Jeremy to the West

May 26 2018 $39 Day 12

I rescind my earlier statement concerning Powerade. The grape flavour is the perfect beverage and I'm going to buy, like, four of them next chance I get.

Things started out fairly average today. Gentle slopes, wind in my face, grass—uh—grassing. The only notable things in the morning were a descent so long and low my ears felt the change in pressure and a sign for the town of Waldeck (I think) stating the town possessed no services. News flash, you're not a town; you're just a bunch of long-term campers.

I came to Swift Current some time after 13:00, exploring a bit and observing its decaying populace before dining in a Humpty's. I hadn't even seen one of them in over a decade, so why the hell not?

Halfway through my dessert of lemon pie, I glanced out the window and, just for a second, thought I'd recognized ParacosmicM (brilliant writer; check her out) outside before she put on her shades and walked out of view. I didn't really believe my eyes and didn't want to step outside without paying only to bother a stranger, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was her, so I texted her sister.

Ten minutes later, I received a reply. It really had been ParacosmicM! She, her sister and some friends of ours had stopped to gas up just outside the Humpty's.

Half an hour later, I stopped by a sign stating Calgary was 511km away. I checked my phone here and saw that her sister had asked when I might arrive in Calgary. My heart sank at this next thought. They would arrive in five hours. But it would take me five days at best. And looking back on previous entries in this journal, it can be surmised that "best" isn't what the road has in store for me.

Still, my energy was renewed by the thought that my friends had traversed the road ahead of me so recently. I pedalled from that moment in Swift Current until dusk, arriving in Gull Lake. But sitting here now, I have to wonder why I pushed so hard after this near miss. It's not as though I can catch up to them. And by the time I reach Calgary, the punk show they mean to attend will be over and they'll be long gone.

Maybe I miss my friends more than I'm willing to outright admit. It hasn't even been two weeks, but that doesn't change the feeling. I had a very close encounter very far from home and maybe it's just the exhaustion, solitude and distance talking, but I should've jumped through that restaurant window when I saw her. I'm just not impulsive enough.

It kinda makes me think. When I'm at home, I'll sometimes go all day without checking my phone, even if I've heard it buzz that day. Or I'll read a message and get distracted by something else before replying. Maybe I should be more responsive when I get back. Someone could be trying to contact me a thousand kilometres from home.

Someday, I'd like to look back on my naive 24-year-old self and say, "ah, sweet child, they have a gas station now."

I let out a big ol' F-bomb when this sign became legible to me.