houston, we have a problem...

okay. so i guess i'm not quite ready to go radio silent. yesterday, after leaving seattle, i didn't quite make it across the state before things went sour. and boy, the acidity is running high.

for all of you map people out there, i got as far as Lind, WA on the i-90. poor little blue car, was kickin and feeling like she wasn't even going to make it the 20miles to the next town, ritzville. i pulled off under much duress at the crossroads of highway 21 and the i-90. i found a little spot to park and check it out. she never started back up. shit. i'm in the middle of nowhere. wheatfields and crazy-strong high winds. rolling hills as far as i could see. no civilization. shit.

walked a bit. found some roadside workers. asked them for oil (which i thought might be the problem). they barely acknowledged me. flagged down the next car i saw. nice lady. felt sorry for me. she took me to podunk washington, also known as Lind, WA. told be that lind was famous for the 'combine demolition derby' which happens to be on friday. told me i should go see it, since i was broken down. i declined politly. then she told be all about the plight of the western washington farmer and the wheat fields. actually very interesting.

arrived in lind. went to the only mom & pop market (to which she called ahead to make sure they had motor oil). went to buy, but they only take cash. went in search of atm. got lost. the nice lady, Denise, drives around looking for me. finds me. i get cash, i get motor oil. we drive back to my car. long story short, the oil is not the problem or the solution. shit.

she stays with me. we call one of the nearest towns that i can get towed to and fixed up. it's 45miles in the wrong direction: west. at this point, my heart is sinking lower and lower into my chest until i think it fell out by the side of the road. if i get this car running again, i need to go back and find it.

$180 dollars later, i'm being towed back to Moses Lake, WA to a toyota dealer. i say goodbye to denise, my 'middle of nowhere angel'.

the towtruck driver tells me about some of the motels near the dealership. they all cost a million dollars to rent a room, and all i can think about is how much money i'm going to have to spend to even get back on the road. if i even can. i decide to stay up all night. bad idea. i decide to not eat at a resturaunt cause it's expensive. bad idea.

i'm slinging my satchel of justice and wearing my communist hat. i'm set. i'm kickin about, looking like a destitue vagabond (cause i am one). young guy with giant truck sees me and asks me if i need a ride somewhere. he and his buddy take me to town. we have a cig. go to safeway and buy can of soup and 24oz beer. hitch a ride back to the freeway where there's some 24hr diners. found a truckers lounge in the back of some gas station. heat and eat my soup, drink my beer in little back room. truckers come in and out. i say nothing. i fall in and out of sleep. it's midnight.

i decide to get out of there and find some bushes or some shadows to lie down in. i find an abandoned building. i bed down for a couple hours on the concrete next to the building. wishing i had some newspaper to put over me. feeling a bit like Kerouac, but not getting much sleep. give up the ground at about 3ish. head to 'shari's diner' to finish out the night.

nice waitress. i ask her to tuck me back in some back corner. she gives me coffee and let's me sleep. it's 5 when i wake. she gives me more coffee and her bleary night shift eyes pity me. she rustles me up some corned beef hash and eggs at my request. i thank her. she tells me the coffee is on her. it's already a bit light out by 5 though there's no sun yet. i eat a real roadhouse meal and read about Wild Bill Cody. i love the old west.

at 6, i trudge the mile back to my car at the dealership to sleep some more and wait for them to open at 7:30. they're looking at blue car right now, unknowingly deciding the fate of my road trip. best case, i'm back on the road, minus 3 to 4 hundred dollars. ouch. worst case, i have to leave the car. hitch it to montana maybe. maybe just cry in a ditch for a bit. i don't know.

i gotta say, you just can't make up stories like this. and truth be told, road trips wouldn't be the same without some issues along the way. i'm just hoping it ain't over before it's begun.

i'll drop a last note before i hit the Rez...