7.10.2008

Day 13

What a lovely day. How effortlessly central Kentucky rolls by. I left My Old Kentucky Home State Park (phew!) and went on an early morning bourbon tour.

Heavenly Hash Bourbon is mashed and then stacked in new barrels in what look to be abandoned army barracks. I biked by the distillery at sunrise. My eyes are bloodshot from staring at the sun.

Flawed thesis: even ignoring sun worshipers, organized religion is sold easiest in areas with broad, beautiful skies. Consider rates of attendance in KY vs. Swansea. Consider horrible watercolors of sunsets (or firemen at sunset (or firemen with American flags at sunset)) popular with the evangelical crowd. Reconsider Frederick Church.

I talked to everyone today. I talked to a 6 year old who swore that his brother once caught 16 fireflies with one hand. I talked to an atheist from San Francisco about whether religion is just a word and about his odd dinner with the pastor's wife I plan on eating with tomorrow. I talked to an old woman about why the roads are the way they are -- they just are (although some flooding accounts for why roads are split across rivers. I talked to two fisherman about many raccoons that they named Roger. I talked to a turtle I saved from crushing because, if you whisper a secret into a turtle's ear you won't have to carry it anymore. Alright, alright I confess -- I ate catfood once.

Have you ever had an Ale-8-One? If not, can I recommend a trip to central Kentucky for the only ginger ale/fruit drink worth traveling for.

I am camped out at the base of a damn. I bumped into two girls going Eastbound and was joined by a man in an Iroc-Z.

"Any you girls wanna git round real fas? I show you dun dere."

His kids were quite embarrassed. Nobody was wearing. I mention this because, in a day when I have been stopped by or stopped 30 people to talk, this was the only cretin and yet this is what I felt like sharing with you. I am not doing these people justice. Central and Western Kentucky people are great people, gentlemen farmers with polite dogs, lovely fruit stand vendors with fresh peaches, kindly sheriffs who will track you down 2 miles down the road with different, better directions.

I gained an hour today. Tomorrow I will spend it on a ride at sunset. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks and a thousand miles. I am excited to spend it at the Baptist Church in Seebree, KY. Scuttlebut has it, these are special people.

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