On the Hook

Autographed copies of Adventures with the Mojave Phone Booth are now available!

On the way back, Wagner insisted we stop to allow a tarantula to crawl across his face. (He does this from time to time.)

I put the gas in, but still couldn't get Whip It! going, so Daniel went back to pick up PonyBoy and return the gas can and get the deposit back. I said I'd either meet them in Amboy or wait at I-40.

I kept working on Whip It! and managed to get her started. She ran down towards Amboy for a while, then stopped again. Now I know either I'm dealing with a fuel leak or else something is very wrong. Soon Daniel & Ponyboy showed up. I asked what was up, & they said whatever the plan was, we wouldn't be returning to Amboy any time soon. Turns out The Grouch came out with a pistol stuck in his waistband, refusing to return the deposit. He had probably figured he'd sold a ten-dollar gas can for fifty bucks. They finally managed to get the money and we finally put Amboy in the rear-view mirror.

Update (30aug2002): Online evidence that we're not alone in our experience of anti-friendliness at Amboy Roy's on Route 66.