You say he has a gun?

Why hello there from Atkins Virginia. I was meaning to write from Damascus when I first arrived in this great state, but the library in addition to being for sale was also closed for Sundays. I've caught up with the tail end of the "herd" which has slowed my progress a bit because you have to stop and meet all these people you've been hearing and reading about for weeks. Passing hellos and how you doings from people who can't keep up with their friends, and meeting the writers of comments written in the trail registrys found all over the place. Progress is still steady however and I'm averaging about 20 miles a day which is ahead of schedule.

I had a bunch of stories to relay about record breaking speed hikers from Israel and a crazy homeless schizophrenic version of Mike Cohen (for those who know him), but I've kind of walked into an interesting soap opera at the truck stop exit town of Atkins (I'm writing from a computer in a gas station). Apparently there is a thru-hiker named Toast who passed through here a couple hours ago who is a black Asian, speaking with a German accent, who has been telling people he has a gun and getting kicked out of hostels and restaurants and peoples front porches since late last night. Granted folks in rural Virginia probably don't see as diverse a cross section of the worlds population than say New York, but I'm curious to meet this guy just to assess the description.

Now I have always been an ardent proponent of Desert Law. These are sets of rules to survive in the desert, and desert law states that crazy always beets strong. I have always used this to my advantage by trying to look a little crazy in the event I get into trouble, and it has worked for me wonderfully in some situations although mostly urban. Desert Law however doesn't say what to do when you come across a guy with a much stragglier beard than your own, who is taller than you by a few inches, and is yelling "FRUIT, VEGETABLES, SALAD" at the top of his lungs while digging through his army duffel on top of a hill. Nor does it say what to do when confronting a black asian german speaking gun toating fool. In times like these I take comfort in the fact that if I caught up to them, I can leave them behind. So when desert law runs into crazy and strong what does it do? It follows the advice of King Arthur in Monty Python's Holy Grail. "Run Away!

Hope to write to you soon! -Wrong Way