From Nicole

This is a blog post from Nicole.  Thanks, baby girl!

 

Sat. Nov 10….

A blog post from my behalf is long overdue. I can’t believe that it’s been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Baton Rouge and reunited with Jody and Janie. With each day, the southern culture has become more internalized and those brilliant snapshots of life on the bayou may fade quickly once I set foot back in CA.

Before I disappear, let me paint a few highlights here for the enjoyment of Jody and Janie and any other readers out there…(though, be warned, Theo, that this may be a few words too many for you, apologies..)!

Our first stop was in Natchez, MS and I was so grateful that I neglected an afternoon ride for a leisurely tour of the city. In hindsight, it was the perfect orientation for the upcoming “Tour de Bayou” and reminded me that the Bravermans' trip is more about the journey than the destination. It’s been said by so many great authors and quoted by many, but how many of us actually live and breathe curiosity in the same way that the Bravermans do?

So, thanks to Jody, we wandered through some of the old homes of Natchez that still sit along the tall eastern bank of the Mississippi River. The town breathed history and the stillness slowed us enough to listen. The easy pace was echoed in the shackled footsteps of three weary prisoners who shuffled across the street from the courthouse. Dressed in bold stripes, their shoulders were slumped and their eyes weren’t sure if they should meet the overwhelming light. Suddenly, I felt slightly uneasy in my own free state, two weeks of open road and unexplored territory to look forward to. I looked down…

Across the road and located in the1817 First Presbyterian church was an exhibit that houses hundreds of photos. The featured photographer was a resident who made his living capturing portraits but obviously took pictures of everything. Two images still live clearly in my head…

One: The dining room interior of an elaborate steamship lit with chandeliers that would compete with Versailles. Picture the focus on the individual table settings that await the upper class. Every plate is adorned with a Jenga type sculpture of precariously balanced flatware that floats midair waiting for delicate disassembly by the guest. The scene was unreal, as if there were an apparition in the photo responsible for the weightlessness of the cutlery.

Two: Alison Krauss’s voice hovers in the frame of a photo of a river baptism that could’ve been taken from the film, Oh Brother Where Out Thou. “Down to the River to Pray” is the chorus that depicts this black preacher and his soon-to-be disciple waist high in the slow current. Comfortably blindfolded, the young man is being gently lowered by an assistant. Meanwhile, several on-lookers of the black community dressed in their Sunday best stand in row to witness the occasion.

A few days after Natchez, we found ourselves riding through rural Louisiana from St. Francisville to Hammond on Halloween. What a time warp one can experience in such places! As a result, we were completely unaware about Halloween (not a ghost or goblin in sight) until a much older version of Pebbles waited on Jody and Janie at dinner. These were desolate towns where a good number of homes were still adorned with every holiday decoration you can imagine from years past, essentially combining all the seasons into one and testing the true durability of all those plastic reindeer. Nonetheless, southern charm can still be found in such areas. The ubiquitous term "darling" is also a keeper and warms my heart every time :)

But enough about the south, there are just too many details and thoughts that have run through my head to put them all down in writing. Tomorrow we’re headed to Hilton Head where we will celebrate Jody’s success in riding every single mile coast to coast. I can’t even imagine all the thoughts that have run threw his head over 3,500+ miles!

What I loved about Jody from the start is that he acts almost oblivious to the physical task at hand. He has this “get ‘er done”attitude that is unbreakable. Head down, eyes forward, legs spinning, he never seems overwhelmed by it all. He’s also the type who likes to engage with the world and values making connections along the way. Sometimes attending rotary meetings, sometimes just interacting with bystanders or fellow hotel guests, it’s refreshing to meet someone who values traditional interaction with people, while most of modern society is more focused on how they choose to present themselves on Facebook.

Janie has also embraced every moment of each day and I’ve greatly admired her incredible support of Jody. Helping him realize a life-long goal and being there to experience it with him every step of the way. Janie is a details person. When I was still school teaching, I learned that one of the best attributes a teacher can have is “with-it ness”. Janie’s got that. Incredibly thoughtful in so many ways, I have a half dozen of her postcards on my fridge back home to prove it. She’s also a fighter like Jody and has had many of her own triumphs on the bike since day one. Weather be damned, she’s riding anyway!

In all, it’s been a fabulous experience for me and I feel lucky to be the person who gets to witness Jody and Janie dipping their wheels in the Atlantic tomorrow. And who know what the next chapters will bring! We’ll have to stay tuned J.

Cheers to you both!

Nicole