Bright
and early Tuesday morning the cats and I lumbered south west
for our 8:30 am appointment with Tom Bartlett at epod in Orlando.
The plan was to scan a few more watercolors and print the final "Ruth
Manifests the Cosmos in Her Spare Time". It was glorious
watching the last Ruth of the sequence emerge on a giant 3 by
4 ft canvas.
Mission
accomplished, I initiated the Florida exodus late Tuesday afternoon.
I had it in my mind to surprise the Cheverly Allegros, but Washington
DC was still some way off. Approaching Georgia, I started seeing
signs for a strip club. I had a wonderful fantasy about stopping
there and spending an evening drawing. I had a long talk with
myself about following my bliss and the next thing I knew, I
was pulling off for gas at the very exit advertised. After refueling,
I decided to at least do a drive by. It was time to get off the
road anyway, perhaps I could park in their lot for the night.
One thing lead to another and there I was - planted at a table,
slurping hot tea and yes - drawing.
A
delight, a thrill, an absolute gift. I made friends with a few
of the dancers, hard working and lovely spirits. The crowd was
a little slow that night which was lucky for me. Between sets
one particularly acrobatic woman and I talked and talked. She
was sweet and I felt like we appreciated each other. Having once
explored working as a DJ at a strip club in Michigan, I knew
the protocol prohibited customers from having access to the dancers
personal info. I figured it would be ok for her to contact me,
so I gave her my email. Maybe she will.
As
I drove into the Carolinas the next morning, our time together
was on my mind. Between drawing her power dancing and rapping
with her about the secrets of life, I guess I couldn't help falling
a little in love. It's a strange and beautiful world.
Arriving
in Maryland and the Allegros house about 8:30 pm, I presented
them with various rare gifts from the roadside dollar mega store.
A grateful night of sleep on the basement futon and then off
again for the last leg of Syracuse.
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