On my way to Athens, I heard a new rattle in the bus. Now, this bus has a lot of rattles, but after a while you get to know each one intimately. This one continued to get louder and I thought it would be best to pull off and see what was going on. There was a small parking lot, and I shut the engine off and checked the oil, and….yikes….no oil on the dipstick. I had a quart in the back and put that in, and again, no oil on the stick. Luckily, there was a tire dealer nearby, C&B Tire Wholesale. I went in and talked to Cliff who said they really don’t sell oil on a retail basis, but he could pour me a couple quarts for the bus. After seeing the bus and finding out what the Project was all about, Cliff said, “The oil is on me; just keep taking care of the kids.” What a great guy. Anyway, it took a total of four quarts of oil to get the level right. (What guy would ever admit to this) After a minute or so of running the bus, the new rattle had disappeared. Another crisis handled with the help of the Kindness Project. I decided to stop for a quick bite at a local diner just down the road. Let me tell you this place was a real slice of America. You know you are in a good spot, when the restaurant you are at, is named after the road you were just driving on; the 4 – 11, and the music playing in the background is about some guy driving his International Harvester combine. I love this country‼
I arrived at the campus at lunchtime and spoke to Kelso, Macey, and Lauren who told me to get in touch with Dr. Pelley who is involved in a kindness project here on campus. Also I met a student, Milan who was so enthused. I met a woman who worked in a lunchroom who was also enthused and she even gave me a cup of coffee. I talked to about 50 students while I was there. The oil incident killed a lot of time, and I had to move on the Cleveland, Tennessee.
On the way to Cleveland, I stopped at a coffee shop and met a lady with 3 daughters. She is involved in community service and thought the Project was great. They all loved the bus and took many pictures with Bogart.
Then I got to thinking about my presentation in Cleveland, Ohio on November 17th at Cleveland State University. That’s only ten days away. Mary Alice Casalina of Project Love was clear that she wants the bus to be there. She said I’ll be able to drive it right into the Wolstein Center. It’s a great opportunity to reach out to a few thousand kids about the Kindness Project. They’ll love the bus, she says. So we’re doing a U-turn for a week and a half. I gotta make the most of the trip back from the Tennessee/Georgia border.
Change of Plans!
I decided to drive back to Cleveland, Ohio by way of a Indiana. Here’s my plan:
Indiana University
University of Indianapolis
Anderson University
Ball State University
Indiana Wesleyan
University of St. Francis
Defiance College
Bowling Green University
Oberlin College
This looks extremely ambitious, but I really think I can do it if I get to two schools a day. While in Fort Wayne, I’ll connect with Mimi Burns and her Celtic Band who will plan a gathering for the project. I spent Saturday driving to Bloomington Indiana
