Sue?

Sue?

Tanya and Dorise with their big baskets, playing for the love of music and not even thinking about money...but no sight of Sue...
Oh, Sue!?!
I still don't see Sue anywhere.
The librarians here, have not seen her in "about 3 months," and I am thinking that Sue finally left New Orleans, like she had been saying that she was going to do all along.
Luckily, I still have her e-mail address and can maybe catch up to her in the Pacific Northwest if it should come to that.
From The Fire...
Howard and I took the bus to downtown Baton Rouge Tuesday afternoon.
We still had time to catch the last bus to New Orleans, but, as is typically the case,
I started to remember a bunch of little details at the last minute to tend to before leaving.
I wanted to go to Shermans, to see if he would be able to duck tape the box that I am now carrying two laptops in.  
Howard did not want to impose upon Sherman to crash at his place for the night so we could take an early bus out, but I knew of a spot to sleep nearby  there, should the guy have become "funny" about letting us crash there, and was not worried about being able to pass a night.
Sherman taped the the box which held my two laptop computers, but then, as usual, we became distracted before I was able to use his phone to call officer Chutz about the whole bag of stuff which was missing after I got out of jail.
I take full responsibility for the mess, because we had gotten on Youtube and started to watch a bunch of videos of bands that we started to talk about under the heading of "Whatever happened to them?" -bands such as Tesla. Remember Tesla??? We do. 
It gradually became too late for me to call officer Chutz and ask him about the whereabouts of my stuff. I should have prodded Sherman to let me use his phone, but I guess I am as easily distracted as him.
My Road Dog

For some reason Sherman chose to call revelry at 6 a.m. this morning (even though we two had been up looking at videos until midnight, while Howard slept) and I awoke in a stupor after only 5 hours of sleep.
He and Howard began to have a discussion about China while I tried to grab a few more minutes of sleep, to no avail. It was like a cruel joke. I faced the prospect of going to New Orleans on 5 hours of sleep (I looked in the mirror and looked like death warmed over; I couldn't help but think that Sherman had engineered the whole thing out of jealousy, because he has no girlfriend and no prospects) to hopefully run into Sue, looking 10 years older.
I also hadn't made the officer Chutz call.
I hadn't broken out my guitar, either, to continue working my fingers into playing shape after being inactive for 45 days
I wondered, once again, if people who open their doors for you and roll out a red carpet don't sometimes do you a dis-service in the long run...
We sat there at 6 a.m., over coffee, after I finally gave up upon getting any more rest and had joined the two of them in their discussion of China.
I was trying to maintain a positive outlook and stay appreciative to Sherman for having let us crash there, but I was stressed out over lack of sleep (I lay awake thinking about things that could go wrong on the trip and about things that had gone wrong in the past.
I then started raining, then thundering and down pouring.
I couldn't help but think that I saw a sly grin on Shermans face as this happened. 
I'm so glad that I don't fear that the whole planet (even the weather) is out to get me...
"Is that thunder?" asked Howard after a particularly loud blast which penetrated his hard-of-hearing-ears.

"Yes, Howard."

It didn't surprise me because it actually seems like this damned city is intentionally trying to punish us for leaving it and is throwing everything at us...like in some Steven King novel, where stuff like that is not only plausible, but is feasible.
It didn't rain long. 
When It Rains...

I decided to run to the store a few blocks up the street to get a morning energy drink, after it stopped. The man in the store greeted me in a very friendly way and we talked about the weather. After I proffered my food stamp card in order to pay for the drink, though, he became very short with me, snapped "Here's your reciept!," and didn't even say "You're welcome." after I had said "Thank you."
I went back to Shermans. I was completely dry; not even a spot of wetness on me, upon arrival.
Howard asked: "Is it still raining?"

I pointed to my completely dry shirt.
"Oh," said Howard. ...You're learning, I guess...
It seems that his I.Q. takes a dive whenever we are traveling together, him being out of his element; not knowing where the next Jack-In-The-Box meal is coming from, and looking to me for "What do we do next??".
But, shame on me for not recalling this from the times in the past and not being prepared mentally for it....
We are in New Orleans now.
I paid Howards way and he is going to re-imburse me the 5 dollars for the Hotard bus. I haven't found Sue at the library; the library people haven't seen her "in three months, or so" and that is where it stands. 
I will probably busk a bit this evening and then, we will go out to the rail yard tomorrow. and try to hop to Mobile.