Scoot over Kevin Bacon, there's a new sheriff in town. (aka 6 degrees of Fred and Debbie)

You may have figured this out by now, but Fred is always taking me on adventures.  Sometimes we fly to his house in Grand Cayman, or go on a river cruise in Europe.  (cough) But more often than not we have the most fun when we visit our “camp” in the mountains not far from our home, or visiting our friends near Lake Erie.  

We were visiting them last weekend, and stayed at an old Ski Resort called Peak-n-Peek.  We had a wonderful day watching and old-time small own parade in an itty-bitty town called Sherman, New York.  We saw about 10 fire trucks, 10 or so horses and many local dignitaries riding in convertibles.  After said parade, we enjoyed a day on a pontoon boat floating around Findley Lake. It was a delightful weekend, and a great taste of Americana. 

We took our time coming home on Sunday, on what was supposed to be a 3-4 hour drive.  If any of you are familiar with Fred, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that it turned into a 10 hour excursion zig-zagging our way down the state until we arrived home at 8:30 in the evening!  Yep.  We left at 9:00 a.m. 

To make a long, long story a bit shorter- we ended up stopping at a tiny watering hole along a river in the town of Karthaus, Pa. I might have had to use the ladies room- and probably said “NO WAY” when Fred suggested the Port-o-Potty in the state game lands we had just navigated our way through.  (Yep, I’m spoiled now. No more Port-o-John’s for me.) 

We walked into the empty bar, and plopped down two bar stools at the end of the bar.  Of COURSE Fred knew the bartender, as his vending and amusement company serviced (and still services) all of the tiny mom and pop establishments all across this part of the state.  I am not surprised anymore when we walk into an “establishment” in the middle of no-man’s land, and hear the familiar, “FRED!  How are you doing???” 

He visited with Kim, the woman who has apparently been working there for 18 years, while I found my way to the loo. When I returned I ordered a water and smiled as they reminisced about some cats he had helped her rescue years before.  (Yes, we still have one of them.) 

At this point a young fella and his very attractive girlfriend walked into the bar and sat a few stools away from us.  Kim served them, and the girlfriend moved to one of the “machines” that Fred’s company owns to play some video games. 

Fred and Kim resumed their conversation, and after a few more minutes another couple came in and sat in one of the booths. When Kim left to wait on them the young fella turned to us and said to Fred,  “So, is that your Jaguar parked in front?”  Of course, it was the ONLY car there when they pulled in, but Fred smiled and said, “Yes, it is!” 

Then he asked, “And, are you in the vending business?”  Fred nodded, and he also asked, “Acme Amusement Company?” 

“Yes!” Fred said laughing as he shook his head.

The young man looked at ME, and asked, “Is your last name MARSH?” 

“YES!” I shouted, incredulous.  “How did you know that?” 

“Well,” he said, “My name is Charlie Smith, and I worked with your brother yesterday in State College. He told me about you guys having them over for dinner last week. Nice to meet you.” 

Omg.  Here we were in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.   

This is our life. And that story-that is why I love it.