Blount County Library

This is to all my 60trip followers who live in the Knoxville/Maryville area. Tues Evening, Feb 4th., I have the privilege of sharing about my Walk across Tennessee to anyone willing to come. I'm not asking for a show of hands of all that would 100% commit, but how many would possibly come if your schedule worked out. Please send me a simple yes, no, or probably to sixtytrip@juno.com  . Thanks.

John Wayne???....uh, no.

Day 3. I walked into Bradford, and found a convenience store to rest in and wait for Judy and then, well,....I'll just reprint what I said in my day 3 post weeks ago. 

Close to the end of my day, I found a quiet peaceful convenience store in the town of Bradford. The clerk, or owner, was the only one in the store. I talked to her and asked her if she had any story about her life to tell me and she said she was not much of a talker. I sat down at a table to rest and drink something. Then, in walked two men. The second one was rather large, and LOUD. He looked at the clerk and yelled, pointing to himself and his friend, "Well, it's 'Dumb' and 'Dumber'." I immediately realized this man was probably a talker with a story. So, I yelled out myself, 'Hey, Dumb, come talk to me a second.' He kindly came over and sat at my table and I told him I was walking across Tennessee and asked him if he had anything to tell the world. 

So, you may ask, 'why did you title this, 'John Wayne'?

In the video he just calls himself 'Rooster'. His full stage name in the ring is Rooster Cogburn, the same name as the John Wayne character in True Grit. 

Click on 'Rooster' if the video does not come up

Hold on! Wait a minute. I'm not finished.

Just a little more fun here. I didn't learn this from Rooster, but from the Baptist pastor that we stayed with that night. Just east of Bradford is the unincorporated town of Skullbone, Tn. According to legend, Skullbone was incorporated back in the 1800's and as I understand it, was and possibly still is a center for 'bare fisted fighting'. It was illegal, I'm guessing according to state law, to have bare fisted fighting within the city limits, so Skullbone 'un-incorporated' itself just so they could keep the fun going. What is left is one store, and one pole announcing mileage to cities all over the world. 

Here is a website explaining the town of Skullbone. Make sure to watch the video inside. 

'Crack skulls here' to get to website. 

Recovering Meth Addict

On day five, I started out in downtown Milan at the Marathon gas Station. I barely went 5 blocks when I saw this man walking toward me next to a cemetery. I stopped and asked him if he had a story for me and he was super excited to share this with me. 

Click here if  the video is not visible. 

Hosts and other kindnesses on the trip.

I have mentioned very little of our overnight stays, so here goes. Months before starting this journey, I started calling and emailing churches all along Hwy 45 explaining what I had planned and that I was hoping that the pastors could find a gracious host family to put Judy and I up for a night. 

Knowing all would not respond, I contacted about three in each major town along the way. Some responded quickly, others only a week or so before the trip started.

I did not speak to any of our hosts about telling their stories, so I will honor every one's privacy and mention no names or specific towns, just in case I have somebody reading this that would be crazy enough to think that since it worked for David and Judy, I will just give them a call and try to drop in also. 

I will say that all our hosts were north of Jackson or in Jackson and we had none south of Jackson even offer us a night's stay, but as you will see from my story, I think , ... I know God worked it out the way it happened.

One of our stays was on a Wed. night and our host was the pastor of the church and weeks before I had arranged with him for me to be the guest speaker for his Wed. night service. 

For 12 years now, Judy and I have been involved with a ministry called VOM, Voice of the Martyrs. It's main purpose is as a prayer ministry showing members of Christian Churches in the western world what kind of lives our Christian brothers and sisters are living, being persecuted for their simply being Christians.

The founder of VOM, Richard Wurmbrand, was a Jewish, converted Christian from Romania who shortly after WW2, was arrested and imprisoned three different times for a total of 14 years in communist prisons just because of his Christian faith. His wife, Sabina, was also arrested and worked in a cruel work camp for three years. 

My part in this is sharing the many times tragic, but always, victorious stories of how people are living under persecution today, and how God is sustaining them through their hardships. 

If anyone is interested in learning more, simply go to  www.persecution.com .

So that night, we had a great time with about 40 members of his church and getting to know him, his wife, and three cute little children.

Another stay was with a family of 7. This couple had adopted their oldest child about ten years ago and since have had two more girls and then two more boys and had just moved into this much larger house to accommodate a growing family. 

One lady called me several weeks before our trip started and told me that it had been worked out by them and their pastor that they would host us either on a Monday or a Tuesday.  "Which day would you be needing?" she asked. "Well, either really," I responded. "So, you need both nights?" she asked. "Great, you will stay with us both nights." 

Then, she found out Judy and I used to live in Texas and she asked where. It turned out that 30 years ago, she and her husband and Judy and I all lived in the same town in East Texas for about three years. Wow, did we have a great time putting the dots together of common friends. One of the couples they knew there, we knew in another town we lived in ten years later.  

Another host we had was also a pastor. Earlier in the day he had taken his wife to the airport for an out of state trip to see grandkids. So it was just the three of us. He took us to the town of Humboldt where we ate at a downtown coffee shop oddly named, 'The Coffee Shop'. So, a big shout out to Guy and Tammy, owners of  'The Coffee Shop' , home to good sandwiches, soups, and salads, and I assume, coffee. (I don't drink the stuff) 

Friday night was our last known stay with a host family,  we thought. Thinking that I could finish this walk in 8 walking days, I hoped to have been finished Tues or Wed of the second week. We found a nice AirBnB in Jackson and rented it for Mon-Wed nights on week two. We still had Sat and Sun up in the air several days into the trip, so we reserved Sat and Sun night at a motel close to the famous Casey Jones village. By then, I knew I could not finish by Wed, so we made a split reservation for Sat-Sun and then Thur-Frid. 

It didn't take long to realize, that though our room was clean and adequate, there were many aspects of the motel that were very sub-par, especially the noise level around the lobby. And the three closest ice-makers were not working. Several things could be upgraded. 

The main hostess at the counter was very kind and professional. We had told her what kind of trip we were doing, and asked her if it was possible to get out of the Thur-Frid reservation if we did find something down the road. We weren't sure what we might find south of town. She said we would not be charged if we let them know 24 hours in advance. 

Sunday morning, we visited Cornerstone Comm. Church in Jackson. While there, we ran into a family from our own church in Maryville who were dropping their daughter off at a four week class at nearby Union University. We live about a mile from each other. What a coincidence. 

Monday morning I had the privilege of starting very early while leaving Judy asleep in the motel. I walked about 15-16 miles that day, my farthest of the trip. 

The is Judy's excited conversation when she picked me up Monday afternoon just north of Pinson. 

"I checked in to the AirBnB and the wife asked where we lived. I answered 'Maryville' and the wife asked, 'wait a minute. Are you the people walking across Tennessee?'

"Yes we are," Judy answered, very surprised.

'We know who y'all are. We've been praying for you for weeks. We are members of Cornerstone.' (The church I just mentioned from the day before.)

She went on to explain that when the pastor had put out a notice to the church that this crazy guy was walking across Tennessee and he and his wife are looking for a place to stay, that she and her husband had initially sent an email saying they were interested in hosting since they had several empty rooms. But somehow, there was a miscommunication, or a lost email, or something and they never got on the list.

Our Friday night stay was with a family also from Cornerstone.

When Judy picked me up after finishing my walk on Tues, (day 8, Crazy Guy Day) we went back to Jackson for our 2nd night at this AirBnB and we got this announcement from the couple who lived there. They told us that since they had wanted to host us in the first place, that they had gone online and re-imbursed our money for the three days and offered to let us stay through Friday night if we needed, for free. 

God blessed us with 5 free days with this very generous couple who should have made several hundred dollars as a business owner. WOW. And my walk did finish on Friday, and the next morning we headed home. God is good. 

Now to summarize some of the gifts along the way. Many of them have been mentioned already.  Day 1 I had a hat, a hamburger, and a handful of change offered to me, which I refused, since it was from a fellow traveler and I figured he might need the money as much as I. I did take the tire patch kit which was later needed. 

I was given a $20 bill, a $5 bill, two free meals by shop owners and I don't know how many bottles of water and several bottles of soft drinks. Besides one unfortunate incident, we both were showered with love and kindness the whole trip.

Praise be to our God. 

Sean and the Happy Couple

So...Day 7. Monday morning after a good rest on Sunday and good visit at Cornerstone Church.

I had started early, leaving Judy asleep in the motel. I walked about three miles on the  Hwy 45 'by-pass'  and knew I was coming close to two bridges that had very little space to walk on, so I got on to Airway Blvd heading east toward downtown. It was an older, more industrial part of town. Tire shops, warehouses, the abandoned DrPepper plant I earlier showed.

I looked up and saw Sean, walking toward me on the sidewalk, I assume maybe he was heading to work for the day, but he had three or four minutes to spare.

So here goes. It is rather short. But meet Sean.  Click here for Sean. 

William the 'walker/biker'

On day one, I mentioned William, who we almost ran over on our trip west about 20-25 miles east of my walking route. I caught up with him at the Martin, Tn McDonald's along with his dog, who I think I misnamed earlier. William had found out some bad 'family' news and was just about to head back south to Dothan, Alabama. He made it to the Walmart to redo his supplies and then head back south.

William saw I was totally worn out from the walk already. And he offered me four things. His hat, a hand full of change, a hamburger. These I refused, though I did eat with him inside.What I did take that he offered was a small $2 patch kit. I used it on day 8. Thanks, William.

 I e-mailed William shortly after getting to Mississippi and he had already made it back to Dothan. It's amazing how much more distance you can make a day on bike as opposed to walking. 

So, here is my talk with William the Walker/Biker  (sorry I am a horrible videographer and it was cut short)

Click here if it does not show up

The man and lady at the cemetery

So, I had left Milan a few hours before, and had met and videotaped a man ( a future video) walking past a large cemetery in downtown Milan and then a few miles out in the country, I looked up and there was a 10x10 ft portable awning sitting beside another cemetery, about halfway between Milan and Medina. And under it was sitting a man and lady, a scene I don't think I had ever seen in my life, so I was compelled to cross the highway and check it out.

Click here if your device does not open the video above.

Things along the way.

For an 11 day walk across Tennessee, I spent many, many probably hundreds of hours poring over Hwy 45, on Google Maps, preparing for my walk. One thing I did was make sure there were adequate shoulders and sidewalks to safely walk on. 

There were several towns that had to be navigated around on 'not too traveled' side streets. After hours and hours of Google Maps, I did have the slight worry that I would somehow be too familiar with the roads I was looking at online and kind of be bored on the actual walk. 

Yeah right!!!

I've already told you of the 'important' things along the way, the people, the towns, my interviews, my wonderful wife who wonderfully helped along the way, one crazy emotionally disturbed man, etc., etc., . 

But what of the lesser important things I saw. I promised weeks ago that I would have no more dead armadillo pictures, nor any other road kill kind of stuff.                     So I won't. 

But I will mention that armadillos were one of my biggest surprises on my trip. Growing up in Texas, I thought Armadillos were truly a Texas kind of thing. In San Angelo, Texas, in the late 70's and early 80's our Fiesta del Concho every year would have the 'World Championship Armadillo Races'  The race was only about 12-15 long, but exciting. But I do ask the question. Who let the dillos out?

This is no exaggeration, but at least once a mile, all 122 of them, I saw evidence of an armadillo. A dead one, that is. Sometimes several times a mile. Sometimes it would be just a small 3inch square of shell, others almost a full body of shell. They are easy to spot. I'm not sure how so many of them walked across the very few bridges crossing the Mississippi River, but they did at some point. 

So, what else did I see along the way?

Beer cans. Sadly, they outnumbered the Coke, DrPepper, Mt. Dew, etc. cans

And styrofoam cups. By the thousands. 

Parts of old shoes. Maybe there were a lot of others walking like I was, though I never saw them, just William the biker, and former walker mentioned in day one. 

Random clothes items. I know I didn't undress in anyway along the way leaving myself open to losing any clothes items. 

And one thing that was almost as numerous as Armadillo parts and beer cans???

Bungee cords. 

Not these. 

But these. 

The industrial/farm kind of bungee cord. The kind that would hold the real heavy kind of stuff on the back of 18 wheelers and farm trailers. Which begs the question. If I saw dozens and dozens of them(and most of them were cut in half, that's why they fell off) then where were the barrels of stuff, the piles of hay, the stacks of logs, the wooden boxes, etc that they had been holding up?

I also saw hammers, screw drivers, and other just random weird stuff. Yeah, just one boot. Was it a one-legged guy that lost it?

 
But there were a few things I noticed were almost totally absent from my route along Hwy 45. Deer. Yes those lovable four legged, horned friends in the woods.

Twice, while training here in town, in Alcoa, I saw deer. Once about 5 wandered through the woods. Another day, One startled me by jumping in front of me about 30 yards away. 

And nearly every day there were squirrels along the greenbelt. I love squirrels and deer. 

But sadly on my walk, there were maybe a dozen squirrels I noticed along the way, and a total of ready for this...........One, single deer. On day 5, halfway between Medina and Three Way. Yes, one lone deer in 122 miles. 

Praying Couple in Arby's

Sorry it has been three weeks. You should know by now that this trip started partly as a result of a 100% blockage in an artery that feeds my heart and the heart stent surgery that fixed it. Two people I met, had similar problems in the past, and I certainly had no clue of this when I first met them.

I had just finished my first week of walking, had gotten to Union University in Jackson and had come to the realization that it was going to be too dangerous to cross I-40 safely, so I sought refuge in an Arby's, called Judy, and waited for her to pick me up.

While there, I saw this couple buy their meal, sit down, and had a quiet prayer before they ate. I walked over to their table, told them I assumed they were Christians, and told them what I was doing.

I then asked if they had any story to share, and Roscoe started telling me about Dale's similar experience, though I was never rushed to the ER with my heart issues.

Click here for Roscoe and Dale

In a few weeks from now, you will hear from Laura Ann, who was told she would never walk again because of an aneurysm.

1st Interview, drunk drivers

I promised you, my followers, to try to get 4 or 5 interviews on each day of my walk. Well.......it didn't quite work out that way. But I do have 9 or 10 of them. And no, none of them will win any kind of awards. So here we go.

This first one was not really on my trip, but two weeks before. One morning I was just completing a good 4 mile practice walk ending up with breakfast at Burger King. As I was parking my cart outside, I noticed this man getting out of his car, very slowly. He needed help from his son just to take a step onto the curb.

I looked up and smiled and the man made a comment about how hard it was growing old. I could tell he was several years younger than me and was wondering what had brought him to this point in life.

Before we got in the front door, I found out. I felt so sorry for him, I bought him and his son breakfast, ate with him and then filmed this.

Click here for Tony and Drunk driving

The next day, Tony called me just to confirm that he had had to go to the doctor to take his cortisone shot. It usually lasts about one month, so every 30 days, because of a drunk driver, Tony has to endure this.

So....If you do happen to be a drinker, do it at home, do it responsibly. Don't create another victim like Tony, his son, and certainly his first wife.

End of trip surprise

Ok, so at about 2:00 on Friday, I finish my walk, and Judy picks me up and we head back north, first to Selmer. We stop at Smokey Joe's BBQ (which I don't have a picture of) , 

Wait a minute, yes I do, there it is. 

Ok, so I technically didn't eat there on my walk, but an hour after it. I still walked right in front of it the day before, in a pelting rain.

I had planned on a dozen or so places I could have stopped and sampled their BBQ, but though some could be found on Google Maps, once I got there, it was obvious they had not been in business for quite awhile. Others, by the time I got close, they were three blocks away, and it was the end of a 90deg day, and I was too pooped to walk the extra three blocks. 

So, here is the winner, Smokey Joe's on E Poplar in Selmer Tenn. Stop by when you are driving through. Not to say they had the best BBQ in West Tenn, but at least the best that I sampled. 

Now, on to my 'End of Trip Surprise"

I told you earlier about the Casey Jones Village in Jackson. Judy and I had eaten there earlier in the week, but had not taken the time to tour the village shops. By the time we got back into town, some of them were already closed, including the RR museum we took the kids to 19 years earlier. 

After we had finished, we were sitting in our car in the parking lot and all of the sudden we started hearing bagpipe music. (So, I am not all that crazy about bagpipes, but it is growing on me. I love the joke years ago about 'when do you know a bagpipe needs tuning?'

At first, we didn't know where it was coming from. Judy commented, 'hey, he's playing Amazing Grace.'  To which I answered, 'well, duh. Amazing Grace seems to be the only song bagpipers know.'

We finally saw this man about 100 yards away at the end of the parking lot, standing next to his car, dressed in full kilt, standing by himself, playing his bagpipe.  I couldn't pass this up, so we drove over to where he was and just stopped and watched for a few seconds until he finished his song.

He finished, and walked over to our car. We thanked him for his music and asked him what he was doing in a lonely parking lot, by himself, playing a bagpipe. 

It turned out that he was a member of the Alvin C York unit of the US Army 'pipe and drum' corp. His sole job with the US Army was to honor our war dead by playing at their funerals. He sometimes played at 4-5 funerals a day in the Tenn/Kent/Mo/and I think Illinois area. 

Astounded that there could be that many in one day, he said that there are an average of 1500 military veteran deaths per day in the US. At the height of WWII there were 12M troops, and also many of the Vietnam Vets are now reaching 70 and 75 years of age and many are also dying. The numbers were staggering to me. 

In the conversation, he asked what we were doing and I pointed to my t-shirt and I said, 'I just finished doing this' pointing to my 'Walking across Tenn' shirt. 

'Oh' he yelled out, ' I read about you a day or so ago in the Jackson Sun. He then stuck his hand through the window, shook my hand and said, 'nice to meet you, I am Dennis Dudley. 

With a name like Dudley it can sometimes be years before I meet a Dudley I'm not related to. In 60 years, I have only met about 7 Dudleys I was not related to. What a shock. And what a privilege to meet one doing what he does. 

Click here for a few seconds of Dennis Dudley

Strange and funny things I saw along the way

Below are some random things I saw along my walk that just didn't fit into my daily stories. 

So, a highway worker steps in concrete years ago, they don't fix, and then.....

Just a random, average, side of the road, empty infant seat. full of toys and stuffed animals. The question is, 'what happened to the baby when the seat was discarded'? 

I met Sadie at a gas station. 

Didn't know he changed his number? Wait a minute...He never had a number.

:) :) :)

I had a moment like that one day while in college. And it wasn't even in my car. I hope the passengers were OK.

Always willing to show off my home state.

Just kinda strange.

I am now sixty and I have had many friends talk about the damage beavers have done on their property. But I have never in my life seen a beaver that was not inside of a zoo, nor have I seen a beaver dam, and I think this is the first 'in the wild' evidence I have ever seen of a beaver. 

If you've never seen 'Runaway Bride', well...you need to. Once you do, you will get the picture above.

Yes, this is a mailbox. Most likely owned by a UT grad, and not the UT in Austin.  

Just junk I came across along the way.

There seemed to be train stuff all along the way. Nice trains↟, and ready for the scrap heap trains ↡.

Some poor kid's missing his castle. 

A different kind of church sign. 

And this one defies logic. The yellow 'bumpy' things, as far as I understand, is for either wheelchairs, or for anyone who may be handicapped. The two pads on each side make sense. The one on the upper right leads straight into a two lanes of traffic. There is no crosswalk here, just four lanes and a turn lane. I walked up to it, looked at it, and probably scratched my head and said,
 "Say Whuuuuut?"

And this is for my sweet sister who I'm sure has never set foot in a place like this. 😃

And these two are too funny.

Can someone please buy a comma?

Purches???

Day 11 do-over

If your Day 11 post turned out like mine, I apologize. I'm not sure what happened, but my email from Valarie was not readable. So here it is again.

First off, allow me to say that your story leaves me in happy fears and giving God all the glory! I am a 36 year old who just survived the widowmaker on 5/28/19. My aunt lives in Jackson and sent me this article and I am feeling instantly inspired by you. I have had three open heart surgeries, countless pacemaker surgeries, a donor valve, and a mechanical valve before this. I have always had a fighter’s spirit and now I’m thinking of what I can do once I’m well to honor the fact that I once again survived, especially something of this magnitude. You sir, and your amazing supportive wife are people who the world needs more of. I can feel your inner light shining through as I read then reread the article. Good luck and safe travels on the rest of your journey. I am attaching a few photos of the doctor who saved my life my before and after surgery photos. Godspeed and prayers, Valarie.

If you cannot read this, please let me know.

sixtytrip@juno.com

Day 11

DAY

What a fruit-basket of emotions I was when I woke up on what I hoped would be my last day. I was glad I was so close to fulfilling me several year long dream. I was also anxious about still possibly some rain messing up my plans.  I was wanting to finish, but I was also thinking, 'It's almost over? Really? I have barely gotten started. I want to walk more than this.

And then came 'The E-mail."

As I did every morning, I got to my laptop and checked my email.  In my inbox was the following email from Valarie, a total stranger. Here it is.

First off allow me to say that your story leaves me in happy tears and giving God all the glory! I am a 36 year old who just survived the widowmaker on 5/28/19. My aunt lives in Jackson and sent me this article and I am feeling instantly inspired by you..I have had three open heart surgeries, countless pacemaker surgeries, a donor valve, and a mechanical valve before this. I have always had a fighter's spirit and now I'm thinking of what I can do once I'm well to honor the fact that I once again survived, especially something of this magnitude. You sir, and your amazing supportive wife are people who the world needs more of..I can almost feel your inner light shining through as I read then reread the article...Good luck and safe travels on the rest of your journey..I am attaching a few photos of the doctor who saved my life and my before and after surgery photos...Godspeed, and prayers, Valerie

I was balling huge tears by the time I finished reading this. I went back and looked at the date, May 28th. That was day 2 of my trip. While I was walking peacefully between Martin and Sharon, Valarie was being rushed to a major big city hospital to have her heart opened up. And survived. Yes, technically you can say I had heart surgery, but just through an artery through my leg, and I was home by that afternoon. Nothing like what Valarie had just gone through.

I thought she was from the area and I wanted to see if we could drop by and see her. Well, turns out, Valerie's aunt lives in Jackson, Tn and had seen the article in the Jackson Sun and emailed it to Valarie. Valarie lives on Trinity Bay about halfway between Houston and Galveston Tx., just about ten miles from my family in Clear Lake.

I ask all of you, my followers, to please be praying for Valarie that she recover completely from this major surgery and that her doctors find ways to keep her from having surgery #4. 

Thank you, Valarie in your encouragement to me on that last day of my walk. May God bless you in many ways. 

Day 11 started back at Littlejohn's Monuments. Mr Littlejohn was already at work and Judy was able to meet him. After she left, Mr Littlejohn took me into his side shop which was a duck and turkey call factory. He makes some elaborate calls and has won many nation-wide contests for his craft. 

Joel can be found at https://www.instagram.com/littlejohncustomcalls/?hl=en  and can also be found on a search of https://www.callcollector.com/us-tn/turkey-calls.html a nationwide website of turkey and duck call makers. 

While talking to Mrs Littlejohn, I for some reason mentioned the sad little town of  Bethel Springs. She said that in the past, Hwy 45 had been built to bypass the town and sadly the town of Bethel Springs, in her words, just seemed to die. It was a nice place to live, (as the quilt sign says) and I'm sure it still is, just not thriving financially as it used to. 

From Littlejohns, I walked straight south toward the Mississippi state line. Sadly, I didn't have 'stopping and talking' as my day's goal, but getting to Mississippi. And I did not have any interviews for the day. but a blog full of silly videos that I felt compelled to make as I got closer to my goal. 

About halfway there, I did stop at my first Love's truckstop in Eastview. It had a full convenience store, a Subway sandwich shop, and full showers for truckers and travelers. I thought of William Smith, the walker I had heard about the day before, who I understand maps out his route along Loves locations. 

The closer I got to Mississippi, the more excited and delirious I seemed to get. I don't know if it was excitement, or the extreme heat of the Mississippi summer bearing down on me. but  my mind was playing games on me.

First delirium induced video can be found here.  

I kept on walking, and walking, sometimes in circles I think. 

"I think I'm almost there" video can be found somewhere close around here.

Time to back up a few hundred yards. About two hundred yards from Mississippi, I noticed a car pull into the left turn lane and start to make a u-turn right at the state line.

Oh NO!!!!!!

Please tell me it's not the crazy guy from Day 8!

It was a small white car, not a large tan pick-up, but for a few seconds I worried it could be him. The car did make the u-turn and pulled over onto the shoulder and just stopped. When the man got out, I could tell it was not Day8 'crazy guy', but I was still too far away to know who it was or if it was even anyone I was supposed to know. It could still have been a total stranger, or mass-murderer, or.....?

I got a little closer and I saw the man lift his hand, with something in it and he waved it with a yell, 'hurry up, hurry up'. It was not a stranger or a mass-murderer, but Joel Littlejohn the monument and duckcall maker from Selmer. As I got closer, I noticed him holding a newspaper. And the closer I got, I could tell that I was on the front of that newspaper.

The Littlejohns had gotten their copy of the Jackson Sun earlier that morning with my article on the front page. His wife gave it to him and said, 'go find that guy walking and give him our copy of the paper.' 

So at the state line, I had a welcoming committee of 'one'. Joel Littlejohn. Joel, what a blessing it was to see you and not a crazed maniac. You truly made my day. You were willing to take a 9 mile drive, and take 30 minutes out of your work day. And I think God orchestrated the timing of it so you didn't find me a mile away or two miles away, but right at the state line. Thanks so much, Joel. 

Trip wrap up video is here. 

No I don't think that is a 'state approved' sign at the bottom, but David Dudley sure approves of it. According to Google Maps street level view, it has been there at least a year and a half. 

Let me say a big 'THANK YOU' to all of my 162 followers. I hope you have enjoyed this trip. I hope it encourages some of you to go out there and do something you have dreamed of for years. Yes, maybe make a long walk, or run, or bike ride. Or write that novel, long held deep inside your mind, waiting to get out. Or start that business you have been too scared to start. Or volunteer at that nursing home you visit your grandmother at. Or go back and finish that college degree you never finished. I hope my trip may encourage one or some of you to fulfill that lifelong dream. 

And if you haven't made any kind of comment yet about my trip, go to the 'comment button' or 'no comment' button at the bottom of this post and fill it with comments, good, bad or stupid.

And, yes, I still have a few more posts after this. Different things along the way that just didn't seem to fit into a certain day's post. So, stay tuned. 

Uh....there seems to be something I missed. What is it?....uh....Oh yeah, I forgot to actually cross the state line. 

So, here goes.

Good bye!!

ps, I almost forgot, I have ten interview videos to come in the following weeks. Not academy award winning videos, but 'special to me' videos. 

Comments are certainly welcome. If you have ever lived in or visited one of the towns I walked through, tell everybody. If you know someone I met along the way, tell everyone. If something really touches you, well....scratch it. NO, tell everybody. Let this be interactive. Make any comments at the comments tab at the bottom of each page on the blog. But you have to go to the blog. 60Trip.blogspot.com 

sixtytrip@juno.com

Also, when you get to YouTube, hit the 'subscribe' button. 

Day 11 map--Littlejohns Monument to the Mississippi State Line

Day 10

DAY

Day 10 started back when Judy dropped me back off at Ada's. Just like many clothes stores in West Tenn, Judy left Ada's with a lot more chocolate and other goodies than when we drove up. My favorite, that I took with me, was the package of 'chex mix-like' peanut butter 'puppy chow' snack. Judy left with quite a bit also. I love Ada's. 

I then made this video. 

For proof I walked, click here

My day started with the forecast of rain between maybe 10 to 12 o'clock, and then clearing off.

I went only about 15 minutes and for the second day, I stopped to wait out some rain. The clouds didn't look like it was going to clear off very soon. So....I pulled out the 'puppy chow' and started a mid morning snack. Somehow, I left with an empty container. :) 

SO....I sat, ....and I sat.....and I sat. Until almost noon, I sat under the trees and my umbrella playing the pity party thing about the rain. 

Would you believe I rode my bicycle 400 miles across Texas in 1978, 100 miles to a football game later that year, about 50 miles back from a summer camp job, and 400 miles into Louisiana in 1980, and not one day of rain, and not one flat tire.

Oh, pity party me. And then the thought came to me. My dear sweet 27 year old daughter, Jessica, who has been living in Germany for two years now, ... this spring, found out about, had surgery for, and got through the ordeal of breast cancer, and is now doing fine. Jessi, as I type this, is peacefully lying in a hammock in my front yard during a month long rest before she heads back to Germany. She is a dorm assistant at Black Forest Academy, for y'all who are curious. And I was playing pity party because of some simple rain. Shame on me. :(

After just a moment of thinking of her, I reached into my cart, pulled out my poncho outfit, and took off toward Bethel Springs. Yes, I sweated in it most of the day. Yes, my feet and shoes were totally soaked, and my hat didn't do much good except keep my nasty looking hair out of eyeshot of people I met. So I marched on south, and the rain barely let up all day. Sometimes it was really hard.

I got off of Hwy 45 and headed down Main Street toward Bethel Springs and Main Street (which later turned into Peach Street in north Selmer), so I stayed off of the main highway for almost 5 miles till I got to the south side of Selmer. But first, back to Bethel Springs. 

My apologies to anyone who currently lives in, or has lived in, or is somewhat fond of Bethel Springs, Tn. Some of my comments on my videos are not too complimentary. At the time, I didn't know then what I knew later at the end of the day. So please forgive me. I was tempted to leave out any mention of Bethel Springs, but then decided against that. So, here goes.

My first hint of Bethel Springs, was an absolutely huge and gorgeous house which was the first home you come to off of the highway. Then about a half mile later, I walked by a shop of some kind. It turned out to be Vernon's Top Shop. I couldn't tell what they made there, so when I got close to a second building closer to the road, there was a worker just finishing a loud noisy job of some kind. He had been sanding something. He was close enough to the road, so I yelled, 'what do y'all make here?' He answered that they make cabinets and counter tops. Their FB page shows the very fine work they do.

My thoughts at that moment were, 'nice house, very nice house, good hard working men making cabinets,'  'I'm going to like this little town.' I made it to the post office and thought I would go try to meet the post master and interview him/her, but I got there just after the time the sign said they were closed for lunch. So off I walked. 

About two blocks later, I came to what used to be downtown. (I must have been confused when I said Day9 in the next video, it was Day10) 

For downtown Bethel Springs, Click here

I went another two blocks and found yet another abandoned building that had a three foot overhang that I found shelter under. I stopped and made me some peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Some cars passed by, not many, and while there for about 30 minutes, I never heard or saw anyone except for those driving by. No one came in or out of a home, or other building, nothing. 

Not long after I headed back out, I did see one woman standing on a porch talking to someone inside the front door. 

Then I came to a cemetery, and crassly took a picture of it and  titled it, 

"Liveliness in Bethel Springs"

Once again, Forgive me!!!

 At the edge of the cemetery, I came to Rowland's Monuments and stepped in to interview whoever was inside. The lady inside greeted me very kindly, but said she was not the one to interview, but Mr Rowland was just driving up with two co-workers. They were all four very kind and Mr Rowland offered me a large DrPepper which tasted so good a few miles down the road. Thanks Mr Rowland. I could tell they were busy, and didn't ask for an interview.

Just after leaving, I saw this sign

I thought back to Judy's quilt making days, and to my childhood watching my grandmother clear her dining room table out to put up her saw horses to hold her quilt frames. She would not buy batting from the store, but would take the cotton my daddy, or one of us kids, would pick out of our own fields. Then she would literally take days and days taking out all the 'trash' from the cotton with her carding paddles. 

And...My bad thoughts of Bethel Springs were mellowing.

 Bethel Springs, once again, forgive me. 

And at the end of today's walk, I learned something else about Bethel Springs.

On toward Selmer I walked. In the rain, the never stopping rain. The only two places I walked through that I had ever been to before were Jackson and Selmer. 15-16 years ago, heading back to Texas, we drove the southern route to get to Memphis down Hwy 64 and probably drove straight through Selmer without stopping.

I had no pre-conceived ideas about any of the other towns I walked through, except Selmer.

I was entering Buford Pusser territory.

Many of you may know who that was, many may have no clue. Buford Pusser was the main 'real life' character of the 'Walking Tall' 'Walking Tall 2' and 'Walking Tall, Final Chapter' movies from the 1970's. 

Buford Pusser grew up in McNairy County, Adamsville to be precise, and went off for a few years to be a professional wrestler. After retiring and coming home to run the farm, he ran for sheriff with a purpose of clearing out prostitutes and moonshine along the Tenn/ Miss border. Some of his justice came in the form of a baseball bat kind of big stick. 

From what I understand, the locals at the time, either loved him or hated him. I will leave it at that. 

(Warning- if any are interested in knowing more, the movies are in NO WAY kid friendly. Sometimes not even adult friendly, so you are warned.)

I did stand on an historic spot to take this picture though. 

A block or two later, I stepped into the Independent Appeal, and did an interview. While there, I heard of William Smith, a man three weeks older than I, who walked through the area last January. He had been interviewed by the Daily Corinthian, just south of there in Corinth, Miss. 

Will is on a walking journey from Florida and is currently in the Texas Panhandle heading to California. He can be found by a google search of 'Wills Walking West'. 

As I left downtown, I walked toward the south part of town where more restaurants were. The rain picked up harder and I was sloshing through 3 and 4 inches of puddles by this time. I made a stop at Sonic for about 30 minutes, and tried to call Judy, but found no wi-fi. So I headed back into the hardest rain of my trip, through huge puddles, and made it across Hwy64 to the Selmer McDonalds.

By about 4 or 4:30, I was at the south edge of Selmer making my way into open countryside, and the rain had settled to a mere sprinkling. I seem to be mentioning cemeteries and monument companies often. With just more than 9 miles left until the Mississippi state line, I came to Littlejohn Monuments and Signs.  

When I got Judy, she was in Jackson and was an hour away. Since Littlejohn's had such a nice wide porch to sit under and paved parking lot for Judy to park in while I loaded the cart into the car, I told her to pick me up there. Just minutes after talking to her, the rain cleared for the first time in hours, but not knowing what was ahead, I just waited it out there. 

I did wonder many times on the trip if someone might see me in a certain place and call the police about a 'tresspasser'. It never happened. However, about 30 minutes after arriving at Littlejohn's, a truck pulled up, just like at Shelton's Rest. in Sharon. A man and lady got out and I asked, 'I'm sorta hoping you are the Littlejohns'. The man smile real big and said they were. 'Nobody called me in, did they?"  'No,' he answered, 'I just stopped by to get something at my shop,' and then kindly asked what I was doing. 

I pointed to my shirt and told him my story. He then asked if I needed the restroom or a bottle of water. I refused the water, because I was halfway through the big DrPepper that I had gotten earlier at the Rowland Monument Co, in Bethel Springs. They stayed just a few minutes and left. And Judy picked me up about 6 to end the day. 

End of day video can be found here

Comments are certainly welcome. If you have ever lived in or visited one of the towns I walked through, tell everybody. If you know someone I met along the way, tell everyone. If something really touches you, well....scratch it. NO, tell everybody. Let this be interactive. Make any comments at the comments tab at the bottom of each page on the blog. But you have to go to the blog. 60Trip.blogspot.com 

sixtytrip@juno.com

Also, when you get to YouTube, hit the 'subscribe' button. 

 Day 10 map--Ada's Kitchen to Littlejohn's Monument, Selmer