Outlaw Country

I met my first character of the trip today. His name is Earl - like on the TV show. Those were his words. Recently parolled after serving time for some undisclosed crime which he said he did not commit. Although Earl had a tattoo of a dagger on his shoulder, I at no time felt unsafe. He is currently living in a tent somewhere in or around Little Rock. He liked my dog Macy and I told him that I got her at the pound, and that they said she had been fixed - but really she wasn't - so I had to bring her back for the surgery. Earl feels that fixing an animal is cruel. I didn't ask, but I don't think he believes in leashes either. Earl was doing a good job chatting up the 20 year old girl who was working in the coffee shop. She was a sweetheart. Earl seemed pretty nice as well. I like 100% of the people I've met in Arkansas. I like the feel of Little Rock a lot. It seems like there are a lot of people in the city, but the roads are wide and empty. I stopped and took a picture of Central High School - the first integrated school in the south. It is really an impressive, huge building - even moreso than Broughton, if you you know it. I did not take the time to properly reflect on the history of the building I was looking at. I just snapped the picture and took off. Juan warned me about that. Also, I have to thank Travis for suggesting XM radio. My CD player is broken. I never would have guessed that Outlaw Country would be my favorite station. Speaking of Outlaw Country, I enjoyed lunch in Memphis. I had barbecue at Pig on Beale Street, and it was great. I regret that I got there in the day time. I bet it is a lot of fun at night. Continuing with my outlaw country theme, when I pulled into the parking lot of a hotel in Nashville last night,I looked at the car next to me and sawthat it contained an undercover cop in a bulletproof vest who was fixated on the door of the breakfast restaurant next door. My first stakeout. I did not stay at that motel.