6/21/00
Longview, TX.
Mileage 86.2 miles
Max. 25.2 mph
Avg. 12.26 mph

The longest day of the year for me began around 7:30am on the road and did not end until 6:00 pm. I'm growing concerned about calories, so I stopped at 12:30 for an all you can eat buffet in Mineola. That, plus the heat (nearly 100 this afternoon) and humidity slowed the pace considerably.

Perhaps I'm just imagining but the culture has taken on a distinctly southern flavor. No more cowboy hats, boots, and belt buckles big enough to serve a meal on.

Southern humor seems evident too. Out of the blue a guy pulled up beside me at a gas station and said, "You know if you was a woman you'd be arrested." I went along and asked why. His answer, "Peddlin' pussy." That one caught me off guard.

Another guy said he passed me earlier and I was "Cadillacin'" up the road. I imagine he was referring to how fast I was going, but the term seems southern to me. No Spanish moss yet though.

At around 10:30 in Emory I stopped at a donut shop. It was a tiny building with an oven and several small counters. When I asked to buy a donut, a woman who turned out the be the owner said the shop closed at 10 am. I was surprised. We talked for a while. The cooks came in at 1:30 am and left at 4:30 am. She and her husband arrived around 3:00 and stayed until closing. Each day they sold over 300 donuts, which did not seem like a lot but then what do I know about the donut business. They gave away any left over to Meals on Wheels. That's why the cupboard was bare.