Made it all the way to the Big Apple without having to stop along the way for some pearl diving of my own, too, Don, thanks to the generosity of my considerate friends! Got a ride just east of Spokane with an engineer from Anaconda Copper who wanted to get plastered. First he asked if I had a gun in the guitar case (I didn't -- it was a guitar!). Then he asked if I had a driver's license (I did, Ohio, from my earlier stay in Toledo). Then I took the wheel and we stopped at every bar between Spokane and Butte, Montana, where I poured him into the arms of his loving wife at his own front door. In every bar, he wanted to buy me a drink,. I reminded him that I was driving, so settled on buying me a hamburger. I kept smiling, strumming and singing, and stuffing the burgers into my pack. Ate the damn things all the way to New York!

Amazing how you manage to bring back memories for me, Don. I hadn't thought about that particular trip for years!

Thanks again, folks, for all the good wishes and kind words. I finally told Caroline about this thread, and now she wants me to read it to her. I'm thoroughly embarrassed!

Sandy (the old solivagant)