Fork in the Road

The way is full of choices. The last day in Oklahoma I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of the snow. The wide four lane divided highway was stretching out of sight. While walking these past five months I would think what this day would look like. The road, the clouds, the wind, the snow. My minds-eye was spot on. It was time to go home...

Sheboygan until the snow flies.

I did what I set out to do and it was just as I had envisioned it when the snowflakes fell into view. It wasn't a blizzard but just enough see and feel. On the Southern edge of Muskogee Oklahoma is where I saw snow. Just over five months from Lake Michigan to Omaha by way of Fargo North Dakota then in Oklahoma from Pawhuska to Muskogee. When I had started this morning I carried a lighter backpack with only emergency essentials, my lower back was so sore I was having trouble moving so the smaller load relieved some pressure. When the snow began to fall I stood and watched it for awhile before turning back to get the van, it was less than a mile. The wind had quickly blown me that distance, when I turned around I had to work for every step. When I made my way back over to the Hilldale store there was a woman who had heard I was there and had excitedly jumped in her vehicle to find me. She had seen on a news report that I was going to stop when I saw snowflakes. She not only got the last picture of me walking in Oklahoma she also gave me a ride to the van at the next intersection. She said, as I was getting out," I don't know what you're going to do from here but you have helped a lot of people with what you have done." What a sweet exclamation. When I get my back adjusted and after the holidays I have eighteen states yet to step foot in before I set another goal.
I will post updates soon. Until then, keep walking.

Birds and the Moth

While I lay in the van looking out at the rain spatter the panes wondering how I would go on with my back in such pain a moth fluttered to the window, circled a few times and flew up and away so I could follow its progress until it disappeared into the grey clouds. Then a bird flock of hundreds passed flying high as the cloud layers blew by in several directions. I decided then that when I was able to walk again I would keep going. I'll not be outlasted by a tenacious moth. It has become colder but the weather front has passed, for now my muscles have loosened enough so I'll head South like the rest of the flocking birds heading for home.

Honestly

Early Sunday Morning and my back is racked from the rain. On Friday I walked from the edge of Muskogee to a long term care hospital, they had invited me there for a meal and a shower. As I got there a light rain began. I was able to get the canvas World under cover before it got soaked. From there I defLated the ball and loaded it into the wqrldguy van. The rain fell off and on Friday night through until morning when the sun broke through for just awhile. The months of walking and the cold rain combined to make it difficult to stand and walk Nice (the dog). It was only after a day of resting in the van that my back now only hurts like it would if I had just walked twenty miles. I wrote the previous post to avoid dwelling on this nuisance but I, in all honesty,have to say my back pain is incapacitating. I have heard it will rain more this afternoon after the lite sprinkles clear off. Honestly, I hope it snows soon.

True Grit

Five months, to the day from when I stepped away from Lake Michigan, Sheboygan. Across Wisconsin and the Mississippi to Iowa, up the big muddy to where it drains out of Lake Itaska, across the White Earth to Fargo, through the Dakota's to Nebraska, skipping Kansas (been there) and finally here with the Okies in Muskogee there they were. Not since I left my old Kentucky home far away had I found them, grits. Finally I am fer' 'nuff sa'outh. Praise all that is good, I ate me sum' grits today an' they wuz' Deeeliciously gritty tastin'! Don't git' me started' 'bout ma' grits...many a mile,many a mile...

Nothing to say

There's lots of things I could mention about yesterday, but I can't get the thumbs going. The little town of Porter, the men lined up at the long table in the store at the edge of town; the look on their faces when I took their picture for being one of the best examples of what I call "the liar's table" I've seen in months. I had come in and left before any of them showed up for their morning review; the early bird gets the worm. The walk past the school, the crossing guard's reaction when the World passed him by like he was warned it would was classic but I don't want to mention that either. As I made it to the far end of town and spent almost an hour progressing a few hundred yards while talking to more people than I can count including the sheriff who brought me patch from town and was attacked by Nice(the dog) who licked his face with his ferocious long tongue , many who had family or were themselves diabetic or in need of a bit of calisthenics ending with an ex- RN on her way to the diabetes specialist for a check-up who told me she was having troubles with her kidneys and yet didn't check her levels as she knew she should or walk to keep in shape like she knew she should but she did stop saying "Okay I have a minute for your story". Of this I have nothing to say. Or of the ol farmer I watched work his way over on the tractor, took a few minutes to get out the gate and down off the large piece of machinery and talk to me. He was bent over obviously from years of working the fields before I was born. I bent over so I could look him in the face while he clung to the hay-bail forks of the tractor. When I walked away I heard a loud call and turned to se him scuttling almost upright to get back and close the gate, the heard of cows were curiously ambling to follow me down the road as they usually do. I've got nothing in regard to the high dormant grass that brings my World to a halt when I need to roll off the road as cars passed until I got to the wide four-lane and it's pull-off lane. I might revel at the coincidence of the road maintenance crew with the open trailer who just happened to stop to pick up a couple road signs at the busy bridge over the Arkansas River as I walked up; they gave me a lift over to the safe side in the rush hour. But still I have nothing. That the guy at the Pilot was there to assure me the World would be safe when I got my ride before I had it tied to the pole and then turned around to meet the young women who were on their way back through Porter; one of the two sisters had spoken to me the night before so I didn't have to say much before we were on the road back. Thanks to E and T is what I'd say if I had the inclination to write, but I don't. Finally I might mention the couple who brought me a meal after I was settled and thank them too, but I can't find words to peck away on my Blackberry... I don't want to check my spelling or proper wording, I don't want to get out from the warm blanket, but I will because despite myself I do enjoy life,

It's the cold.

My bones are aching. Not all of them, just a few joints that have taken some abuse. Oh,that would be most of them. I made it to the edge of Porter and no more. My knee and foot would have no more for the day. Ten miles per day with the cold, short days is about as much as I can take. The shoulders are steep and the terrains are taking a toll . Ok I'm finished complaining...

Nice Porter

What a life he has. Draped in warm clothes and scarf. Able to sniff and take in the countryside while I, his porter carry food and water, stop so people can rub his belly and bring snacks that he can eat along the way. A Nice life.

On our way to Porter, OK.

Off the Grid

Today I am walking on SR51, it runs at an angle toward Fort Smith, not on the strict s-n-e-w grid of most of the roads I have walked since September. WhooHoo!
No interesting fun little tales this morning. Yesterday the first person I talked to was diabetic, through the day of the few I spoke to many were diabetic, the last I spoke to was also diabetic. From juvenile onset to stress, poor diet and complications from surgeries. All different, undeserving...
Today I'm walking the cold World.

Dreams, a Sardine Can, and Broken Arrow

Dreams make sense while I am in them but rarely float where reason reigns in the light of day. Peddling a box truck like a tricycle trying my best to catch up with the red delivery truck ahead of me didn't seem too hard. It was the guys on the bicycles with their pointy hats and skin tight clothes while crossing an arched bridge was what made it difficult. The men on the bikes wouldn't stop talking and were going so slow that I was bumping into them as I strained to keep enough momentum to keep the heavy box truck rolling up the upside of the bridge. As often happens because of all the falls, car accidents and years of destroying my spine as a carpenter I startled myself awake by hearing myself yell out in pain. I had been lying on my back, knees bent, feet flat and had been pedaling. The desire to catch up to the red truck was replaced with a hope I could turn on my side and straighten my legs without another anguished outburst. I'd bounced my lower back into knots, turning on my side helped very little. What was I thinking, I thought to myself, the red truck was too far ahead from the start. I drifted off again to dreamland only to finally wake up for good by attempting to get a cat out of the room I and Nice(the dog) were in by covering it with a towel and lifting it in both arms but not before it did it's business on the rug. What roused me from the dream was while I was lifting the cat I somehow got the tip of my finger in it's mouth. The cat didn't bite but the thought of it was enough to wake me up. The fingertip the cat had in it's mouth was the one I lost a few years ago, apparently I have all my digits while dreaming. Twice in one night was enough, I got my things together, twisted back and all. Before daylight I was walking.
When the wind is blowing I don't have the luxury of complaint about the aches and pains. I save it up for this blog... I kept a moderate pace, as long as I was walking,pushing, stopping for Nice(the dog) to inspect the cities fences and avoiding the puddles from yesterdays rain my mind kept away from the list of pains. Suddenly I was close to my destination for the day and I was honored to get a ride from a man I met days ago who happened to be in the Tulsa area. He had called earlier in the morning and caught up with me just a few steps from where I stopped for the afternoon. The thing about the ride was that the car was tiny and low to the ground which wasn't so bad until I got out and walked to the van. It was interesting though with Nice in the bucket seat with me while Grandma held back the two brendled pit bulls in the small back seat. As if I wasn't tensed up before I squeezed in. The man's timing was perfect though and the dogs didn't fight. I had enough time to apply some patches and paint to the World after we made our way back to Tulsa's neighbor city, Broken Arrow. I am working my way to Arkansas and the World must have it's attention or it will fall apart.
Sweet dreams Oklahoma!

TPD

Black Friday I pushed east on Eleventh Street, also known as Oklahoma Route 66. The "breeze" was coming from the south and slightly from the east, sometimes gusting over thirty miles per hour making my progress a labor. Nice (the dog) had to sniff and mark all the power poles, building corners, fire hydrants, clumps of grass, mail boxes, fence post, and curbs. When we walked by the Tulsa University Stadium just before the game against Texas the fans were gracious and walked around us on the sidewalk as I pushed against the "breeze" and waited for Nice (the endless bladder) to mark bushes, concrete planters, and trees. The sharp angle of the sidewalk had my right leg straining. Switching to the opposite side of the road was out because of the wind so I plodded on until the roadside opened wide later in the day.
Everyday I meet diabetics and people who have family members with diabetes. On thanksgiving I met a double amputee riding on a motorized chair. He had lost one leg after being hit by a car while on a motorcycle and the other from an infection while still in the hospital. He had lost both parents to diabetes and his brother was nearly blind from the disease. Though he couldn't walk he agreed exercise helps to control it. I received an e-mail from a man I met a few days ago, he let me know he had sent a donation to the ADA after meeting us on the road. I can inspire a world of people to walk, only breakthroughs in medicine can help whole families prone to diabetes with cures. Give to the organization of your choice. I'll keep talking and walking...
A tulsa K-9 patrolman stopped to give Nice some treats and ask some questions the television news hadn't covered. I asked him where I may find a safe parking area. He pointed to the Police station just ahead and went forward to ask if it would be permissible. Thanks to the Captain in charge I have had a shower, am parked at the edge of the Tulsa Police Department where It has rained most of the night and all morning. The "breeze" is forecast to blow at thirty five while getting colder during the day. If the roads dry I will "blow up" the World that I deflated for the night of rain and turn South toward the city of Broken Arrow. If conditions remain ugly I hope I can rest here for another evening.
Happy holiday shopping!

Remembering Thanksgiving

Half of my lifetime ago I enjoyed my mothers holiday meal for the last time. Her cooking is, of coarse, the standard I have searched for since she passed. Occasionally I will find one item at a Thanksgiving feast that compares with the tastes of my memories. One year our local newspaper featured her holiday production which had to be prepared two weeks earlier so it could be used by the readers for their holiday spread. I gained weight that season. I know now it was those delicious cakes, pies, cookies, candies, meats, turkey with all the rest that contributed to her demise and my large appetite. Now a salad with my ancient mom would be preferable to my fading memory of her.
A few years ago I went for a walk on Thanksgiving day. I was gone so long I was late to the gathering at my in-laws. I had never felt so good as I did that Thanksgiving. I was not stuffed and miserable. That was my most enjoyable Thanksgiving.