A recent dig into some boxes in the darkest corner of RoadsideAmerica.com’s bunker turned up an old log book. One page is labeled, simply, “Crisis Time!”
July 2: Roanoke. Car keys locked inside hatchback. Solved with coat hanger.
July 3: Raleigh. Pontiac develops bearing whine. Solved when Avis gives us a Cadillac.
July 5: Arrived in Cherokee 7 PM. No Rooms. Solved by detouring one hour back to Asheville.
July 6: Mike thinks he is developing appendicitis. Solved when pain slowly fades.
July 7: Mike spills coffee (w/milk) on both cameras and his only Roadside America hat. Solved when cameras still work, and Ken gives Mike a spare hat.
These were the only five entries. The list ended (we recall) only because crises became so common that they no longer seemed like crises.
[Note: 1) He may not recall now, but incidents in Ken’s log of crises became part of that trip’s most repeated tales. Panic is the key to great road memories! 2) Another theory of why the list ended is because subsequent mishaps were caused by Ken, but were only documented in the still missing Mike Crisis Diary…]