“Why Worry?…It does No Good.”
Schenectady means "place beyond the pine plains."
“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Back in Oneonta.
What Justin had neglected to tell me about the Oneonta Truck Stop was that there was not much of a flow of truckers. I ditched the place after a slice of pizza, an apple, and 10 minutes outside with my sign, “East.”
I was going back to the on-ramp where Justin had picked me up yesterday and was hoping to avoid any police officers.
Normally, I like to keep my thumb up all the time. Way Up! Be confident and proud of my hitchhiking, but this time I was much more covert. I was only sticking my thumb up if a car went by and that was always after I quickly scanned the cars passing nearby for officers.
Tom is in the Air Force.
Within 15 minutes, Tom pulled up in his parents mini-van. Although, I didn’t know it was his parents van at first, but this info was divulged on our hour and fifteen minute ride to Schenectady, New York.
Tom is dressed in military gear and is very talkative. He is attending “SUNY,” as the local State University of New York in Oneonta is called. A biologist, he is proud of his service in the Air Force, which is paying for his way through college and helping him buy a new Mazda. He describes the type, make, and model, but I forget. I had a mental photograph of him driving in a cherry red sports car, his tightly shorn head blowing in the breeze.
The Malls of Qatar.
Tom is a peaceful man. He doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a military man. He thinks of himself as easy going; “Live and Let Live.” He tells me a bit about the nation of Qatar. He was deployed there recently. Tom says when you walk around their shopping malls you would think you were in the USA. But the weather is stifiling. 85% humidity and scorching temperatures, he was miserable a lot and couldn’t understand why the folks of Qatar didn’t move out.
Appreciative of US Health Care.
Tom’s visit also, made him appreciative of the health care in the United States. His stay in Qatar was extended a month and a half, because he caught a bad bout of diarrhea he couldn’t kick. I guess, the doctors of Qatar couldn’t kick it either and he says it was horrible. They were thinking of giving him appendix surgery at one point and kept him on antibiotics way to long.
Why Worry?
Tom once had his hood swing up while tooling down the expressway and smash his windshield. He was okay, even though he had to shake a piece of glass from his eye. A friend mentioned he was having a bad day, but not Tom. “It is up to you whether you have a bad day or not. My day was great.” He smiles. Tom doesn’t worry much. There is not a point. It does not help the situation.
Off to Base.
Tom drops me in downtown Schenectady. Schenectady is a Mohawk word for “place beyond the pine plains.” I take their word for it, although I am not seeing many pines. I walk along some railroad tracks though and I saw a Burger King.
I am feeling the drive of motion and I decide to walk to the north end of the city and take a smaller highway north which after 30 miles or so meets up with the larger highway headed north towards Burlington, Vermont.
I feel like walking and I think I can probably get a ride along this smaller highway.
***
Tommorrow, I describe Pete. I am still trying to wrap my head around our interaction and his motives.
Create Our World.
Ben
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer
Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, positive attitude, roadtrip around the USA, schenectady new york
Categories:
Hitchin Stories., People.
