May 29, 1993

LUNCH TIME

I got into Gettysburg around 11:00 a.m. On the way to the downtown area, I stopped to check out a few of the free tourist sites. I wished that I had some film got my camera but I ran out a couple of days ago. The town was pretty packed with Memorial Day Weekend tourists. Out of curiosity, I went to see if somebody was at the local newspaper. I was surprised to find a reporter there and I got interviewed.

I was having sort of a quiet lunch when this guy sat down beside me. He started to ask a lot of questions. I found out that he had a business of one of the nearby towns. I told him a brief story about what I've been doing out on the road and why I was doing it. We talked for about twenty minutes.

He asked me how I was liking my visit to Gettysburg. I told him that it was okay but I wished I had some film for me camera. The guy asked me how much some film would cost. I told him that it might cost around ten dollars for a couple of rolls of 110 film. He just pulled out his wallet and gave me a twenty dollar bill. He also said that instead of me lugging the bike around to some of the nearby stores, he would stay and watch it for me. Something inside told me to trust him and I quickly went to a couple of stores in the area and got a few rolls. I offered to give him the change back but he refused.

We talked for a little while longer. Before he left, he told me that I had made his day and he wanted to help me out a little more. I didn't know what to expect and I told him that he didn't have to give me anything else but he insisted. I wasn't watching what he was doing and he passed me some money in a handshake. I didn't look at it right away but just put it into my wallet. We said our goodbyes and I headed over to the main tourist center for the National Military Park on the way south out of town.

When I got to the park, my curiosity got the better of me. I was pretty floored when I found out that the guy (who I wished that I had gotten his name and address) had slipped me instead of some small denominational bills three fifty dollar bills. This had to have been one of the largest green-handshakes that I had ever been given.