Are they crazy? Am I crazy?

So this was supposed to be posted last Sunday night...however me and anything that requires a password cannot play nice lately. So...now that cooler heads have prevailed...on with the show...
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The whole house shook...my first thought was that someone ran through the fence and into the back of the house. I jumped up and soon realized it was a rumble of thunder that woke me from a deep sleep in about 2 milliseconds. Having your backyard up against a busy street with trucks that rumble down the road, you get used to hearing the rumble but not where it sounds like the windows are about to shatter. So after I got my heart out of my throat I sat down and listened to the rain and watched as the lightning flashed through the blinds. Thunder right after so it was a bit unnerving. What do I decide to do? Great day for a drive out in the country. A friend of mine told me about an area around Philadelphia, Mississippi that had a lot of old barns and houses, things I really like taking pictures of. So I figured why not, even though I knew I wouldn't take many pictures, if any today. So I gathered up my gear, set the trip odometer to 0, and set out on the road. Of course I had to stop at the gas station right up the street and get an Icee. They have the best around. I always have something to drink with me when I go on the road...whether I am thirsty or not. It's like I think I'm gonna get dehydrated or die of thirst, or just habit. Not quite sure yet. So I head out, driving up north towards Franklinton and there are not too many people out today. Gee, perhaps it could be the torrential downpour but who knows. As I am gettin into Miss. I'm seeing a couple old gas stations and mark them on the GPS to come back on a better day. All the while I'm getting my orientation right...this one is on the east side of the road so I should come back in the evening for the best light...check... As I am driving up Hwy 27 I see a group of motorcycles. About 12 in all driving down the highway in the pouring rain. Of course my first thought is "are they crazy?!!" But soon after saying "wow" a couple times (I think I may have even said it out loud) I start to think...maybe they are just doing something they love to do and who am I to think they are crazy? Just because I wouldn't do it doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't. People may think I'm crazy for driving my truck in the pouring rain, listening to Armin Van Burren's "A State of Trance 2010" while getting excited about finding abandoned buildings when most of the "normal" people would not go out if they didn't have to on a day like this. So it made me think about something...who figured out that a "day" is not actually a full 24 hours long...it's 23 hours and 56 minutes? And who's idea was it to add all those minutes up and give us February 29th every 4 years? Wow. 464.9 miles later I am home. Some observations on my trip:

• I saw lots of potential photographic subjects, but I already knew the weather was not going to cooperate. One of the very few shots I took is of the lonely railroad tracks posted here. I stood in the rain a few minutes thinking about those that have travelled up and down these tracks...
• There are a lot of chicken farms in Miss. And I saw where farmers proudly display who they are affiliated with...Tyson...Sanderson Farms...etc. Then I wondered. If these competing farmers should have a dispute, do they egg each other's houses? I mean, they don't have to drive down to Winn Dixie and buy a dozen eggs like we do. They have all the ammunition in the world and it is reproduceable.
• The church building business has to be lucrative. There are churches everywhere. There were a couple spots where I could have stood in the same spot and thrown rocks and hit 3 different churches. Well, maybe thats not fair cause I can throw rocks pretty far. But anyway, you get the point. And the parking lots were all full. I could have stolen all the pink flamingos off front lawns that I wanted to and no-one would have ever known.
• Since we are talking religion, I found myself driving alongside a hazardous materials truck on I-59 heading home. I was nervous enough...then when I saw the vehicle number (for the company I suppose) on the back of the cab...it was 666. Well, with all the lightning and stuff from earlier on my mind, I gunned it. I didn't want to be anywhere around that thing. Then I thought...perhaps the place where they pump down the chemicals that keeps hell burning must be somewhere in southern Mississippi. If I had that exact location...hmmm....maybe I should have just followed him.

All in all it was a great trip. I was able to relax (which is usually the point of me getting on the road anyway) except for the whole Devil's truck thing. There were places where I crested a hill and I could see for miles around. It was really beautiful in spots. Oh, and the tip was a good one. There were some really good photo ops so I'll have to head back on a better day. Another tip I was given...don't eat at a particular chicken restaurant up there. I won't say the name of it...but the initials are KFC. She found something in her food...perhaps from a pissed off farmer?

So check out www.roadsideamerica.com. One of my favorite websites. Remember the muffler man? Find out where there are some left...fun!