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#Scattered_Day 2


552 miles from Bremen, Georgia to Shreveport, Louisiana

I had a difficult time conjuring Della, Tish, or Ann on todays ride. First of all, I despise the kind of Super Slab Ground Pounding style of riding I've been doing for the last two days. It's all because I made reservations in Sedona! Something I never do just for this reason. So as of tomorrow morning, that's gonna stop. I'll get to Sedona when I get to Sedona. And if my hosts' psyche skills are legit, she will already know that, right!? 

Frankly, I wanted to quit today. I'll admit it. And if you read my book 'Riding Soul-O,' you know I'm okay with 'honoring my limitations.' After calling the 4 key people in my life (my go-to people) and having this discussion their collective advice was basically 'you are tired, you need to get something to eat, a good nights sleep and make your decision in the morning.'  I'm not a quitter. But I will 'Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome.'

I've traveled the deep south for the last two days - I've LIVED in the deep south for the last 40 years but Florida doesn't really count as DEEP SOUTH - and here is what occupied my mind as I clicked off the miles. The Confederate flag. The flag flies everywhere down here; twice today I saw the Confederate flag flying ABOVE the U.S. flag on a flag pole. One was even flying (below) along with the U.S. flag at the Mississippi National Guard Armory.

I don't intend to make this blog political but it IS my blog and it IS about the topics that set my brain on fire.

I visited Appomattox Court House a few years ago and walked the same path that General Lee walked on his way to surrender to General Grant which ended the Civil War. Period. The flag was representative of the Confederate states; they don't exist. The flag has since become a symbol of hate, division, racism, bigotry and violence. A symbol of the Klan and white supremacists. It is a symbol of oppression that needs to be laid to rest. Enough about politics.

I crossed the Mississippi River again today and the sight of its muddy waters never ceases to amaze me. I've crossed it in every state it runs through on various travels. The Mississippi River carries a vast amount of our country's history along in its current. The music, the literature, the food and of course the river's role in the Civil War. I guess I thought a great deal about history today. I am a huge blues fan; traveled all through Mississippi on the Blues Trail. When I taught 9th grade I used the entire PBS series 'The History of the Blues' to engage reluctant readers! The kids loved it; we spent an entire semester learning about the blues. I've stood at the crossroads of Rt. 61 and 49 where legend has it  Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil for guitar greatness. Promised myself on the return trip home, I would hit the Blues Trail again.

I'm hoping tomorrow my character Della will decide to ride with me; history can weigh heavy on my mind, especially when I see it being repeated.


Debi Tolbert Duggar is the author of 'Riding Soul-O'
Part Memoir, Part Travelogue, Part Spiritual Salvation
Available at Bessieandme.com and online wherever books are sold




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