Going to Madison

Leaving Arkadelphia , Arkansas a woman pulled up along side me in her car and asked where I was headed.

"I'm going to Madison ," she yelled back.

What are the odds?

Patty was a teacher from Houston . She was a small woman dressed in a simple black t-shirt, khaki shorts, sandals and fashionable rectangular glasses.

She was headed to teach a summer enrichment program in Wisconsin

It gets weirder.

"I can't believe you're riding a Centurion, I used to work for them," said Patty. "That's a really old bike."

Normally people who yell out a car window want to know if they can give me a ride.

Patty didn't have room.

She was loaded down with friends, which included two cats, two caged rats, and a trunk full of crayfish, mill worms and pill bugs.

"My class kept these alive the entire school year and I thought I'd bring them along to summer school," she said.

I reassured Patty.... I'm pretty sure we had pill bugs and mill worms in Wisconsin .

In order to ensure safe travel, Patty filled plastic baggies with ice and surrounded each miniature tank and box so the menagerie wouldn't swelter in the southern heat.

After a 40-minute conversation, Patty said she would be living in Madison with her parents during the next month.

"If you pass through and I'm not driving Mr. and Miss Daisy, you can call and you'll have a place to stay," she said.