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When reflecting on today we find ourselves speechless, truly. The morning started with Daves back still hurting and oatmeal for breakfast. Margo had planned to stop by this morning to deliver coffee however because of how late last night went and because she has to work today we were not sure if she would which was fine. As we finished eating breakfast however, Margo and Ramsey pulled up and decided that we would meet up later that mornings so that we could go to Walgreens to get Dave some ibuprofen for his back although it seemed at this point that ibuprofen was not going to have much effect. The three of us walked to the Steam Punk coffee house, which may be Daves new favorite coffee shop. This place was pretty dang cool! It wasn't overly steam punk/sci-if-esque but had a huge brass espresso machine and some great steam punk literature including Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back written as a play and illustrated with a steam punk theme! Anyways this place was super chill and had every variety of coffe prepared in every imaginable way from vacuum press to Turkish coffee (which is the oldest way of preparing coffee, apparently). The baristas were great! While we were there Dave was in coffe heaven and ordered a pour over Kenyan, and a Turkish plus a delicious ham and goat cheese quiche! While we were sitting there Dave struck up a conversation with a lady named Patricia and her friend Raven. The best part of this was that Patricia happened to he a physical therapist and offered to examine his back for him. After palpating his back and some range of motion test she said that it could be a slipped or bulging disc, not good. After thanking them and talking with them more about what we were raising money for Dave became pretty upset fearing that this could mean the end of the trip and on several occasions excused himself and stepped into the bathroom to wash his face and wipe away some tears. This news was devastating and we were both pretty worried what this would mean. One of the Baristas that Dave had been taking to about our trip had picked up our tab paying for all the coffee Dave drank and the Quiche! Again generosity and kindness from an absolute stranger in Natchez. After coming by to check on us several times Margo came back and took us to Walgreens to get some Advil and then to verizon so that I could get a new cord for my phone. When Dave went into Walgreens he met Antoinette, a cashier there. He said she was so full of joy and kindness that he couldn't help but strike up a conversation with her. While we were driving back to Margo's house she mentioned that her friends dad was a physician who did some charity work and that calling him may be worth a try. She left a message with her friend Jonanthan then dropped us off at her house so that we could shower and relax while she was at work. After we showered we got a text from Margo saying that we could go to the See the doc at 3pm then shortly after she said we would be going at 2! Not only was this great because she was able to make it happen on such short notice but also and mostly because it was going to be free of charge, a way of supporting our cause and fundraising efforts! When we arrived it was empty but then soon became very busy. While we waited some people Margo knew came in and we all chatted while waiting. When Dave was called back an older couple who were there for blood work sat and joined the conversation. Everyone there was so nice and had some great stories to tell. The doctor examined Daves back, gave him a steroid shot, and prescribed him some medication that would help with the pain and inflammation while not making him drowsy during the day! When we walked out the bill for the visit was zero and again had met some great people! This was huge, epic, a true game changer and it was all because of Margo, her connections in the community and the generosity of others! It has been truely overwhelming, the amount of generosity and kindness we have experienced in Natchez. After the doctor visit Margo dropped us back off at our campsite headed off to work. Ramsey, Dave and I made our favorite meal, cheeseymac! After we ate Dave and Margo went back to Wallgreens to get his prescription filled and Ramsey and I stayed back finished eating dinner and chatted. It was great to learn more about his past, his trip, his plans to write a book about his trip and also his plans for the future. After Dinner we went out for a couple drinks next to this old plantation house in a large stone building called the Castle. While we were there we chatted with Margo's mom some more and met even more people. Everyone was so nice and laughter just seems to be a part of every conversation with someone from Natchez. While Margo, Ramsey, Dave and I chatted the owner of Steampunk, Dub, Walked in and we told him how great we thought his shop was and told him about our trip. He thought it was great what we were doing and told Dave to stop by in the morning and pick up a bag of coffee free of charge! This dude oozed chill sauce and had a very warm and kind presence about him. The night wound down early and Margo dropped us back at our camp. This experience, this time in Natchez can't be summarized in one final closing thought or phrase. It can't be tucked neatly into a stereotypical catch phrase. However what can be said is that it has renewed our faith in the goodness of our fellow earthling and emblazoned our commitment to paying it forward at very chance. Truly enough can't not be said for the charity, compassion and love shown to us by Margo, Jonathan, Dr. Bourman and everyone we met in Natchez.
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