I was still flowing along towards Charlottesville (that appears to always be “about 5 miles up ahead” no matter who I ask or when) and was getting kind of thirsty when an IHOP rolled into view on my side of the road. I entered, told the hostess what I was up to, and asked if […]
“Sometimes in life you too will travel through Hell. And on some of these darker journeys you will meet people who think they are actually in Heaven because of their cleverness or their privilege or their material wealth or their ability to manipulate others or get away with things. The temptation for you, of course, […]
I was up very early after a decent night’s sleep, and proceeded to walk through and out of Charlottesville proper in the very early hours of the morning. The pedestrian thoroughfare I encountered and walked along, and the small group of homeless citizens sleeping there on those less than mean streets, provided an unusual juxtaposition […]
I started to enter the University District proper* and came across the Clemons Library in short order. Its doors were student-ID activated and there were no students on hand that early in the morning, so I resorted to knocking on the door until the library attendant on call rose, came to the door, heard about […]
I then passed the beautifully landscaped gardens of Dignity Memorial Funeral Service (now Teague Funeral Service) on the far outskirts of town and had to pause and marvel over how much Life could be so beautifully tended in a place dedicated to death and dying. And then I realized that this is somehow fitting on […]
“What makes a Hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity? Are these the traits that truly show and create a true Hero? In significant part, no doubt. And yet there is so much more to the making of a veritable Hero; so much more that is still so well hidden from common view. Indeed, the real […]
It was relatively easy walking thereafter. Yes, the shoulder was thin and it was still difficult (and at times unpleasant) to leave the road and walk in the neighboring grass whenever a car approached, and yet traffic on this stretch of roadway (Highway 250W out of Charlottesville) was relatively light and slow-flowing. Still, even though […]
And then on the very far outskirts of town (so far outside of Charlottesville along Ivy Road that I was sure I was in another township), I came across the All Saints Anglican Church. I hadn’t stopped for long enough that I was rather thirsty, and the church seemed quite lovely from afar (and had […]
“Mindfulness & meditation can indeed help us to focus on the moment while simultaneously knowing that we cannot capture that moment, knowing that we are simply in a flow of the moments we let flow. That said, while it might be marginally useful to learn to watch moments in detail without being attached to them, […]
I walked on a ways and soon came to the outskirts of the tiny town of Ivy, where the graceful loveliness of the Barn Swallow Artisans Gallery beckoned and I willingly answered its call. Inside things were standard-level cozy for such an establishment and yet what proved to be a pleasantly unexpected surprise was store […]
“Such were our minor preparations for the journey, and yet above all we laid in an ample stock of good-humor, and a genuine disposition to be grateful, and an intention to do all the good we could along the way. We were determined to travel in true contrabandista style; taking things as we found them, […]
;
