ray charles, learning about my riding companions, suwannee river, dulcimer festival, alligator

November 13, 2008

Day Fifty Three

"I never wanted to be famous; I only wanted to be great."
- Ray Charles -

"Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy."
- Ray Charles -

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This morning, in addition to having breakfast with Susan, Hewes, and Paul, there were two German couples at the table. They flew over for an ophthalmology convention in Atlanta and were on their way to Orlando. Greenville isn't exactly on the way, but they had read about Grace Manor and said, "We just couldn't see missing it so we took a little detour to come here."

Ophthalmology jokers.

Clockwise around the table: me, Peter, Andrea, Paul, Martina, Udo, Hewes, Susan.

Sitting around the breakfast table, I was surprised to learn that Greenville is where the singer Ray Charles spent the first seven years of his life, and where he went blind. I just couldn't believe that the city's residents weren't monetizing the place with gaudy neon signs pointing to a Ray Charles Restaurant, or the opportunity to buy crappy coffee mugs, or perhaps a creepy looking wax sculpture that looks nothing like the singer. There was nothing upon entering the town, nor when I was online. Zero. I mean, after all, this IS America, where we somehow manage to monetize everything.

Brenda told us about a memorial just around the corner, so we pedaled over to it on the way out of town.

This and the sculpture below were the only indications that Mr. Charles lived here.

After our review of the plaque and sculpture, we all took off. I rode with Paul most of the day, but also spent some time with Hewes and Susan. It's a sign of their character, all of them, that none of them would talk much about themselves. They would brag about each other, but not themselves.

Paul is a General Surgeon in Billings, Montana, where he's lived most of his adult life, but was born and raised in Butte, Montana. He's the oldest of several children, all of whom he helped raise. He still helps them, even now. As a young adult he was quite an accomplished athlete, winning the Montana Golden Gloves boxing title then going on to compete at the national level in Chicago.

Of course, HE won't tell you any of this information. Paul will talk about how wonderful his wife and children are, and what fantastic people Hewes and Susan are, and what great friends they've been over the years.

Regardless of what type of surgery they do, surgeons are an interesting breed. There's a pecking order in the medical world, and surgeons generally have long beaks. They're frequently strong-willed and egotistical, and when you get two of them together you're going to receive two very forceful opinions, frequently contradictory, about what to do. None of them like to take a back seat to anyone else.

Paul, however, let Hewes make all of the decisions about the route and the accommodations, and only had complimentary things to say about the trip. Of course, the fact that they've been friends for 35 years probably helped.

One of the few personal details Paul shared was that he'd been thinking about retiring, but after taking a couple of relaxing months off for this trip he’s reconsidering, admitting that he might not be quite ready to quit.

Hewes is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon, a heart surgeon. When he first started practicing in Montana he did all kinds of surgeries, mainly because there was no one else to do it, but as the practice became bigger he was able to narrow his scope to just heart surgery.

Hewes and Susan are strong supporters of the arts, and were instrumental in renovating an old theater in Billings.

Although this is Paul's first extended tour, it isn't Hewes' or Susan's (although Susan is strongly hinting that it might be her last). Susan will tell you that Hewes practically glows when he's on tour. He's never happier than when he's pedaling down the road on a loaded touring bike. I know that feeling, as do many of the people reading this.

I talked to him later in the evening, and it's true. I asked him about his first tour and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy shop as he related the story about how, in 1969 when he was doing some extra training as a resident at Cambridge, he and Susan spontaneously decided to rent some bikes and go for a long weekend ride. They had two very small children at the time. Like me on my first tour, and Akira on his, they didn't know what they were doing - they just went - and it was incredible.

They've been touring together all over the world ever since.

To Paul, the scenery in East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Western Florida all looks the same. You could blindfold him and drop him anyplace in one of those areas and he wouldn't be able to tell you where he was.

We crossed over the Suwannee river today, made famous by the Stephen Foster song, "Way Down Upon the Swanee River." Foster, who never actually saw the river, changed the spelling from "Suwannee" to "Swanee" because he wanted a name with two syllables and was afraid people would mispronounce it if he left the "U" in it. Still, it's better than his original choice for the song title, "Way Down Upon the Peede River."

Some pictures I took during the day:

typical road today: no shoulder, but shady with little traffic

I can't believe these trees grew so regularly. It's almost as if someone planted them.

Our stopping point for the night isn't actually a town, it's just an intersection with a hotel. It's a good thing we came tonight and not tomorrow night because for the next two days this entire region will be flooded with people as the entire world descends here for the Dulcimer Festival.

While it's not quite an Elvis Convention, it's at least as interesting. This area is crazy about dulcimers. Talking to the hotel manager, I learned that there are two kinds of dulcimers: the mountain dulcimer, which requires one of your teeth, after it's fallen out of your mouth, to be used as a pick. The other type, the hammered dulcimer, is for those less skilled who get frustrated playing an instrument. It comes with a giant sledgehammer.

Or, maybe I'm just guessing about the definitions.

For dinner we walked across the street to the cafe where, for the first time, I ate alligator. The menu listed alligator tail as an appetizer so I thought I'd give it a try. Of course, it was fried, but I peeled off the batter. No, it doesn't really taste like chicken - and the flavor, and especially the texture are quite different - but it was pretty good.

LOOKS like chicken, though…

I forgot to take a picture, so...... my plate after 9/10 of the food is gone

The quantity of food was enormous, delivered to my table by dump truck. I just kept stuffing it in my mouth, waiting for someone to call an eating penalty and drag me out of the dining room. When I was finally done I ordered a hand-scooped chocolate shake for dessert. After dinner, I bought a cupcake and some M&Ms to eat in my room.

Hewes borrowed my computer to do some research for the ride tomorrow. They're going to be riding 80 miles to Gainesville. I'll be leaving the ACA route tomorrow for good and heading east towards Jacksonville.

I also showed him how to use Skype and he was able to talk to Klaus using the webcam.

We all said goodbye and exchanged email addresses. They're going to get an early start. I have a shorter day so I'll sleep a bit later.

Like about three or four hours later, because I really hate mornings.

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distance: 59 miles
average speed: 12.9 mph
maximum speed: 25 mph
time on bike: 4:33:23
cumulative: 2659 miles

Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 2,655 miles (4,273 km)

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