Pearisburg, Virginia June 19, 1983

June 19, 1983 Sunday (1530.3 mtg) From Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal

Ate the remainder of my box of raisin bran for breakfast this morning. Today is Fathers day, and it is also Sunday. Since we were staying at the Holy Family Hospice, it only seemed right that we attend the church service right next door. The service included communion, which I took part in. I was surprised that actual wine, rather than grape juice, was used in the ceremony. Afterwards it was announced that there were cookies and other treats that the members had brought in, and we were all invited to have some. I ate a lot of cookies and a couple of cupcakes. Afterwards I called my parents and talked with my father for a long time. I felt guilty that I had been running up the phone bill, but I don't think that they cared. I think, well at least I hoped, that the trip was as exciting for them as it was for me.
Back at the hospice, I fried up some steak-ums that were left by a hiker named George who had left earlier in the morning, and made myself a sandwich. I had never heard of steak-ums, but whatever they really were, I enjoyed them immensely. Had I not heard him say he was leaving them for anyone who wanted them, I would not have eaten them. Sometimes unidentified food can sit in the fridge for too long before someone decides to toss it.

Suddenly Danny, a postal employee showed up with a mailbag full of mail. Somehow, someone had talked the post office employee to bring the mail to the hospice this afternoon! He apparently had enough authority to go into the post office and bring up the mail to the hikers. There were a lot of hikers here, and perhaps that had something to do with it. I thought, "great, now we can move on today, or at least get an early start tomorrow." How wrong I was. Everyone got their mail except Jim. His mail had been sent insured and therefore was locked up at the post office waiting for him to sign for it. We were stuck here for the duration. How does the post office know the mail is for the hikers? Most hikers have mail sent in their name, in care of the postmaster. The outside is usually marked "Hold for AT Hiker." That seems to tip them off. I received a couple of letters and a package from Mom. After evaluating the goodies in the package, figuring out how many breakfasts, lunches, and suppers I would need for the next couple of days, I made a trip down to the Kroger store and bought $14.00 worth of groceries. The remainder of the afternoon was taken up by talking and playing games with the other hikers. I met a lot of new people today including Pearl and Al, Jim and Inez, George, Peter from Quebec and another friend of his that I don't remember his name, Tim and Maynard, Gary and Tom. Another couple named Dave and Beth that we had met in Hot Springs somehow got here before we did. Upon inquiring, they admitted that they had taken a lot of short cuts. Peter left with his partner after eating lunch, to hitch up to Vermont. I guess they liked the Northern climate better than this rainy weather down in lower Virginia.
Later in the afternoon I made up a rice-a-roni stroganoff with fresh hamburger mixed in that I had purchased from Kroger. I did not want to eat it all. I actually gave some of it away! There is always someone ready to eat any leftovers. I wanted to leave room for cereal a little later.
Around 7:30 pm some of the guys decided to go to Kroger. I decided to stop at the little store closer to the hospice first to check for A & W Rootbeer, which Kroger did not have. The little store had it, so I bought some and then purchased some vanilla ice cream at Kroger. I loaded up my cook pot with ice cream and poured on the rootbeer. Figuring that would be enough for me I then offered the rest of the ice cream to anyone, and there was no trouble getting rid of the remainder. A little later I ate about a half a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, talked until about ten p.m. and then headed off to bed with a full stomach.

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