True Story©... The Treasure Hunt Pt. II

  

[Pt. I can be reached here]

Welcome back…

    When I left you, I had 15 unsuspecting individuals pining for a prize that only three of them have a chance at and NONE know exactly what the fuck they’re even competing for. I would use the words “I don’t know how I pulled this off,” but I explained in great detail approximately one month ago EXACTLY how I did that.
Anyway… Anyone with a modicum of ability in Google or a mildly working knowledge of Greensboro history knew the answer was 'OLD L. Richardson' hospital on the corner of Benbow Rd and Washington St. A walk downtown Greensboro would suffice to answer this as well from approximately two miles from the location.

    My three marks seemed to have no issues either finding or already knowing the information, and had no issues getting to the location for the photographic proof that I demanded. I will not share THEIR pictures because reasons, but I will share a photo that I took of it…

    The rest of the 15 mostly did okay with the response, “mostly” being the operative word because two of them went to “new” L. Richardson, which has since been purchased by a larger healthcare system and renamed. Their coming back with the wrong location made their elimination from the competition a bit easier. Clearing out the last person who provided a right answer but doing so too late brings the number of contestants down to 12 just in time for the next task.

Oh shit, the next task!

    Not to let y’all in on more than you need to know about my thought processes, but lost in the bugfuck-assed details needed to pull off the spearphish-and-catfish maneuver without detection was one small omission: “what the fuck next?”
That’s right… In my mild obsession with the destination, I forgot to map out the damned journey! I sat down at the computer and tried to gameplan it but nothing was coming to me. I went out into the neighborhood and walked for an hour, nothing. I went to sleep on it, hoping to wake up with a fresh head full of thoughts.

“Have I fucked my plan already?” I thought aloud, to the amusement of a certain Catahoula Leopard Dog mix who legit never leaves my side.

Hi buddy!

At this point, I am drowning in the vastness of my broken imagination and might seriously be going insane.  As I check down my list of “jog my creativity” catalysts, I hopped in the shower in hopes that one of those random-assed beautiful ideas springs up…
FUCK!!!  Nothing at all.  What is I’mma do?

Refusing to admit defeat, I hopped in the car and went for a little mind-clearing ride.  Literally a short ride was planned, in that I only got ten bucks worth of gas and intended to be back home before the low fuel light came on.  I rode through some of the old neighborhoods we’ve lived in, half-hoping to encounter some old friends and neighbors for a quick conversation.

Of course, as it were, NO ONE was outside anywhere.  I swung over by MLK hoping at least to glean some entertainment from the people who seem to ALWAYS walk up and down the street but not going anywhere in particular.
No, there were not two crackheads fighting in the street in front of Church's Chicken on this day (<- yes, I have seen this happen with my own eyes before), there was a car that was WILDLY out of place randomly situated a block off of MLK on an otherwise kind of narrow street.  I grew up in this neighborhood, so I know from experience that people avoid parking on this street because it is so narrow and cars get hit.

As random as that seemed on its face, I thought nothing of it in the moment.  Oddly enough, though, I needed to go downtown for something, and the quick way to my mom’s house is through the old neighborhood.  Weirdly, that same-ass car was still sitting there.  My brain immediately defaults to “this shit ain’t happen for nothing.”

Back home, I had an idea…
I sat down to the computer and crafted an email, first to my three marks before waiting an hour and a half and emailing the rest of the group.  The message is as follows…

“Dr Martin Luther King had planned to Speak at a church in Greensboro NC on April 4th, 1968, but canceled his visit to remain in Memphis where he was assassinated on that day.  Your next task is to go to the original location of that church, and then walk 900 steps.  There will be a car parked on the street.  I will not tell you which car, and you only get ONE submission.  Your response will not be accepted without a picture and only one picture will be accepted.”

That one is kind of a trick…  Again, I grew up in this neighborhood and know the name of the church but the church is not now – and has not beem for any of my life that I recall – where it was located in April 1968.  It moved about seven blocks away from where it was.  Seriously, I ONLY know it from where it is currently located and only knew of where it was before because a bust that used to sit outside of the old location.  That bust has since been moved down to the edge of downtown, but that has nothing to do with this, as it were.

Anyone who manages to get THIS shit right has either spent some time in that church or KNOWS-knows their city history.  None of those “bringing the spirit of Milwaukee to the south” assholes are probably gonna make it past this one without some SLICK-ass Googling skills.  What is important to me, though, is that I know for fact that my marks are locals and belong to a demographic that should be able to pull this shit off quicklike.

…  I just need that damned car to still be there when they get there.