I slept in a Rest Area in the middle of Missouri last night. Pulled in just before dusk and was able to unwind a bit and picture my white feet cozied up in the truck. Wow, what a day!

It all started to transform from great road trip vibes to surreal when I entered a freeway on ramp after fueling and spotted someone on the side with a sign that said "Going to Manhattan, Stranded, Please Help!". I stopped of course and Jack climbed into my front seat with a small backpack he stuck between his legs on the floor, and the sign.

He was 28, a troubled young soul with a peaceful face. Said he'd been hitch-hiking for three weeks trying to get back to a girl that he met at a party somewhere and she's in Manhattan Kansas, just down the road. Ok, I get it! I praised him for perpetuating the great American hitch-hiking tradition! He had lost his phone somewhere, hurt his hand and had $5 to his name that he just found on the ground before I stopped. I relate!

I took the Manhattan exit thinking I'd drop right into town and let him off at a store but the town was eleven miles down the road. My reaction was instant, I told him that I had been assigned to be his temporary Guardian Angel by the Other Side and that I was taking him to Manhattan and he began smiling and nodding his head up and down saying I believe you, thank you. It was a moment. Anyway, dropped him off and got back into my homeward bound journey just a little behind.