I’m a Waffle House guy, I got to stay in touch with that. Roy Mcevoy in Tin Cup
Bull Durham got all the accolades for Ron Shelton and Kevin Costner, but Tin Cup has better staying power. Costner as a million dollar talent with none of the intangibles that make a champion plays better and funnier over time than a savvy minor league catcher with Susan Sarandon overacting. Bull Durham has no “rewatchability”. Much like the guys who follow Tin Cup to the US Open, dreaming of hitting the Waffle House, i started my final day of the trail with a similar determination. I didn’t care what time i finished this 15.8 mile section, i just knew Waffle House was ion my future. I no longer cared about the majestic vistas, the bottomless gaps, the Rhodendrons, Azaleas, mosses, Pines, Bears or Foxes. I just kept redoing and figuring out my order, when i did finally sit down. We don’t have Waffle House in the Northeast, i and i hit the ground fast. I knocked out the first 7 miles in less than 3 hours and the climbs didn’t bother me at all. I looked at only my feet and nothing else. I ran into no hikers, and only two bear hunters, until the second half of the run. “Hot Sauce” and her boyfriend (name escapes me), were some later arriving southbound thru hikers, i encountered near Cable Gap. They were much like most thru hikers, easy going, happy to be close and ill at ease at re-entering society. After i blew past them i started to slow down and took a few pictures of the groundcovers i had been looking at all week, and was guffawing at the approaching view of Fontana Dam. The Dam seperates the Mountains that i have been hiking with the Smoky Mountain National Park. Its beautiful and did stop long enough to get a few pictures before heading over to the HIKE INN, a famous hiker motel and AT shuttle service to talk to the propietor about my shuttle needs for a thru hike in the spring. I jumped in my car which was shuttled to me and enjoyed the warm heat, and the music. “Murder by Mistletoe” came over the CD player, a Felice Brothers song and i nearly cried. I missed music out there, and i missed their music most of all. I cranked the heat and heading off to Asheville and the Waffle House (Steak and Eggs, over easy, two Orange Juices, hashbrowns, white toast). Victory. I too was feeling conflicted. I was needed back at work, and was under tremendous pressure to go back, but i loved the feeling of exhaustion i had, and knew i could not replace it at home
