It feels good to get some fresh air into the lungs. The Cup and Saucer Trail is a very popular hike that’s only about a 2 hour drive from where I’m hunkered down and I figured I’d give it a go, so many folks had said good things about it. And they were correct-it’s laid out well, the scenery is gorgeous and there weren’t too many folks so of course my mind wandered to where it usually goes…

But there was no luck on that front. Most folks I passed were hiking in pairs and those that weren’t had taken a dog as company. There was a lone person here and there but I got to thinking that there was no way to tell if someone was coming along behind them as the trail twisted and turned in certain places. You’ve got to be smart about these things-if things don’t go perfectly a scream or yell can bring some fit people running right quick and all hell could break loose then.

So I got back into my vehicle and headed back. I’d reached the junction of Highways 6 and 17 and was turning west towards home when I saw a kid on the side of the road. He was hitchhiking but had lost hope of getting a ride. His thumb was out but his head was down against his chest. Guess he’d been there for awhile. I made a quick calculation and several tumblers clicked into place-the time of day, a side road, an inventory of what was in the trunk-they told me that this was a slam dunk. I pulled onto the shoulder.

As I lowered the passenger-side window he stuck his head in-

“Where you headed?”

“Not too far, about 90 minutes west of here. You?”

“I’m headed to B.C.-gotta long way to go.”

“Well, grab your gear and throw it in the backseat. We’ll knock a little chunk off your trip.”

“Yes sir!”

His open face and bald enthusiasm gave me pause, but just for a moment. He was from a small town outside Halifax and had been on the road for four days and was actually making good time, relatively speaking.

“B.C., huh? What’s out there? What’s your game plan?”, I asked.

“I’ve got three buddies out there that have been there about nine months. They’re sharing an apartment and they tell me there are plenty of jobs in the northern part of the province. I’ve been outta work for awhile. I just want to do something. Anything. I’m 22, don’t have a girlfriend and I want to see the country and live my life.”

My heart skipped a beat and I thought I might have briefly smirked. It didn’t seem as though he saw it. If he did, it didn’t seem to register. The sun was on its way down and the sideroad was coming up.

“Hey, I have to make a small detour, drop off some stuff to a cousin that lives on a road up ahead. You mind?”

He shook his head. As I turned in he looked at the road sign. “‘Seldom Seen Road’, we’ve got a lot of strangely-named towns and roads out east but this one takes the cake!” He shook his head again and smiled to himself. The road was about 8 kilometers long with houses on the righthand side for the first half and then spaced very far apart afterwards, most uninhabited. Nothing but dense bush on the other side. I slowed down and stopped in front of a residence that didn’t have any lights on.

“Looks like your cousin isn’t home”, he said as he peered out the window.

“Not a problem, I can drop the stuff on his back porch.” I popped the trunk and got out of the car. He was still staring at the house.

As I grabbed the mace and the tire iron I could see him looking at the overgrown grass, the sagging eavestrough, the broken bedroom window. I imagine a few tumblers began to fall into place for him now too. I went back to the open driver’s side door, peered in and was about to ask a question so he would turn towards me but he already had, a look of gradual realization that “something” not right was going to unfold. I gave him a full shot of mace in the eyes, his hands were flailing about, trying for the door latch but he was in full panic mode. I managed to grab him by the back of his collar and pulled him as hard as I could out my open door. Heaving backwards I lost my footing. He was half in and half out of the car, still flailing, trying to get to his feet. As he fell to the ground I was able to get to my feet and I gave him a blow on the back of his skull. He slumped onto the ground and I gave him another, and another. I quickly dragged him into the bushes and gave him some more. And then I dragged him further in.

I staggered back to the car, completely out of breath-“maybe a bit too much fresh air”, I thought to myself. I pulled into the driveway of the abandoned house and turned around and made my way back to the highway. As I pulled out I looked at the road sign, nodded and thought, “You’ve seen plenty of me over the years, haven’t you?” I smiled.

TO THE GAME!

Steelers/Bills:

-This is a tale of two qb’s-one that holds the ball for a long time looking to run or make a pass and another that zips it out of the pocket in about 2.2 seconds on average. Which is which?

-One thing that is holding the Steelers back-aside from the lack of a credible run game-is the amount of dropped passes that are occuring. Over just the last two games they’ve had 11 fall between mitts. The next team has five less.

-Wr-wise Diggs is the obvious start but Pitt has had a ton of trouble defending the slot and that’s where our man Beasley resides. He’s just come off a 130 yard adventure last week.

-What do you do with Conner now that he’s back? Does he gets the full workload or does the coaching staff throw caution to the wind and the wolves? Either way, I bet he gets injured-it just comes naturally to him.

Do as thou wish.