Hey...mama rock me.

For most FJVs/hippies/Old Crow Medicine Show aficionados out there, the statement "headin' down south to the land of the pines" can only be answered with "thumbin' my way into North Caroline" - a response that not only cleverly rhymes well, but starts out one of the most well known OCMS songs. "Wagon Wheel" was a song originally partially composed by Bob Dylan, and finished by Old Crow (look it up on Wikipedia for more info on that) that tells a story of a journey south down the east coast to North Carolina. The song describes meeting a truck driver in Philadelphia, and finding out that he is headed not to Raleigh (where the singer wants to go), but west of there - to Johnson City, Tennessee. Does he ever make it? Who knows...

Now, I'll state for the record that I've known (and liked) this song for years. I've known all the words (though I've never really payed any special attention to them). I've been to Raleigh a few times before, and Philly quite a lot last year. Roanoke? Cumberland Gap? Johnson City? Not a clue where they were, and I never had any reason to look it up.

...that is, until now. Turns out that if that guy had taken the truck driver up on his offer, and gone all the way to Johnson City, he would have only needed to hitch another ride 247 miles straight to the east to meet his love in Raleigh. If he was up to the journey, an hour and a half in, perhaps in time for a coffee break, and just about 10 miles over the North Carolina line, he would have come across the town of Boone.

Boone is a small city in global scale (about 17,000), but a hub in the region to all the tiny towns in the area. Perhaps our intrepid traveler and his freewheeling friend would have grabbed a bite to eat in one of the cafes in town, or taken a break to stretch their legs on the Appalachian State University campus. Or maybe he would have wanted to get to Raleigh so fervently that Boone would have been nothing but a name on a highway sign, blurring as they sped past.

In exactly one month from tomorrow, I will undertake my own journey south, leaving Alaska and its "north country winters" to seek a life in North Carolina. Instead of coming down the east coast, I'll be proceeding down the west coast before crossing the country.

At the end of the trip, I'll find myself on US Route 321. I'll make sure to stop in Johnson City, maybe just to see if there's anyone who needs a ride as far as Boone. I won't be able to help someone who wants to meet his love in Raleigh, but I can take them those 55 miles, before seeking out my own adventure with someone I love.

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey mama rock me

Hey mama rock me


Love, Bethy