34: talking guns, chapel of ease, lawnmower, square O, smoking mandate, captain tim, food lockup, testament
Jacksonboro to Givhens Ferry State Park
The discussion outside my door this morning: Man: "That's the thang. You can carry a gun in your car but you gotta have it in the open. If you got it in the glove compartment then you breakin' the law." Woman: "That's the argument - If you got it locked up what good's it gonna do you. You cain't get to it in time." Man: "And if you're a committed felon, you just cain't have one." [convicted felon?]
My only Point of Interest for the day (besides the fifty or so that I notice during I ride, most of which I don't mention) is the Pon-Pon Chapel of Ease. When I saw it on Google Maps I wondered what hedonistic delights it might hold. Individual reclining velvet seats with a cup holder containing my favorite beverage? A massage therapist asking "Swedish or Deep Tissue"? Would there be palm fronds involved?
Knowing it would dispel my fantasy, I started researching and found that a "chapel of ease" is simply a church building other than the parish church, built for those who can't conveniently reach the main building due to travel distance.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached here twice when it was just a wooden structure in 1737. In 1754 a brick building replaced the wooden one, which burned in 1801. After that, the chapel was known as "The Burnt Church." Currently, two walls, part of a cistern, and the churchyard are all that remain. The name “Pon Pon” is a phrase that possibly meant “big bends” in reference to the river.
Today is Easter. Of course there were no people at The Chapel of Ease but, oddly, of the 40+ churches I passed this morning only a single one had any cars in the parking lot.
There were two people in the office, Christina and Tim. Because there are two Tims, the one I met goes by "Captain Tim.” Although he now works here at the park he used to be a stunt man, and has been in at least half a dozen period pieces set around the time of the Revolutionary War, including The Last of the Mohicans (Captain Tim is the guy who takes Cora's place and is burned at the stake), which is where he got his start, and The Patriot (with Mel Gibson). He got to know Mel and actually had lunch with him during the filming.
He's also a certified tour guide in Charleston, and considering his depth of knowledge about the area, especially its remote history, I believe it.
It was a bit warm in the sun, but on the back porch of the office, which was built by the WPA, there was a pleasant breeze, a chair and table, as well as wi-fi, so I stayed here until a little before sunset. It faces the Edisto river, the longest free-flowing blackwater river in North America.
At the campsite there was no cell service at all, which was kind of refreshing. This evening was the first time the mosquitos have been out and in full force.
I saw this and thought, "Nah, I don't need to lock up my food. I'm not leaving it outside where the animals can get to it." Then I remembered my first night camping and put everything inside it.
