The Blue Ridge Tuesday, 26 Oct 2004 Today I walked about 16 miles from Patrick Springs to an intersection with a road that leads from US58 southeast to Ridgeway VA. The sun came out seriously about 10am or so. It was pleasant walk with only gentle grades--the mountains are behind me. The roadside the last few days has been very clean especially compared with those near home in Fredericksburg. But there have some road treasures to report. Early today I saw a rusty orange towel and later what appeared to be a baby blanket (some poor kid somewhere is crying for his meemee). And a NASCAR themed sweat shirt? There was a leather belt and a length of chain at one point...hmm? Coming down the mountain yesterday, there was a pair of New Balance shoes and two of those little foam thingies you put in your ears when working with power tools. There is a set of car keys with a CVS and another store card about a hundred yards west of the intersection of roads in Laurel Fork. And speaking of keys...about a week ago I noticed during the course of a mile or so, a dozen or so keys scattered one at a time ever so often along the road. I guess someone was given a set of keys to play with and figured out how to get the keys off the ring...and out the window they went one by one. I also remember seeing a pair of work gloves followed a little later by some kind of cutting tool...a 5-6 inch blade inset like a knife into a maybe thirty inch handle. In late morning, I crossed into Henry County. Today's lunch was another adventure. Right on schedule, as I completed the four one hour walks that I like to do before lunch, two country stores appeared--one on either side of the road. Beside the store on my side was a "cafe" sign laying on the ground. I walked in and quickly found that there was no food service. The store across the street had a sign for hamburgers and hot dogs. I asked the woman, "Do they really serve food over there?" "Hot dogs...not sure about hamburgers." "Have you eaten there?" "No. People do eat there." (Note there is no adjective before the word "people"...no "many," no "some," no "a few." Just "people." I walked across the road, went in, and checked the posted menu and ordered a grilled ham and cheese. There was one table, an old 50ish kitchen dinette table with three rickety chairs. A man was sitting there. I asked. "May I join you?" "Sit yourself right down." And for the next 35 minutes, not one word. He sat there either staring emptily into space or looking up at the soap opera playing on the television. He had a styrofoam coffee cup, but he never touched it. He was still sitting there when I left. And it's been a long time since I have been in an eating establishment with a working piece of flypaper hanging at the window. Back across the road in store number one, I bought a bottle of water and told the woman, "You could give them a lot of competition without trying too hard." "I had a cafe here, but not enough customers." The eastern side of Patrick County and this part of Henry County show signs of deep economic problems. Many houses for sale, some with "price reduced" notations. Textile and furniture plants have closed and people are having to move elsewhere for work. The grilled ham and cheese was very tasty. I wonder what all these strange eating places are doing to my immune system.