Boy, was I ripped off! I was hoping and guessing that a chapter titled "Hill Country" would be full of stories of wandering and discovery in and around Austin, Texas. Somehow, the chapter got its name from the area that a rest area was located, somewhere outside of Dallas. It can be hilly around there, I guess (though I have never made the trip from Dallas to Houston via I-45). Don wakes up in the cocoon of his sleeping bag, keeping warm in the back of a van. They are going through Dallas to get to Oklahoma and then plan on going over to the Grand Canyon. Maybe they want to go through the tip of Colorado to get there. I would've probably gone to Austin, and then West through Midland, Odessa, and Lubbock on through Albuquerque and then West towards the Grand Canyon. It's been awhile since I've been there -- or even looked at a map -- so my directions could be bogus.
It's funny. Don begans to wonder about people who ask the "why" questions: "Why are we here? Why do we do this?" Some people, it seems, aren't asking these questions. They are busy asking the "how" questions: "How do I get married? How do I make money? How do I get happy?" Don wonders what it would be like if he left/lost his faith. I heard a lecture he gave at Harvard that was described as him telling the story of how he walked away from his faith and his journey back towards it. I wonder if this trip the book chronicles is going to be that story. I wonder, and I get mad at myself for my memory getting fuzzy on the Don Miller timeline. It should be easy to figure it out once he tells it, but perhaps I wasn't listening or I haven't heard or read that story's details as to the "when's" and "where's." I guess he left Houston, went on this trip, maybe lost his faith sometime around there, and "found" it again or re-kindled it by the time he settled into Portland, where he is now. I remember him talking about telling God He doesn't exist, but then continued to have a dialog with Him about it the whole time, eventually returning to embrace the Truth that He is there.
Meanwhile, it'll be fun to "join" these two young men who set out to discover America. In this chapter they run across an older guy named Ben, who helps them fix their Volkswagen's twin-carberator. He makes a couple references about having to clean up "cuz he smells like a mule, and his wife doesn't like that," and the two men leave thinking, "Ben's got the life. Comes home to the woman he loves..." I remember a conversation that was repeated a couple times with my best friend from high school. We'd say, "All I want is a fine wife to come home to..." That sense of love, family, and relationship was a goal that we imagined would bring balance, perspective and peace to our lives. There's something about each of us, I think, that longs for a companion. Some of us can do alright working alone and forging ahead in life by ourselves, but there's something inside that yearns for this companionship, this love. It's frustrating to be consumed by this desire and not have it met. This quest leads to a lot of misery and disappointment sometimes, but it can also be a fun adventure.
I remember telling a friend what I discovered about dating: While I used to shrink back at the fear and nervousness of asking a girl out, I later decided to embrace the fear, the fast heartrate, the dizziness, and experience it like a drug or something. Instead of shrinking away from it, I drink it up like a thrill ride. This perspective allows me to enjoy not only that period of my life when I was single, but other areas, too. It helps me to look at mishaps or events as an opportunity to experience life. It's not easy to take that perspective and sometimes the thought of, 'I can really enjoy this' is the last thing on my mind. But I'd rather be happy and roll with the punches than uptight, frustrated, or full of rage.
So, back to the book. As I finish chapter 2 and look forward to chapters 3 and beyond, I imagine it's happening in real time (kind of like an exciting tv series like Prison Break) and want to shout, "Go, Don, go!"
Prison Break plot guesses:
The two cops that capture T-bag are going to be overcome somehow and lose the money. One of them will die. Probably the one that left the prison first (can't remember his name), the one with the most hair. T-bag should die, because he is evil, but his very evil character is what makes him essential to the show. Lincoln and TJ will somehow be blessed with a car wreck in the van transporting them back to prison (for the second time), and they'll escape. The crazy guy with the red football helmet and the bicycle wants to get to Holland, but he will do a few more crazy things and then get caught. I'd like to have a poster of him riding that bike with his helmet on. I used to have a poster of Kermit the Frog riding a bicycle from The Muppet Movie.
NFL plot guesses:
The NFL is rigged, a CIA/FBI plot to control gambling and the mafia's addiction to it. Here is what's going to happen:
The Chicago Bears will go undefeated throughout the regular season -- beating, coincidentily, the Miami Dolphins in Chicago, where a few of the '72 team members will encourage their old team to win -- but face the resurgent Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field in January for the NFC Championship. This will be another six-seeded team climbing its way through the playoff bracket. New York will win the NFC Beast; Seattle the West; Atlanta the South (I'm iffy on that one); Chicago the North; and Dallas and Minnesota the wild card teams. Dallas will win this game on the snowy field in icy conditions. It'll be a great defensive battle that will have running backs from both teams playing a vital role, and a single-covered Terry Glenn will catch the winning touchdown pass in the final minute. The AFC is harder to predict. Let's say: AFC East: New England; North: Baltimore; South: Indianapolis; the AFC Bwest: Denver; and the two wild cards: Denver and San Diego. Indianapolis will finally get over the hump and make it to the big game. Super Bowl LI will be a rematch of Super Bowl V. They haven't told me yet who will win that one.