Counting the days...

Two months from today we will be heading north to begin another walk.I will have more to say as Earth day grows close.For now it's anticipation and preparation for a world of fun!

Hard Freeze and Nice Whine

As this New Year has been frozen since it's first hours and the wood pile quickly dwindles to ash. I listen to NPR and hear the temperature in Antarctica is 40 degrees.
Far to soon I am longing for spring.
Nice (the dog) has taken to whining impatiently for the long walks. A mile or two hardly phase him. Our short walks in the mornings and evenings stay his groans less and less. Occasionally we walk for four hours. This only gets him in the mood to pull and tug on the leash. He then jumps high with the rope in his teeth, growling back and forth, coaxing a tug of war as he alternately frightens or amuses passers by.
We both long for Spring.

Happy New Year.

On this blue moons new decades night.
my hopes yours are good and right.
The days months and years ahead.

Best wishes, health and happiness.

Cheers and good night!

Giving Thanks...

This year has been filled with good people, wonderful sights and experiences. I am grateful for them all. From my home to the top of high mountains I was helped and inspired by countless influences. I would still be walking if I took the time keep record of them all, though I wish I had. For now a heartfelt thanks is what I can give to one and all.
Happy Thanksgiving!

i

Building a Foundation and Finding Inspirations

With every day comes the challenge to do more with Worldguy. Some days just walking to keep fit is all that seems to happen on the outside.On the inside I think of where I may go next and how I might be of more use to the cause of diabetes in my own little way.

When I am out with the World on the road in my city I am asked my purpose. After over ten years it is interesting to me that there are always new people to tell my tale. Walking across the mid-west then struggling to ascend Pike's Peak for diabetes awareness is impressive. Walking from Kentucky to Pennsylvania two years ago --and the first trip in the last century of 160 miles to promote the ADA's awareness week-- show I am dedicated to the cause that took my mother as well as many friends and family over the years. I could keep keep walking for years encouraging fitness and better diet to control and prevent diabetes, constantly finding new people to share the message with as evidenced by my walking here in Louisville for years. I can walk across the country until I am old, broken down, and more grey. Doing this alone I could be happy to have made some impact.

Or, I can do more by building on that and create a WorldGuy Foundation, take the time necessary to make it a non-profit, and do more than get on a mailing list as a result of the donations we have made. Enter the WorldGuy Foundation. With the help of my family and friends this is what I have begun. The process takes time, but I believe we can do more for diabetes awareness by taking this step.

Now I feel more inspired to do more... to learn how to get sponsorships, to ask for help, to make World Guy more than a man spreading a message by walking on the highway getting his message out with local news coverage or a CNN spot filmed fr0m the air. I can add to that with help and inspiration from others to give to the cause of diabetes in more ways. A world of possibilities.

A walk in the Park

Today it was just a walk in the park. I did break a sweat, unlike the many walks I have taken recently with only the dog (Nice). I get so bored walking without the World in tow. Today I walked for my health, for my own peace of mind. I let the world roll down the big hill in the park and got as close to the long path at it's bottom as I ever have. A border Collie corralled it at the bottom until we walked down to it, the dog was happy to have some work.
Still planning to go for another walk for Diabetes in the spring of next year. Am beginning to get excited about it. North East is looking pretty good unless something else comes up as a better trip.
For now working at home will keep me busy.

Driving wind and the trenches

After a hard rain two days ago the sk cleared with a stiff wind that gusted and turned the skies clear and blue. I was waiting yet another day for payment from a customer who I had performed work for weeks ago whose story changes on a daily basis. Their excuses have become my entertainment. Never in all my years has anyone spun such yarns of personal troubles and reasons for being unable to pay. Always assuring me that tomorrow things will come together and I will be the first to be taken care of. "Taken" is the only word I am inclined to believe. To add to the drama they have hired me to work for them when they do get things strait, and always it is tomorrow. So, I have put off work for others. A bit of honesty on their part, or less gullibility on mine would go a long way to help the situation. As I said, the wind was blowing hard. The best use of my day was to blow up the world ball and walk Nice (the dog) against the wind that had turned the skies from gray to blue.

As we walked against the wind, and every step was a labor, I looked back to this summer when we walked beside roadways against the prevailing winds across the mid-west. I remembered days and weeks I spent laboring to get to the next town or mile marker, walking in the trenches and high grass, assuring myself the wind was not holding me back, but pacing me so I may be at a certain place at a certain moment to meet someone or see a sight that I would not have seen had the wind been calm. After having this thought while standing at an intersection, I looked up to see my customer driving by doing their best not to make eye contact. The excuse for this day would have found them on the expressway to file papers with the state. I smiled to myself, thanked the wind for the opportunity and resolved "to go back to the trenches" and take other work. I said this to myself in metaphor but within hours I was talking on the phone to a friend about other things when he offered the possibility of some work where we would fix a water flow problem around one of his customers' pool. Everyone has talents, trenches and flow are one of mine. I should be careful of what I say to myself about trenches...

Stand-bys and story books

I walked across the mid-west and up the second highest peak in the U.S. with my Blackberry hanging from my neck and never misplaced it. I named it my "chest top" because it was how I blogged all the way along the road. I had it wrapped in a zip-lock bag much of the time to protect it from sweat and the elements. Once the thing shorted out from the dripping dew inside our pup-tent, luckily it turned on after a fresh charge. This morning I lost it walking Nice (the dog) with it in my pocket. I have been keeping it there after some peer pressure that it looked funny or cyborg-like. My defense was that it never was lost like so many phones in my past.. Now I am back to the old stand by from before the B-berry. I had on it pictures from the top of the world , which at least are on my face book page, and many phone numbers of people I had met on the walk to Kansas. All lost from inattention to the sound of it dropping out of my pocket as I trotted across the busy street a few hundred yards from my home. I was worried how I looked. Laughable from a guy who rolls the world down state highways.
The story that phone could tell of that journey. The miles, the rain, the thousands of people and sights. The pictures it took .It was even about my neck when my finger was bitten off. From bouncing from my chest as we climbed Pike's Peak, to bouncing finally on the pavement to be picked up by some street person just a few minutes before I returned to find it. A sad story in the end for the poor Blackberry.
My son called me yesterday with news of his adventure. He has befriended a young man and his older brother who work for a circus. They have invited him to come with them and work the circus this winter in the south. A proud fathers story book tale of the son going off to work in the circus in 2009. What are the odds of that happening? I'm curious to see how that tale unfolds.

I'm so proud...or Worldguy's WALK IN WISCONSIN

Normally what I did , where I went and for what reason the last several days would be too personal to post. But since I chose to take to world with me I must bare my story on this blog for continuity.

The phrase " I'm so Proud." has rung in my ear for days. My pride is for my son. This tale involves that pride and my unconditional love for my boy. The world went along for the ride.

Last Friday I posted about mending a roof. This has seemingly nothing to do with my son of eighteen years who has taken to be a "traveler" since he came of age. Nor does a six foot inflatable relate to a rotted area on a poorly designed roof, yet that is the start of this tale.

I was tearing a section of rotten roof off the house where I live last Friday when I got a call from an old friend who I have known since my son was an infant. We have worked together, helped each other over the years and seen each others boys grow up. That is when the mantra phrase began. I shared with my old friend my sons path since he turned eighteen and my feelings since my return from the walk for diabetes this summer. While I was gone my son was left with the one rule of no hanging out with friends or " over nighters " at our home. This was to both keep the house free from the sticky fingers of young strangers and give him a sanctuary during my absence. My son stretched that rule and had people in the house all the time and had others come to stay.
"I'm so proud."
I left him with enough supplies to last him over a month that he shared with his guests so after a week the cupboard was bare.
"I'm so proud."
With the income of his part time job he would be comfortable and learn the responsibility of living on his own without the burden of rent. He had wanted to move out when he turned eighteen and my being gone on the walk would be good for him to have a taste of responsible adulthood.
He lost his job.
"I'm so proud."
He sold almost all of my collection of DvDs for food at first, then for money to go on the road with his friends as they pan handle around the country.
"I'm so proud."
Several tools and some extra gear for travel came up missing which he has no notion of how they disappeared .
"I'm so proud."
He broke and lost his glasses twice just before he left town and plans to make a sign a stand by an eyeglass outlet and pan handle a new pair.
"I'm so proud."
My boy was now in Wisconsin sleeping in the streets by choice for the adventure before heading to Washington State to" winter over" with his friend who is in the armed forces and is stationed there.
"I'm so proud."
My friend listened to this and many other reasons of the pride I feel for my only child. We chuckled at the list.
The next mornng I was cleaning the last debris from the decayed area and rebuilding the new wood to set the new rafters for the roof when I recieved a devastating call from the mother of a girl my son had dated until last winter and had some contact with just before he left town. The girls mother informed me her daughter has become hiv positive. I first called his mother who was devasted. I then called one of the group my son was with and told my son what I had heard. He did not believe the news but said he would get a blood test. From his response I could tell he would not act. I struggled with fashioning new rafters for awhile before the news caused me to sit and stare at the sky for hours in thoughts deep. Eventually I came down thirsty and of little good to anyone. No good at all.
Sunday I began with a bit of debris clean up around the side of the house. Still worried I called my son again but he and his traveling buddy had split from his group of four and were on separate sides of Madison Wisconsin. They had argued about the importance of getting a blood test. Have I mentioned how proud I am of my son? I ended the day watching television with the volume loud drifting between sleep and the depression of a parents nightmare playing out in real time.
Monday I was back on the roof making progress after waking at four in the morning to walk Nice. We walked for hours in the dark and when I returned I realized I had unconsciously walked past all the places we had lived during my sons life, including the apartment where we were living when his mother and I were married.Before working I loaded the car with my road gear and put the world in the trunk of the car thinking that if I had to find my son in a collage town I might need a way of attracting some attention. On the roof I was talking to his mother trying to calm her and hope for a call from my son. I could not calm her and the only call I got was from his friends in Madison wanting to know if I had heard from him. I thought I was holding myself together well when I noticed my hand was trembling as I worked. Not a good sign.
By the end f the day Tuesday the roof had a tarp on it, there was no word from my son and I had resolved to drive the five hundred fifty miles to find my son and get him somewhere for a blood test. Wednesday I was on the road. I was most of the way through Illinois when realized I had no idea where in Wisconsin Madison was. I had never looked at a map .
I found Madison by the end of the day and found myself driving around this city of a quarter million people where most of the people I saw were wearing backpacks! I was looking for a needle in a haystack with no idea where to begin. I knew only that my son was downtown. I decided to park and walk to get some sense of the hot spots where I might find street kids hanging about. It was about six pm and the downtown metered parking spots were still full. I saw an open spot and parked.
After I parked I got Nice (the dog) out, put on my hat and shoulder bag determined to find my boy however long it would take. Nice and me walked to the corner that was no more than twenty yards from where we had parked. At the corner I noticed that dank smell off crusty teenager who has not showered. The street was full of young kids, some were students and some looked like they had been out on the street for awhile being tan from dust as much as from yhe sun. At the corner were large concrete flower pots and Nice sniffed at it. I thought he was about to relieve himself when he 'hit" on a scent. If you have a good tracker type dog you can tell when they pick up a scent. He pulled me across the intersection to the opposite corner, turned to the right and when I looked up and saw my son and his friend sitting on a bench. Nice ran up to him and I could see he unerstood why I had made him ride all the way there only stopping once for gas. I could hardly believe my eyes, I had found the needle in the hay stack.
My son was happy to see me and Nice. He asked what I was doing there. Was I back on the road on another walk for diabetes? I lied and told him I missed him and wanted to hang out with my boy...My pride overflowed.
After awhile my son asked if I could get a hotel room so he could shower and check his body that was covered with poison ivy. He had spent a few days in some woods with some road kids and got infected after wrestling in the weeds. I got a room and he took a long shower before falling quickly to sleep. In the morning we had a good breakfast and I found a place t get him a blood test.
At the clinic I worried while he was in the back. I prepared for the worst. They had said the test took ten minutes, I waited almost an hour. Finally he came out with a smile,. They had tested him three times and the results were negative. Words can not express my relief.
We then drove back into the city so he could find his friend. I stopped about a mile from the capitol and inflated the world. To drive that distance without making a positive out of it seemed just wrong. After a couple blocks I told my son I would catch up with him later. I then walked around the state capitol and then to the lake were I sat relieved at the news while enjoying the scenery. I worked my way back to State street where the action was. The world fit right in at this disneyland for street kids, college students, home bums, and locals who shop and dine at this strip of shops and restaurants. I found my son with a group of crusty boys. They were gathering change for beer while I talked with students and locals about why I was there. i was honest and told everyone of what I had done this summer and why I was there. I would then point out my son and chant " I'm so proud."
My goal met, I left my boy to his. To try and get him to come back with me was a waste of time and I had no desire to stay and "hang out" so we hugged and said good bye. As I rolled up the street to find a good place to eat a black unmarked police car rolled alongside and the commander inside asked what in the world I was doing. I quickly told of my journies this year and told her of why I was there, she nodded in approval that I had come so far to make sure my "traveler" was healthy. I told her where I had parked and she told me to be careful of the buses and bike riders and to enjoy my dinner. Madison is a good place . After my meal I walked and talked my way to the car, pulled the plug and put the world in the trunk.
On the ride home I listened to Jackson Browne, The Pretender. One song hit home, Your Bright Baby Blues.
I made the trip to Wisconsin an event. Worldguy has chalked up another state. That makes ten states we have walked in. Forty to go.
Now I am back to the long neglected roof at home.
I am so proud...

Sunday morning quiet time.

Only the dogs, birds, and chickens up the alley are vocal this morning. I am waiting for the neighbours to do the same. Their sleepy Sunday is about to get loud.

I have torn off a section of my roof, long ago rotten. No amount of patching has kept the rains from seeping in. In years past someone built a roof over the almost flat section. So many layers of patch and tar can not keep the water from coming through. An hour after a storm, the water comes dripping. Since I came to live here I have saved wood for this project. A new design, a new look for this old neglected house. Forty years is long enough, and I have uncovered a monster of damp rotten wood.

Like the mountain in Colorado, what was I thinking? Too much thinking, it's time for action.

This has nothing to do with diabetes. Neglecting a house for years is no comparison to a body.

Something Changed

Something has changed about me after walking this spring and summer. There is an obvious and permanent difference in that I had my fingertip removed in an instant attempting to break up a dog fight. Other things, not as evident at first glance, are becoming clear to me as I get more settled back in my life a home. Working on my jobs has been stress free. I notice that I am less excitable and at ease with the everyday situations that before may have tested my patience. I can sleep more than when I was on the road and there is no need to preen daily for ticks and crawly things. The 500 mile walk this summer achieved, like a sheet in a breeze, I have an empty space where enthusiasm and purpose have reigned for two years. I have begun preparing the foundation for the future walks. That direction of purpose I have held so long is now replaced with laying the groundwork to success for World Guy's next endeavour. I have to step up and do better, grow up, reinvent myself, and walk out of the comfortable box of simply walking and letting things happen along the way. Proper preparation and promotion should make the next goal even more successful. That is more scary than a mountain, thunderstorm, or oncoming traffic.