On my way home from the dentist... (part three)

It was going on 6:15 PM as the hitch hiking veteran and I rode west on I-40 toward Mocksville - I in the driver seat and he in the passenger seat. I had turned the heat up to help my passenger warm his chilled bones.

We hadn't gotten far on the interstate when I had a moment of panic, like when a person thinks they left the stove on.

"Do you see a black hip pack in the back seat?" I asked my passenger. "I don't recall putting it in the car. I hope I didn't leave it at Kentucky Fried Chicken."

My black leather hip pack carried my money and credit cards and identification.

"I see a green one," he answered.

"That's not it; that's my hiking hip pack. I better pull off at the next exit and make sure I have it."

Relieved to find it in the back seat under my coat, I drove us back onto the interstate heading west to the Mocksville truck stop.

"I've done some hiking on the Appalachian Trail," my passenger said after we were back on the road. Earlier when we loaded his gear into the back of my Explorer, he had asked about my trekking poles which lay in the back of the Explorer along with blankets and a day pack.

"Where abouts?" I asked.

"Northern Virginia, between Charlottesville and DC. I used to spend time there as a boy."

I recalled earlier when he shared that he was from Culpepper, Virginia.

"Where does you sister live?" I asked.

"She lives in Culpepper," he responded.

"What branch of service did you serve in?"

"The Navy," he answered. "I signed up right after graduating high school in 1976."

That was one year before I graduated from high school. He wasn't as old as I thought he was. I guess I'm getting up in years

"Where did you serve?" I continued my inquiry.

"I went to basic at Great Lakes and then spent time in Norfolk. I was only in for four years; I didn't serve in any wars."

"Would you happen to have any ibuprofen or aspirin?" he asked.

"I don't," I answered. "I'm allergic to them. I'm sure the truck stop will have some."

Then I recalled I had a couple first aid kits in the back seat.

"I do have a couple first aid kits in the car; maybe there is some one of them. I'll check when we stop."

I saw a billboard advertising Truck Stop America ahead.

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On my way home from the dentist... (part one)
On my way home from the dentist... (part two)
On my way home from the dentist... (part three)
On my way home from the dentist... (part four)
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