler.  She told us all about the kids and how these were hers and those were her friend's, who was working at the store.  "Now these two, Brittany and Kenneth, their daddy's dead.  Had an asthma attack and died.  He was about oh, 33, I guess.  He's with Jesus now.  But I met a real nice man who's real sweet to me and to the kids."  Real sweet, judging from her advanced pregnancy.

The kids followed us out to the bikes, showing us the tricks they could do on the hand railing of the steps.  Watch me, watch this, lookit what I can do.  I got a bike, but I can't ride it on the street.  My friends call me Yoda 'cause my ears stick out.  Look how far they stick out.  Don't you think I look like Yoda?  This is my new dress.  I got another dress, but it don't fit me.  My sister goes to school here, but I go in Enid.  But school's out now, so I don't go.

Then a farmer or rancher got out of a truck and asked, "So you folks are ridin' across the country?"  We had kind of gotten used to the word getting around in a small town if we stayed longer than a few minutes.  He wanted to know what route we were taking and how we manage the trucks and where we sleep.  Peter chatted with him and asked him if he had Internet access.  "Nah, we don't have nothin' like that."