Gumbo Across America....a man and his shit goin' home

The very latest in reality programming - Johnny Gumbo, friend/ festival co-ordinator/ Ph.D./ Rotarian/ Nascar aficionado/ snakecharmer/ philosopher/ rogue, is leaving Connecticut and is making his way to the Great Northwest in a sleek rented UHaul. Stay tuned for reports EXCLUSIVELY on johnnykmusic....

Episode #2 - Gumbo rolls into Indiana; citizens warned to approach with caution

jg and his trusty sidekick, Hattie the Parakeet, motored into Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on the second day of their cross country trek. He was stopping off to visit his sister and her family who always welcome him affectionately when he visits, nod their heads, and wonder "What is Crazy Uncle John up to now?".

With a big plate of biscuits and gravy under his belt and Johnny Cash on the CD, jg began his push further into the "Heartland" on Tuesday with high hopes of seeing "what this great land of ours is all about". He was not disappointed. Passing such memorable sights along the way such as the The National Bicycle Museum and the home of Charles Kettering, the inventor of the automobile self-starter, jg only wished he had more time to stop and take it all in. But the life of a cross country trucker is always driven by the clock and sentimentality takes a back seat. Maybe someday.

There was one moment of "high anxiety" on the day's trip. Uncharacteristically, jg found himself on a lone stretch of US 30 in western Ohio with a gas gauge approaching empty. He and Hattie (pictured at right) had been immersed in listening to a local CW radio station and had failed to perform the mandatory instrument cross check that all professional drivers do automatically. With no fuel stops in sight on the highway, he was forced to take a side road off the beaten path and ended up at a Marathon gas station (one of only two in town) in Van Wert, OH. The locals took him in, as well as his $100 gas bill, wished him well and sent him on his way.

jg and Hattie will stay in Ft. Wayne for a day, happily indulge his neice and nephew, and then head out on Thursday for a two day trip across the great abyss of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska on the way to visit an aunt and uncle in Cheyenne, WY (yes, there are real cowboys there, and the sheep are really scared). 'Til then...."On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again....

Previously, on Gumbo Across America:

Prologue

Episode #1 -