Saturday, June 11, 2016

Wilbo Encounters a Cruise Ship, a Truck and a Tanker in the Course of Two Days in Early June. All Three Left A Lasting Impression on Him.

June 10 at 9:00 PM · North Muskegon, MI, United States · 

Hemmed in by a Blarney Castle Gas Tanker, I contemplate the unincorporated town of Wolf Lake, a cluster of businesses, homes and schools on the eastern edge of Muskegon. A Dollar General moved into a shopping plaza. The Wolf Lake Market has an empty storefront and lot. The area has government under the auspices of Egelston Township and the Oakridge School District. The trucker made a good promise and he finished filling up the tanks at E&A Grocery in ten minutes, freeing my car. Next flourishing of civilization awaits me when I reach Ravenna. Mile 4404.

June 10 at 5:00 PM · North Muskegon, MI, United States ·

I was driving Veteran's Causeway with my driver side window down. Man drove up and rolled down his passenger side window and yelled for my attention. He didn't yell in a nasty tone so I sped up so I could hear him. "Your spare tire is about to fall". "Thank you," I yelled back. Good deed done for day, he gunned his truck and I plotted my course for Van's Oil Change in North Muskegon. I kicked the spare that hangs under my hatchback and it wobbled. I got in line and was called into a service bay by a man who topped off my fluids for free last month. He understood the issue and wanted to check fluids and inflation. "I just had them checked on Apple". It took him a few minutes to find the bolt in my cargo hold and snug it up tight. He made doing it myself sound easy. He accepted a fiver.

June 9 at 9:17 AM · Muskegon, MI, United States ·

Walked down to the dock at Heritage Landing to see a new arrival to our shore, a Great Lakes cruising ship called the Pearl Mist. She began her journey in Toronto, passed through the Welland Canal, cruised Lake Erie, crossed Lake Huron, made port at Mackinac Island and found her way to Muskegon. Tomorrow, the cruise completes in Chicago, tomorrow as in "Domani", the Italian world for tomorrow. The passengers will think about their final port Domani. In all the cruise cost seven thousand dollars, undoubtedly worth it for a chance to see all those towns in Ontario, to pass under the Big Mac Bridge, to dine in style three times a day. I see a few passengers getting a little lost among the playground equipment of Heritage Landing, rechecking their maps. I haven't asked any what they thought of their adventure.

Photograph of the Pearl Mist by Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada

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