Yesterday was a big day for me. Not only was it my first day back out on the road after what turned into a five-month sabbatical from walking across America, it was also the first day of my journey that I was walking on the eastside of the Mississippi River. Although this picture does not convey the sheer joy and excitement that I felt as a ferry boat carried me over this famous river that flows down the middle of our country, I can see that it reflects the sinus pressure that I've been experiencing for the past week. Yes, after five months of living and working outside of Louisiana without a lick of sinus trouble, I found myself sitting in a doctor's office with a sinus infection a little over a week after returning to the state. In conclusion, I have come to believe that I am allergic to the state of Louisiana.
Now, I can hear sighs, groans and even a couple of laughs from people who followed my sinus infected journey last spring, and I can assure you that it is not funny --but I will be okay. I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving east through the state of Louisiana unless I receive a clear direction from God that tells me to do otherwise.
I camped in the woods last night for the first time in a very long time and woke this morning to the sound of rain on my tent. I knew it was coming. The forecast predicted an 80% chance of rain today. I packed up my gear very quickly and walked to a shelter in Audubon State Park before it really started to rain hard. That was six hours ago, and it is still raining fairly hard as I write this. An 8th grade class from Brusly (pronounced Brewley,) Louisiana (full of questions and baring gifts of human interaction, firewood and pizza) came by the shelter around noon to have lunch on their field trip to St. Francisville, but the shelter has now returned to its original peaceful state. It's beginning to look as if I will be spending the whole day under this shelter at Audubon State Park, but I am staying out of the rain, sitting next to a fire, and feeling rather content.
8th grade class from Brusley, LA
Thursday, August 24, 2000: Andover, MN
Well, it's been two months since I've updated this site, so I figured that I better sit down this morning and write a few lines, in case someone might think that I've died or something. I am very much alive, and having a good summer. After my weekend in New Orleans, I took a Greyhound bus up to Minnesota to work for the summer. It's just too hot to be walking in Louisiana this time of year.
The past six weeks, I have spent pretty much every day working on my friend Brian's house in Andover, Minnesota. On the inside, I stripped wallpaper and painted walls, and on the outside I have been working on a very large brick patio. Brian and his wife, Tonya, wanted a large patio, and that is definitely what it could be described as. It's a little over 1,000 square feet, with upper and lower levels, a dining platform, and room for an outdoor kitchen area. Because I designed the patio, it has been a gratifying experience to put the plan on paper into the physical world with wood, gravel, sand, and brick, but I am growing weary of shoveling. I hope to see it's completion in the next few weeks and have the pleasure of returning to the wonderful world of walking in Louisiana.
I talked to my friend Brother Bob in Gurdon, Arkansas the other day. He described the heat that Gurdon, Arkansas experiences in the month of August, and for a brief moment my hands and back hurt a little less from all the shoveling, and I was grateful to be working on a patio in Andover, Minnesota. Brother Bob advised me to wait until October before returning to the wonderful world of walking through Louisiana. Although my feet are itching to walk in September, I decided to stick with the original plan of walking on from New Roads in October, and thus avoid a month full of all the continuos flowing sweat and possible heat exhaustion.
So, the plan as of now is to finish up this patio in the next couple of weeks, and then begin my Greyound descent back to the South in mid-September --but with a few stops to visit friends and family along the way. It sounds like a good plan for today, and I am going back outside to shovel some more dirt now.
Tuesday, November 7, 2000: New Roads, LA
I finally made it back to New Roads yesterday. On average, New Roads seems to be about 20 degrees cooler than it was the last time I was here. That's a very good thing. I plan to spend a week here with friends and start walking again next week.
Yes, it's time to return to the business of walking east. A few words to describe how I feel today: wonderful, excited, blessed, loved, fortunate, grateful, exactly where I am supposed to be, and very close to God. I can feel the umbrella of God's grace above me today, and I am very happy to be here. He keeps reminding me that it is time for me to return to the business of walking east, and that He is with me on this. Oh yeah, there are occasional fears of reckless drunk drivers, careless deer hunters, psychopathic serial killers, and real life scenes from Deliverance or The Blair Witch Project which creep into my thoughts now and then, but fear is not what consumes my mind today. Trust in God is overpowering all of my human concerns regarding the unknown road that lies ahead of me and even the rest of my time here on earth. I am embracing all of it, because I can actually feel God, and I can see Him at work in all the situations of my life. I know that He is with me, and He will be leading me, guiding me, and directing me, as long as I will listen, trust Him, and follow His directions one day at a time. At this moment in time, my whole life is actually that simple.
Geographically speaking, the Mississippi River lies three miles to the northeast of me, and I hope to be crossing it on my first day back on the road. I am far from being in tip-top walking condition, but I think that I can make it three miles. However, I do expect to feel a certain amount of pain in the form of sore shoulders and blisters on my feet in the first week or two. Crossing the Mighty Mississippi means so much more to me than just radio stations that start with W rather than K. --It signifies a day that I have often thought about while walking down the road the past few years and a tremendous geographical landmark for any man who is walking across America. Of course, I'm looking forward to it.
In the last journal entry, I was sitting under a shelter in Audubon State Park near St. Francisville, Louisiana. I wrote the statement, "I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving east through the state of Louisiana unless I receive a clear direction from God that tells me to do otherwise." Throughout the next week, I believe that God began to give me direction. As I sought His direction and weighed my options, one thought penetrated my mind, "Maybe God has something for me to do in Oklahoma that is more important than walking across America right now." I wasn't certain whether it was Him or me, but I figured it would be better to take a bus back to Oklahoma to find out for sure than to ignore it completely. On November 20th, I boarded a Greyhound bus to Ponca City, Oklahoma while trusting God and believing that I was doing the right thing.
My belief that God had something for me to do in Oklahoma that was more important than walking across America back in November has now become reality. Upon arriving here, I was asked to put together a Bible study, which would apply the twelve steps and meeting format of AA to a fellowship of Christians trying to keep in step with the Christian walk. We call it "Sinner's Anonymous," and about fourteen of us sinners have been meeting every Thursday night in Ponca City since December. In March, we started another Sinner's Anonymous group in Newirk, Oklahoma and we've been meeting there every Monday night for the past two months. I am sometimes overwhelmed with compiling Scriptures, as well as writing, assembling and making copies of the studies for the two groups, but I try to remain grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Now for the big, big news, and the most important reason why I have been living in Oklahoma the past five months. I met a wonderful girl here last September on my way back to Louisiana after spending my summer working and living in Minnesota. Her name is Brandi, and our relationship has quickly passed from dating to courtship, from courtship to engagement on March 5th, and is set to pass from engagement to marriage on May 26th of this year. There is so much that I could write about Brandi, but I will save it for later as I really want to have walkingtom.com updated today.
I will mention that she loves God and walking, as well as tuna and tobasco cuisine. Brandi and I are planning to continue the walk across America together this fall, from where I left off in Louisiana last November.
Brandi, stirring tuna and noodles
Ms. Anderson's 3rd hour drawing class
I have assimilated into stationary living the past five months --sometimes gracefully, sometimes kicking and screaming. I bought an '84 Honda Accord, rented an apartment, and I've been substitute teaching most every day, usually at Ponca City High School but sometimes at one of the two middle schools in town. Some days I feel as if I'm paying what I owe for the way I treated teachers in high school, but most days are pretty good. Today, I am writing this update from Ms. Anderson's high school art class, and it's one of those pretty good days.
I really miss walking, but I find comfort and rest in the fact that I truly believe that I am doing what God wants me to be doing right now, and I will be walking the rest of the way across America and through the rest of my life with a most wonderful partner that He has chosen for me. I will try to update more when I can. Life is very busy these days with all of the above mentioned activities and a wedding to get ready for on May 26th, but I will try to do better with the updates.
Monday, May 7, 2001: Ponca City, OK
What's new? Getting ready for a May 26th wedding and a walking adventure this fall. We had our blood tests taken last week, and got the okay from the state of Oklahoma to be united in matrimony. Invitations are sent, many of the festivity's arrangements are made, and things are falling into place very nicely. In a surprising manner, I feel at peace. I am not really freaking out about getting married as much as expected. It just feels right.
Brandi had a wedding shower last week, and all monetary gifts went toward our "first home" that came in the mail yesterday. It weighs only 5 lbs. 8 oz. and is large enough to comfortably accommodate a happy couple and their walking equipment. We're still working on another backpack, but Brandi has been training with mine out on the gravel roads of Oklahoma. She's ready to start walking, and most likely in better shape than I am right now. I'm getting very excited about our future together.
Yesterday was a big day for me. Not only was it my first day back out on the road after what turned into a five-month sabbatical from walking across America, it was also the first day of my journey that I was walking on the eastside of the Mississippi River. Although this picture does not convey the sheer joy and excitement that I felt as a ferry boat carried me over this famous river that flows down the middle of our country, I can see that it reflects the sinus pressure that I've been experiencing for the past week. Yes, after five months of living and working outside of Louisiana without a lick of sinus trouble, I found myself sitting in a doctor's office with a sinus infection a little over a week after returning to the state. In conclusion, I have come to believe that I am allergic to the state of Louisiana. 
