"Things Dangerous To Come To......"

It seems that today we are contestants in a game titled “How Many Weird Things Can Happen Within a Few Hours?” It’s a SUPER fun game, and I’d like to think we’re winning.

Today started as every day on this walk does. We got up early, packed our

things, and left our hotel room at 7:30. We’ve been leaving earlier than usual the past few days because it has been getting very hot in the afternoon. We learned this lesson the hard way, as Ann almost had a heat stroke late in the afternoon a few days ago. She broke down, claiming she wasn’t strong enough to keep going in the heat. I claimed that a person who knows their own limits and can communicate them is a stronger person than one who keeps quiet, dwelling in silent, lonely, dangerous misery. I think Annimal prayed to GuanYin to turn off the heat and, unfortunately, the prayer was answered. Today it is cool and it’s currently raining heavily.

Before it started raining, we were walking through construction, weaving to avoid roadblocks and passing cars. I passed an old man on the roadside, then stopped when a car pulled over to talk to me and offer me a ride. Annimal was just ahead, and I explained to the people that we were walking. The old man had caught up to us. We continued walking and he asked what we were doing. I explained to him that we were walking to Beijing and he gave me a “Lihai!” (You’re great) and a pat on the shoulder.

‘Okay, easy old man’ I thought as he kept patting my shoulder. Then he moved south. For a fraction of a second I had to question if this was reality. Did this old man really just put his hand on my ass?! He fit in a quick squeeze before my brain caught up to reality and I finally reacted.

“Whoa!! Hey!!” I yelled as I gave him a hard shove away from me. As he stumbled backwards, I turned around and glared at him. He looked shocked, as if he had just been wronged. A sexual predator playing the victim…..how original. Ann didn’t see it happen, but she sensed the tension and gave him an angry mouthful as I jumped over the guardrail and we stormed away. I hope it was worth it for the dirty old bird; it probably was….after walking 1,000 kilometers, my ass is FIT. I almost don’t blame the guy. 

That’s a lie- he’s an asshole.

We carried on and it began to rain heavily. Thankfully, it’s not cold. So we are wet, but not miserable. We walked by another traffic jam. A large truck had flipped over on the freeway, completely blocking all three lanes of traffic. As we were walking over an overpass, the rain poured down in buckets and, every once in a while, thunder boomed around us. It seemed to get closer and closer until it was right above us. I saw a bright flash of light in my peripheral, which was immediately followed by a deafening CRACK of thunder that was as loud as a truck horn. My heart jumped out of my chest and I whipped around to make sure Ann hadn’t been fried to a crisp. Thankfully, she was fine.

We’re currently waiting out the rain in this coffee shop, hoping that the lightning strike can turn the energy of this strange day around.