Day 276
Jacye
I staggered out of Luke's petrol station and shop, handed Tom a small jar of liquid.
‘That’s Moonshine, and we’re off to visit with Jacye!’ I slurred.
Tom tipped his Stetson, sorry Helmet and replied ‘Goddam!’
It had been a long, long day, nearly 85 miles. The fickle finger of fate had been working extra hard to bring us to this point.
We had started out pretty early as very bad weather was forecast to arrive late afternoon. We had nowhere to stay, so were hoping to get accommodation with a church, fire station or kind local. We left the levee after a few miles but the roads were mainly quiet and the wind, though strong was behind us, pushing us along at a fair pace. Then stuff started to delay us. I had a puncture, then another. Tom’s chain came off. We had to stop for a train. Now these trains go slow, and are a mile or more in length, so this was quite a wait. A couple of miles later, we had a left turn, yep, we had to stop for the same train! So, nothing for it, we decided to try Taco Bell for lunch and mighty fine it was too. Naturally there was yet another train on the line, by now we were so over long trains! I popped into a hardware shop to ask for water, they kindly obliged, but also warned up that the storm was forecast to be bad (in New Orleans it was to become a tornado causing a lot of damage). We knew we had to get a move on and find shelter. Tom pointed out that the birds were still flying so we should be OK, but the roads were almost deserted, we didn’t know it yet, but all the schools and many work places were closed for the storm. About 3pm the rain started. We were in the middle of nowhere, so pushed on. Then the thunder and lightning arrived. Not too bad at first, but gradually the lightning became more frequent, the thunder louder than we have ever heard and the rain pounded down on us. Still in the middle of nowhere, we carried on. Finally after an hour or so it eased. The sun came out and we warmed up and started to dry out. We’d survived, now only the little matter of somewhere to sleep. After riding for what felt like forever, we reached the town of Fordoche. The church looked deserted, so we decided to pop into the garage for help. As I entered a young woman was chatting to the assistant, they were trying out Expresso Moonshine, would I like some? As I tried it, I explained that I needed help contacting the church. At this point the young woman, Jacye said she had hosted cyclists before and we would be welcome to stay with her. I felt tears forming, and she hugged me to calm me down.
Well, we had a night of real Louisiana hospitality. Fed and showered, yes, but so much more. We were welcomed not just by Jacye, but by her friend she was staying with Sheena, their neighbours Misty Dupont and grandma Dolores, who will have now celebrated her 87th birthday, also Hadley and Hudson, Misty’s children, and finally but definitely not least by the Chicken and Duck! We had the best of times. They all had the kindest of hearts, we felt truly welcomed. There was more, we discovered that Jacye is an incredibly talented singer and songwriter. We were blown away by her talent. Look her up, Jacye Guerin - she is going to be a star. In our eyes she already is.
