Rampant Amputation in GA? And How to be Ready When the Black Cloak Drags Upon the Ground - Days 10 and 11 and the End of the Trip

Day 10*
The morning of Day 10, I headed north from Santa Rosa Beach fairly early, with the goal of reaching Athens, Georgia and my AirBNB there in time to watch some Saturday night music in perhaps the most storied small music town in America.

First stop was Bruce’s Café, about 30 minutes east of Santa Rosa Beach.

Fig. A: Small but mighty cheap

I’m not sure what currency that part of Florida uses, but it can’t possibly be dollars, because I got two eggs, two biscuits, bacon, grits, and 4 cups of coffee and the bill was eight dollars. That can’t be American dollars, right?


Fig. B: Blue Ridge, Ga. has nothing on this place for charm.

I asked if Bruce was there, and they said Bruce is the name of the town, not the name of the owner. I would have demanded some proof but I was too tired after eating 2 tonnes of breakfast food.

Looking at my notes now, this is about the best description I can offer of the places I saw on the way back:

Fig. C: Some small town.


Fig. D: Another small town, not sure where.


Fig. E: Oh, well, that isn’t relevant at all.


Fig. F: Here's another small town, in Georgia maybe? Oh, wait, I found some notes: this small town with the giant courthouse is Blakely, Georgia.

Fig. G: You get the idea.

It appears I was more focused on getting home than enjoying the trip at this point.

However, I did run across this billboard along the way. Several times. SEVERAL.

Fig. H: What the hell??


I didn’t realize amputation was the kind of impulse decision people made based on outdoor advertising. And what the hell is going on with people’s feet down there?

In another town that I can’t remember, I went into a convenience store to use the facilities, and experienced the LOUDEST BATHROOM MUSIC I’d ever heard, and I once peed in a mosh pit at a Death Metal show.

I finally made it to Athens toward the end of the day, checked into my AirBNB, and walked downtown to experience the MECCA of music, first hand, on a Saturday night, no less.

And struck out. They say don’t ever meet your heroes…

Actually, they said if I were willing to wait, a show started at 9:30. I said, “9:30 AT NIGHT???”

I went back to the AirBNB and watched Supercross racing on my iPad.


Day 11*
The next day I continued meandering northwardish, but decided I was not going to stop in North Carolina, and instead would do a straight shot from Athens to Midlothian.

Around 5 p.m., got to South Boston. I’d been to South Boston before, but never through South Boston, and it is a cool little town.

Looking for a beer and a sandwich, I found a place on Google called Darby’s Tavern. This is not what I expected.

Fig. I: Uh… do you serve sandwiches?

Turns out Darby’s Tavern is part of the Berry Hill Resort in South Boston. Despite the impressiveness of the structure, the food was reasonably priced (and delicious). However, the dining experience reinforced for me that there is nothing more useless than a cloth napkin. All it does it spread the food around on your face.

Late on Day 11 I rolled back into Midlothian and home. It was good to be back with Stacy and our two newish cats (at the time), Ella and Nash, who Daniel and his girlfriend Georgia rescued in Nashville a couple months earlier.

Fig. J: Awwwwww….

When I arrived home (in February 2024, I can now reveal), my old and very good friend John Donovan gave me a call. He was interested in doing a similar road trip with his wife Sharon, so we chatted about the experience and I tried to pass along what I’d learned. He was excited about the idea, and it was great to talk to him.

A few weeks later, on March 3, 2024, I posted my annual Facebook message about how “this is the weekend…”, which I always post when I suddenly realize that winter is losing the battle, and spring, summer and fall are all ahead of us.

I’ll include the full post below, but here’s an excerpt to give you an idea:

“***Right now… it’s all in front of you. Depending on your zip code, you are looking at 7-10 months of sun and warmth and cookouts and beers on a patio and time on a beach or river or lake and adventure and the opportunity for cheap travel (see AirBNB or cheap hotels) and LIFE.***
“And RIGHT NOW you can, IF you choose, realize and appreciate that *it’s all in front of you*. Like an infant gifted with self-awareness, you can see the beauty of life stretched out ahead of you.
“But don’t blink. Not for a second. Because in that blink it will be gone. The spring/summer/fall will be gone.”
“**Do not sleepwalk through the Summer of 2024.** And do not sleepwalk through your life. Take it from a 61-year-old crank: It will be gone in a blink.”


This was an annual post that my friend John always liked and commented on. This time John did not comment on my post, and shortly afterwards, I found out why. He’d fallen on that same day, March 3, and after three very difficult weeks in the hospital, John died.

I’m not mentioning John’s passing to be sad (tears notwithstanding). I write it because John believed very deeply in this philosophy of life: Life is good, live it now, love it now, love those you love NOW. One reason he believed this was because, as Sharon said afterwards, John lived with Death on his shoulder, due to some pretty serious medical issues.

The night John called me to talk about a potential road trip, he did not know of course that he had only weeks left. None of us know. But he had always chosen to live life because he didn’t know when it would end but that he knew that it would, and because life is good, now, while we are alive.

One of John’s favorite songs was The Once and Future Carpenter by the Avett Brothers, specifically because of this lyric:

Forever I will move like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction I'll look up to the sky.
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender, and remember
Well we're all in this together.
If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die.

John was not scared to die, because he had lived the life he was given, and he reminded me the night he called to keep doing the same.

THIS is the day, the weekend, the time. Now. To live.

TravelChuckAmputation, Gangrene, Or is it gangreen?, John Donovan, Life is Good, Bruce's Cafe, Darby's Tavern, South Boston, Once and Future Carpenter, Avett BrothersComment