Did Abe Lincoln Ever Live in North Vernon?

I’ve mentioned several times since I’ve started this journey how much I’ve been impressed by the kindness and generosity that seem to be commonplace in the towns we’ve passed through over the last two weeks, and today I add honesty to the list.

One of my many negative character traits is an absent mindedness that is, in all likelihood, unrivaled in the history of mankind. I’m not talking about simple things like misplacing a set of keys, although I do that with alarming regularity. You want some examples? Once, I had to cancel all of my credit cards and go get a new driver’s license because I lost my wallet. This happens to everyone, you say? Maybe, but do most people find their wallet in the freezer a week later? One time, upon arriving in Detroit for a Pacer game, I realized that my luggage was still in the trunk of my car because I had simply forgotten to check it. Another time I came home from a west coast road trip at around four in the morning and found my front door wide open with snow drifting in the entryway. Certain that I had been robbed, I cautiously maneuvered my way through the house and was surprised to find nothing out of place and nothing missing. Turned out I had simply forgotten to close the front door when I left for the airport. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Last night, we ate at this cool little place in North Vernon called Miller’s Tavern. Had some fish and a beer, enjoyed a cigar, and savored the local aura before heading out to our campground. Fast forward to this morning, when I realized that I had misplaced the small little bag that I keep my cell phone, wallet, and cash in. I searched the RV from to to bottom, but couldn’t find it anywhere, and it started to dawn on me that I may have forgotten it on the bar top at Miller’s. A frantic call confirmed that this was in fact the case, so I asked Kent the RV Driver to fetch it while I started on today’s walk, and, assuming the cash was still inside, to give the person that turned it in a substantial reward as a way of saying thanks. Kent reported back that the contents were intact, and that when he offered the reward, the folks at the tavern said that it would be their preference that we give the money to The Children’s Wish Fund instead.

Now, I’m a cynic and I refuse to believe that such people exist unless I see it with my own eyes, and even then I usually have doubts. In a few minutes, I will finish my midday break and head back to North Vernon, and when I get to Miller’s Tavern, I’m going to go inside and buy a round of drinks for the house. If you’re in the area, stop in. This will almost certainly be the most expensive beer I’ve ever enjoyed, but honesty is a rare and valued commodity and the folks at this bar are worth every penny.

Hope I don’t forget to stop.

Wednesday’s Journey: North Vernon to Seymour

Mileage: 17.7 (if you climbed to the top of the Empire State Building 74.76 times, that would be 17.7 miles)

On the iPod: Barry Manilow’s The Complete Collection CD. If you’re trying to figure out how I could listen to Jay Z Tuesday and Manilow Wednesday, give it up. The wires in my brain are so tangles up that even Freud would give up.