OS On The Road: Jackson TN

Business travel took OS to West Tennessee, to a lovely and overlooked small city east of Memphis--Jackson.

He stopped in for breakfast at a restaurant chain he enjoys, and found a middle-aged man turning in an employment application to the manager on duty. He was at the point of begging for any job, and in a way needed someone to talk to that morning more than anything else. It was the manager's turn. There were no positions open, and OS observed that this gent was far from the first in his position to come into the restaurant, needing a job and needing someone to talk to. She was kind, but had neither a job nor a listening ear, with customers waiting to be seated. OS felt tears well in his eyes, remembering what it was like to feel that lonely and desperate. He regrets not reaching in to grab a twenty from his wallet for the gent, but the moment passed before he could gather his wits about him.

Meetings went swimmingly, a visit to Marshall's for a few household and kitchen restocks. Quite a few shoppers in the store, no one making a big purchase, but a steady trade nonetheless.

On the way home, a stop for fuel and a visit to 'the facilities'. Over the years, OS has seen all manner of graffiti in truck stops, and won't take time to describe it. Before today, he had never seen scrawlings on a stall cursing the President of the United States. It was chilling to read, a sense that some line has been crossed by someone somewhere.

Home all week, grinding out a tax return, resenting every moment spent justifying his existence to a government out of control. The thought of golf next week keeps him going.