June 7, 2004:

Blonde. Flounce skirt, crinoline and pleats, colorful flower pattern. Sneakers. Lips pink, like her handbag. Chewing pink bubblegum.

You smile, she smiles, she flounces across black asphalt, steaming already at mid-morning. "Hi," she says, leaning into the passenger-side window.

Highway 10 outside Lake Charles, Mississippi.