Temporary Neighbors

This morning when I got out of my car, I met a nice couple parked close by. They had a VW van towing a VW bug on a trip a ways farther north. We chatted for a bit, the young man offered me some pasta and sausage for breakfast heated with the stove in their van.

Turns out we both worked on a Master's degree in a physics-related field. He recently graduated. Didn't strike me as the 9-5 white collar office type. Took off his shirt and lay on a towel fixing a coolant leak under his van. I felt he was very knowledgeable about living on the road and places to travel.

The young lady is mother to a baby several months old, and two cool dogs. The larger dog got jealous when I pet the smaller one, who looked more like a cat. I privately nicknamed the small dog 'Whiskers' and thought he'd be a perfect sidekick to an scheming villain. The baby was beginning to talk without words. At various points she contributed her thoughts to our conversation, especially after her daddy spoke, she'd like to talk.

I sat on a camping chair eating pasta next to the mother sitting on the lawn, while the man worked beneath his van. The morning was warm, sunny and the grass was green. Dogs ambled about and a baby squealed happily beside her mother. It was wonderful to share the morning with my temporary neighbors.


So, thanks to my neighbors and up above for that moment.

Well, sucks for the guy that his car was leaking, but he found the problem at least before it turned into a disaster. Cooked me food then repaired his car while I ate, ha ha. Comes with the territory of being a man, I suppose. I'll get there too, but for the time being... I am unrestrained except by responsibilities to myself.

Let me jot down some stuff he told me before I forget everything completely.

Memphis has great fried chicken, but don't sleep there because there's crime.
Nashville is nice, and so is that other city in Tennessee.
Use trucker rest areas for showers and wifi.
RV parks can give temporary employment, work for a month have a place to stay.
A camper stove is a good investment, to cook food out in a park or something.
Government jobs are one way to make a ... (non-conventional, I suppose? navy, air force, etc) living
Oh yeah, Oklahoma is boring. LOL.
Tuscon is either good or bad, I forget. Probably good since it was mentioned.

And he probably also told me:
The Secret To Life
How to Succeed with Others and Win at Everything
Ways to Be Happy and Influence Others
What to do if a Hurricane Hits While You Are Fighting A Bear
Where to Dig for Lost Aztec Gold Without a Treasure Map
How You Can Tie A Fishing Line and A Coat-hanger Together To Create a Parachute
... but I probably wasn't paying attention. Ha ha.

No, but seriously I got a lot of practical suggestions and I said, "I'll probably forget 90% of what you're telling, me but it feels nice hearing it anyway." XD. I'll pick up skills on my own as I go too.

Oh yeah, another thought that he mentioned. Sometimes you got to listen to people. People who know their jobs well and work with them. Get to know lots of technology, and how to use them, without being an expert at any particular one. It's a thought I heard before from someone in his line of work.

Oh I have this idea for 'busking,' I think that's the correct term... Asking for money with a sign. So I was thinking of funny stuff to put on it and maybe take pictures of myself with the sign. Not for the cash so much as for getting a kick out of people's reactions.

Here's a few that came to mind. Maybe I'll start a separate post sequence if I go through with this idea.

"Will teach Calculus for food"
"Ask me how to solve your differential equations."
"2 + 2 = 4. If that wasn't too hard, I can teach you Linear Algebra"
"Want to learn how gravity works? Offering a 12 week course. Credits are non-transferable"

and now I'm just making up stuff that I haven't thought through... ha ha.

If anybody gave me spare change and sat down to learn Calculus I would ROFL and declare myself the Winner at life.