River City Connections — 2026-01-16 (Patreon)

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BEST LAID PLANS by Jordan Warner

We left Raton as scheduled earlier this morning. Now, at some point I think I said we were planning for one night on the road. What I meant was one night, not counting Thursday, which we planned to be mostly about picking up Cindi’s car. We did travel to Raton, as you know, but in my mind our night on the road is still tonight.

We were doing okay until we hit some unexpected traffic. That led us to a sea of flashing lights here near Springer, New Mexico, and we were directed off the main highway.

Carter checked Maps and Googled for information. “There’s a hazard ahead. No estimate for clearing it. We can take an alternate route… or just sit around.”

I looked around. “We could go to the truck stop and wait it out? I dunno… I’d rather be moving.”

Carter nodded. “Let’s go for the adventure. No telling how long the hazard will be a problem.”

So, that’s what’s happening. We’re going to take the alternate route that admittedly looks like a huge detour, but… hey… why not, right?

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OOPS by Carter Ellis

Jordan and I are not where we are supposed to be. I’m trying to blame Michael for this one. It’s a stretch.

We took the alternate route—I should add that it included some unpaved roads, but it still seemed feasible. All was going well.

Then, Michael called with an urgent matter.

“Okay, I told Cindi we’d go together and pick out a ring. I’m worried that, looking back, she’ll wish I had surprised her. And I’m worried that if I surprise her, she’ll have a bad experience. What should I do?”

So began the conversation. Somewhere between “What did you already agree to do?” and “What does your heart tell you?” we missed the turn onto County Road 12.

Eventually, Jordan sounded like a trained therapist. “What I’m hearing is that you think taking her with you to pick it out will be an exciting, memorable moment without the shock. She’ll know you’re doing it as you do it. And that’s already what you agreed to do, so… what do you think?”

Michael agreed, thanked us, and got off the call.

Of course, Jordan decided the end of the call was a good time to tease me about our relationship. “For the record, when inevitable between us happens, I’m expecting you to show up with a mariachi band and camera crew.”

“Is that right?” I said.

She laughed. “No, not really. Something sincere. Not a show.”

I took a couple miles to formulate my thoughts, then said, “I like our ‘inevitable’ joke, but really, we’re just acknowledging the probability. And if I can take a page out of your honesty book, I’ll add that the last couple days seem to be confirming our theory. Things are good, right?”

She smiled, took my hand into hers, and squeezed it. “Definitely good. One-hundred percent.”

She squeezed it a couple times gently then let go. I spent the next five miles trying to figure out if I should reach for hers. Then I realized Maps was very, very unhappy about something.

We are now at the Kit Carson Restaurant in Cimarron, New Mexico, having lunch and trying to get Maps to take a chill pill before we get back on the road.

If getting to Amarillo tonight doesn’t work, we’ll figure something out.

THEY HAVE A POOL by Jordan Warner

They have a pool, but we don’t have swimsuits. We are at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. Not in Amarillo. In Tucumcari, New Mexico. Our adventure set us back, but with a long push, tomorrow, we can get back to Memphis before the day ends.

After lunch, we started back for the interstate. Here’s the fun part: we were routed back exactly to where the highway had been closed earlier. Okay, onward.

Once we were rolling again, we made a few client calls, then I worked on some newsletters on my iPad while Carter drove. No double meaning this time—we really do synergize well, and I actually think being in the same space improves the flow.

Please note I did not say anything about our faces in the paragraph above.

Also, please note that the idea of our faces being close enough to… um… touch has passed a few times through my thoughts. I should just let that cook and move on.

Back to the pool we can’t enjoy—I thought about trying to roll my jeans up past my knees and just dangling my feet, but I couldn’t work out how that could be possible, given the cut of the cuffs. So, no pool, but good company.

We are going to hit the road as early as possible tomorrow, with the plan to push to Memphis by the end of the day on Saturday. Call it thirteen hours of windshield time plus stops for gas and food, but we think we can do it.

Therefore, we are skipping hanging out in the lobby and going directly to our rooms.

That’s it for today on the road. See you tomorrow.

Be your best you!

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