its dennis..not cody..dont be so disappointed

it was a lonely stretch of road somewhere between New Smyrna Beach, FL and Mims, FL.  It was pouring down rain and I got a call from my cousin Hank.  He was calling to line up dinner.  We had talked about this before I left on the trip in that once I got to Cocoa Beach, FL cody and I would go out to eat with the family after i talked to the kids.  He then informed me that Aunt Anne (his wife's mother) had died.  Aunt Anne was THE person in this world that thought Dennis Ross could do no wrong and was perfect (boy was she wrong).  But we were really close and i loved making her laugh.  I know the ladies in the beauty parlor in Port St. Lucie must think that Jesus Christ lived in Greenville, NC, but that woman really loved me.  It was an unconditional love.  She was a bit hard of hearing and once blurted out "Dennis took me to Hooters for lunch today and he tied balloons to my hair"….this was as her niece was walking down the isle to get married and everyone turned around to see who had said that…or the time i had the "Fireman" come over to my house and dance for her birthday.  she always thought he was a real fireman.  She made me swear not to tell her daughters until she died…(cause she really liked it)…i told Bonnie, her daughter the other night at supper.  She just shook her head and said thats just Dennis.  There are a million of them…but the last i will tell you about is the time i short sheeted hers and Uncle Earl's bed at the hotel during their both wedding anniversary.  She got up the next morning and at breakfast said she had to sleep with her feet out of the covers bc the bed was too short…I cried for 2 straight hours and more the next day while cycling and caught myself singing the hymn "When We all get to Heaven"…I miss you Aunt Anne but I know you would rather me finish the journey for the kids than to boo hoo at your funeral.  You have ALOT of time to think when you are cycling 10 or more hours a day and although i realize it more each day, its the people that you meet and how you treat them that defines you as a person..it becomes less and less about stuff.  Its like the old man who owned the general store in Conway that begged me to come in at 315pm even though he closed at 3.  he saw me sitting and asked me to come in and eat some of his boiled peanuts while i waited for Cody to return from fixing the Tahoe tire…He just wanted to talk.  But he was as interested in me as i was in him.  We mainly talked about doing good for those less fortunate as true as the Book of Matthew states…Or the good samaritan that took Cody to get the Tahoe fixed…he replied "what kind of person would i be if left you guys here with no way to repair the tire…he was from out of town and i know we inconvenienced him..(oh yeah its Thursday today and we had our 4th flat bike tire…To be continued….The computer froze on Dr. Ross and he never was able to finish this entry so I, Cody, will finish it really quick for him…so yes, another flat tire.  In fact, we hadn't fixed the tire on the other bike either, so when dr. ross go this flat tire, we didn't had a bike to ride bc they both had to be fixed.  Luckily, we got it fixed and were able to get to our destination in pretty good time.Well, just one more day to go.. Tomorrow we arrive in Key West and the trip will be complete.  We are excited to speak to the B&G cub in Key West and I am sure Dr. Ross is ready to get those final miles finished as well.  Well, wish us luck tomorrow.  

Dr. Ross  and  Cody