[at-l] Chain of Events

[gadog430 at charter.net (Gadog430)]

Was it an electric fence? Was it a fence that held in an enormous dog named
'Rex' or 'Butch?
Just askin'
Dawg


----- Original Message -----
From: "Felix" <AThiker@smithville.net>
To: "AT-list" <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 8:08 PM
Subject: [at-l] Chain of Events


Here's a story that didn't make the cute at ATN a few years ago. I may
or may not ever do more with it than send it to you right now. It has
been edited or proofread, that I recall:



Chain of Events


My fingers clinched the chain-link fence as the patrol car pulled away.
I stared at the ?3128? on the license plate until it was out of sight.
My brain bounced around inside my head as I tried to figure out what had
happened over the last hour. I had no clue.

As I played the tape back in my head, I could see no reason that things
went the way they did. I had done, to the best of my knowledge, nothing
wrong. I had broken no law that I knew of. Still, I found myself on the
wrong side of a fence in a county lock-up somewhere in the sticks of
Georgia.

I had gotten a ride from a guy with a pick-up truck at a grocery store
in Hiawasee. He said he?d take me back to Unicoi Gap. After countless
hunting stories and curvy roads that had no end, we were in a parking
lot at Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia.

There was one other vehicle in the parking lot. It, too, was a truck.
The guy I was with, I think his name was Ray, pulled over next to the
truck.

?Will you drive that truck to my house for me? I need to get home,? he
asked.
?Ummm, sure. I guess. Yeah, why not.? I was really confused. I hadn?t
driven a car in nearly five months. I wasn?t sure I knew how to anymore.
I wasn?t sure why he hadn?t said something before driving me all the way
to the highest point in Georgia, either.
?Just follow me back to the highway. You know how to drive a
straight-stick, don?t you??
?Yeah. Where?s the key?? I asked looking at the empty ignition.
?Touch the two wires together. Pull ?em apart once it starts. Don?t mind
the sparks. They won?t hurt you.?

I touched the two wires together and indeed got some sparks. I also got
lots of noise from the engine. Good noise and bad noise, I imagined.
After a couple more attempts, the truck actually started and was running.

Looking up from beneath the dash, I was somewhat excited about having
?hotwired? a truck. I was surprised to see that Ray was already driving
away.

I quickly adjusted the mirror and tried to adjust the seat. It wouldn?t
move. I eased out on the clutch and forward motion was achieved. I saw
the tailgate of Ray?s truck as he rounded a bend. It was the last time I
ever saw Ray.

I drove the windy road back to the highway expecting to see him when I
got there. It was not to be. The sign said ?Unicoi Gap? and an arrow
pointed to the right. I decided to head back to the trail and hoped I
found Ray in the process.

I decided that if I didn?t find Ray, I?d just leave his truck in the
parking lot and head down the trail. I mean, it wasn?t my fault that he
drove away so fast that I couldn?t keep up with him. If you want someone
to follow you, shouldn?t you drive slowly enough that they could keep up?

It wasn?t until I parked the truck in the gap that I realized the flaw
in my plan. My backpack was in the other truck. All of my gear and food
was in the other truck. It was about then that I figured out that my
situation wasn?t exactly what I wanted it to be. I didn?t know it was
going to get worse.

As I sat in the truck trying to come up with options, my thought process
was interrupted by someone tapping on the window. I rolled the window
down enough to hear the man say ?Sir, I need you to step out of the
vehicle, please."

As I opened the door and slowly started to get out, the man said ?Sir,
are you aware that your truck doesn?t have a proper Georgia tag?? I was
not aware of this and told him as much. I got out of the truck just in
time to be surrounded by four sheriff?s deputies.
?I need to see a driver?s license, Sir.?
?Well, I don?t have one with me. It?s in my backpack in Ray?s truck,? I
explained.

After much discussion about who Ray was, and where Ray was, and where
Ray was supposed to be and where I was supposed to be, the officer in
charge asked if he could take a look in the truck. I said ?Sure.? I
don?t know what he found when he looked in the truck, but it wasn't long
before I was being handcuffed and put in the back of the patrol car with
?3128? for a license plate.

One minute I?m buying Little Debbies, the next I?m being told what my
rights are. I could remain silent. I could say something. If I said
something, it might be used against me later. I remained silent. While I
was silent, I kept thinking that the worst part was that I didn?t get to
eat the Little Debbies.

--
Felix J. McGillicuddy
ME-->GA '98
"Your Move"
ALT '03 KT '03
http://Felixhikes.tripod.com/


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