Tales from the Trail #04: Moving with the Moved …
I sat for quite some time on this day in the shade on the truck-stop side of a gas station – not really even interested in asking for a ride further up the road; just thankful to be sitting in calm out of the heat. And there I sat quite peacefully for quite a few hours, watching the local crows fly lazily above my head or call out to one another from the tops of the nearby trees. And I did so quite contentedly, until one of the kind ladies working inside came out to tactfully tell me that I would have a much better chance at catching a ride if I were to sit on the bench on the opposite side of the store – the one primarily seen by its automobile patrons. Now I myself had enough experience with hitchhiking to know that this logic was patently faulty – to know that there was literally just as good of a chance of catching a ride with a trucker as any random motorist, and yet I sincerely thanked her for the tip anyway, and easily moved across to the bench she recommend; a bench that was at that moment providing no respite from the glaring Sun, and a bench that quickly proved to be just as unhelpful at procuring a lift as its opposing compatriot.
And so it was that I sat there for only a short while (just to be polite) before rising to try my luck on the opposite side of the street. And surprisingly, I was only required to do so for a few short minutes before an elderly man (Larry) stopped to help me out; asking me where I was headed and then hearing a brief recap of my Walk and the injuries that were inspiring me to ask for assistance from passing motorists like himself. Well, it turned out that Larry was indeed inspired by my tale and offered – quite joyfully – to take me some 30 miles up The Way; quite a ways out of his way, as it turned out, all the way to Emory Gap – a small local hamlet consisting of a several gas stations and fast food food joints that had seemingly sprung up where Highway 27 intersects with Interstate 40.
So, after thanking Larry profusely for his kindness (and for the inspiring conversation we were able to share during the ride), I hobbled over & into a nearby Taco Bell – one that happened to offer free Wi-Fi to its patrons, and one that happened to at that time house employees who had no problem at all with allowing a Peace Pilgrim to remain there and rest for as long as he wished. And so it was that I did indeed remain there for quite some time – checking in with a few folks online, enjoying the air-conditioned coolness of the place, and contentedly watching vultures soar gracefully above & across a ridge of verdant mountains in the near distance. I was once again at One with my Walk and the world – and I could not help but breathe deeply and smile while spontaneous waves of gratitude washed over me while I sat there …
And so it also was that, just as I was getting up and getting ready to head back out onto The Road, I was pleasantly surprised by an elderly gentleman – Danny Lee – who read my smock, who asked me about my Walk, who then heard about the same, and then who offered to buy me a late lunch that afternoon. He was obviously quite moved by what I was doing (even tearing up a bit as he quietly noted that “I pray for peace every single morning”) and I gratefully sat down once more and slowly & smilingly ate the two vegan burritos he purchased for me that day … And so it was once more that I did indeed thereafter head back out onto The Road – still limping from the pain in my feet, yes, and yet smiling as well as I walked on; somehow feeling as though some sort of test had possibly been passed – or maybe just that some significant corner had been turned along my Way.
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