Latest Update from Karla

GALVA, KANSAS 3/1/01

This last week has been really busy finalizing last minute plans and tying up loose ends before I leave on this trip. All of my furniture & stuff have been packed up and put into a storage shed, so now I no longer live anywhere. I called my sis up and told her I was unemployed, homeless and hungry and she called me a tramp.
A friend of mine from Moundridge built me a push-cart for me to use instead of carrying a backpack. It has 2 20" wheels on the back & one on the front, and carries a lg Rubbermaid container with all my junk in it. However, I was having a hard time finding a way to get the cart to Seattle for my trip. It was too big to take on a plane with me, and too lg to ship UPS. My only other options were to ship it as air cargo, or put it on a truck, or drive out to S. myself -- which seemed crazy because I could fly out there for free. I had mentioned this dilemma to several people, but time was quickly dwindling down. I had resigned to the fact that I was going to drive myself and my cart to Seattle.
Two days before I was ready to leave, a local veterinarian--Mark and Kathy Handlin, called me up and said she found a trucking company in Hutchinson that had a load going to Portland OR and that they would take the cart out to Portland. That was perfect, because I have friends and family in Oregon and they could pick it up. Kathy said the original price to ship it was over $300, but after she told them about my plans and what the cart is being used for, they gave a 50% discount and it cost around $160. Even more amazing was when Mark and Kathy said that they would pay the shipping bill. Twelve hrs later my cart, with all my stuff packed in it, was on its way to Portland OR. My friend Tom Thompson from Scio, OR would pick the cart up in Portland.
A few days later, after Tom got the cart, he called me up. "Karla, I have some terrible news to tell you." "What?" "It has to do with the cart." "What?" "It's really bad." "What?" "It's pretty serious. Are you sitting down?" "YES. WHAT IS IT?" "Well, it's like this. The bulb in your flashlight doesn't work."
Needless to say, the cart arrived just fine. Tom was going to repack it and get a couple other things for the tent. Since I didn't have to drive to Seattle now, I stayed with Stan & Arlene McKee, my "adopted" family, until Friday Mar. 2nd.

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