Good people still...

I'm in a freight yard in New Jersey, preparing to sweat into my bed. The heat isn't too bad, but the humidity is right up there in Georgia territory. And since New Jersey is a "no idling" state, well...

Got here early, and found out they'd let me park for the night (a welcome bit of news--truck stop hunting in New Jersey is quite a sport). I asked if there were any stores, restaurants, etc., nearby and got directions. They thought I was going to unhook from the trailer and bobtail* there--most people have a different definition of "walking distance" than I have.

Walked to a supermarket, got a few things, and started back. By the time I got close to the freight yard again, it was dark and I was starting to feel the walk. It was about that time I realized I'd left my hat at the supermarket. And by that time I was far enough along that it didn't make sense to turn around. Might as well go on to the truck, toss my newly-purchased stuff in, and then go back. Sigh. I took what I thought was the right side street and trudged on toward (temporary) home.

When the street took a right-angle curve I started to wonder. When the dog started barking ferociously from behind someone's back fence, I wondered some more. I didn't remember any houses on that street, facing this way or not.

The owner of the house told me I was walking down a dead-end street. For a moment that was encouraging--this place IS on a dead-end street. But then he went on about the trucking company he kept hearing through the woods--over THAT way. I told him which street I thought I was on. He told me this wasn't it. Then he told me to come around the house (outside the fence, no sense upsetting the dog further). He was going out to get some pizza for his kids. He could take a small side trip.

It turned out to be a bit bigger--he took me back to the supermarket to get my hat. Commiserated about the trucker's life (he drives a garbage truck), the perfidies of politicians, and the state of the world in general. Then dropped me off in front of the trucking company, wished me luck, and went off to find sustenance for his offspring.

There are still decent human beings to be found in random places. I sometimes forget. The reminder was worth the getting lost, I think.

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*fairly obvious, I think