July 2010
109 posts
I have made it to Los Angeles. I did not go to sleep last night. I did not stop walking. When it got near that bedtime situation I looked at my mileage and saw I was less than twenty miles from LA. I thought, “I am too close to sleep.” There is a “no sleep within a twenty-five mile radius of LA” rule when walking across the country. At times last night my head began nodding...
A volvo pulled over near the dog. Two people got out of the volvo and began calling the dog. I couldn’t understand what they were saying. The dog ran over and got in the back seat of the volvo. No more dog. I half-thought she would follow me to LA.
Some kids were playing soccer in their yard. They accidentally kicked the ball across the street. I kicked the soccer ball back to them. It was a sorry sight. I have zero flexibility now. All I am capable of doing is walking long distances, in a straight line, preferabably on level ground. I’m okay with this. I have never been that good at soccer. My moderate/below average soccer skills will...
I have been chewing a lot of toothpicks lately. One of the crew members working on Fast and Furios 5 gave me a box when I was passing through the desrt. The toothpicks have been helpful. They help pass the time. It reminds me of my first apartment in Boston. I had no internet or television. I spent my time sitting on the corner of the bed chewing toothpicks.
Last night I slept on a picnic table at the Truth Tabernacle in Colton. When I woke up the gate I had entered the night before was closed. I had to climb a brick wall to leave the property. I ended up in someone’s backyard. I tried to leave their yard. There was a gate. It was locked. I climbed another brick wall. The day finally was able to start. Fifty miles from Los Angeles.
Yesterday was a day
I only made it about one mile or one exit yesterday before a CHP showed up. He told me to leave the highway. He said there were back roads to Banning. There were. That one exit/mile was monumental. I struggled along for the rest of the morning because the right wheel on my cart wasn’t getting any better and because I was walking in probably the worst winds I have ever experienced. The winds...
Today I return to big truck land
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon walking/dragging my cart to a road that hasn’t existed for twenty years. My google walking directions told me to walk on Pipes Road for 16 miles which would take me to CA-38. When I got to where Pipes Road was supposed to be (after walking on dirt paths for a few miles) I could not find Pipes Road. I saw a ranger station nearby so I walked to the ranger...
A few friends have passed on some sad news. The two bikers I met in West Texas who were riding from LA to Miami to raise money for cancer research have met a cruel end to their journey. Sean, the guy I originally stopped and talked with, was stuck by a truck in Louisiana. He has suffered a broken back, legs, and pelvis. His body was thrown into James who suffered broken ribs. I imagine...
A van driver working on Fast and Furious 5 stopped and gave me water and gatorade. He said they’re filming stunt scenes up the road.
Yesterday I was sitting under my tarpaulin shade and a van pulled up next to me and said, “let’s go swimming.” I spent the evening with Lee and Noah, a retired couple, in Salome. Noah and I watched Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and the bachelorette. In the morning Lee drove me back to where she found me and I started walking again.
I understand laws prohibiting pedestrians from walking on the interstate. I see their logic. I believe I’m more than a pedestrian. I am more than a person walking. A person walking is the thing you see going down the street to get a sandwich. Walking is that thing you see holding a leesh waiting for the dog to shit. I am beyond walking. I have earned the right to be on any road in the united...
A new day is crawling over the mountains. If I was a cyborg I would probably be done by now. Cyborgs sometimes don’t sleep. Cyborgs don’t have blogs. If I sent my best friend back in time to save my mother from a robot sent back in time to kill my mother and my best friend became my father and then died I would be sad.
Last night I slept in my underwear in a chair in between the highway and the service road I walked on for the day. I kept waiting for the temperature to drop so I could get into my sleeping bag, but it never did.
A truck driver honked and showed me his thumb.
James Weaver is a forty year old man who is out of work and walking/hitching to las vegas. I found him next to a canal as he was about to put his feet in the water. He decided to walk wuts me. I heard his struggles. He used to sell products to convenience stores before. He tried to find work in Safford AZ, even applying at fast food places,but had no luck. He said they give all the jobs to young...
I was booted from the interstate yesterday. From here on its all trust in google maps walking directions.
The internet cleaned my body and filled my stomach...
A few weeks ago facebook fed me a message from John. John is a freelance copyeditor in Tucson. The message said, “I enjoy your life. If you come through Tucson I’ll feed you and clean you.” A weeks passed. I arrived in Tucson. John said, “We’re the green house.” I found a green house. John and Jackie and Brit came out of a green house. Jackie was excited and jumped on me. She is a beautiful and...