Day 1

Day

One thing I have not told Judy is that since last Sunday, I have felt a kind of 'catch' in my left knee. Not ongoing, but occasionally I would feel a little twinge that I was scared might flare into something worse. Too late for a doctor visit and x-ray and major surgery and a twelve week rehab. So...I just shut up and went. My emotions the night before were all over the place. Excited, scared, proud, anticipating the unknown.....you name it.

So, off I went.

Make sure you don't miss clicking on all the videos, like the two below. 
(I'm still learning this blog stuff, so if there is no video below,
click here )

(David, you're still just standing there. Do something)

Ok, here I go.

Click here also 

So, off I went into South Fulton Tenn. 

Excited, rested, and ready to go. I, being a Google Maps guy, (I was nicknamed 'Maps' at work) had planned out side street routes for places that did not have sidewalks or shoulders. South Fulton was one of them. So, after only about three blocks of US45, I walked about 3 miles through back streets until I got back to the main highway.

I really had no plans for how far I would walk and how much and how often I would rest. That first day, my goal was to accomplish much. Far and fast. And I pushed hard. Way too hard. And, with not enough drink in my cart. 

If you did not know all my plans, I planned on stopping and talking to quite a few people each day, get a story from them, videotape it, and show the world. I have ten or twelve, not the 40-50 I had planned.

So, the first attempt I made was simply meeting a man who was spraying weeds in his yard. I asked him if I could borrow some shade from his big tree, and he offered me a bottle of water. He did not want to be videoed but told me his story is he just likes to help people, whether stopping on the side of the road helping  a stranded motorist or giving water to a guy like me. 

On I went walking fast with the whole world to conquer. Well...It conquered me. 

Let me explain. Most of my practice walking for the last year, was done between 6:00 and 7:30 in the morning, right after I got off work. Nice and cool. I would normally walk an hour or an hour and a half, accomplish my 4 miles, and think I was good to go. I thought I could do this 3 or 4 times a day, and do my expected 12-16 miles each day. NOT!!

I totally underestimated the need for fluids and the heat of the afternoon, though I certainly did remember my long days growing up on the hot farm in South Texas 20 miles from Mexico. 

By about 2:00 that afternoon, I had made it to the edges of Martin (home of UT Martin), hurting, totally exhausted, and out of water. Thank goodness I had the wisdom to bring a folding chair on the trip, though Judy had to bring it to me only about two hours after I started. I didn't forget the other days. So, I found a good shade tree, and called Judy, who I knew was already in Martin. She rescued me with liquid and a car A/C for a few minutes.

About a mile later, I ran into William. Here he is petting Sadie, his dog. 

On Saturday, on our drive from Dresden to Fulton, we almost ran over William, who was riding a bike and pulling a cart like mine on a 'no shoulder' very narrow road. Judy jokingly said I might run into him later, but I think we both thought he would really be way past US45 by Monday. 

Well, as I walked up to the Martin McDonalds rest., there sat a cart and bike. William had walked from Dothan, Alabama, (almost in Florida) to where I met him, over 500 miles. About 100 miles east of Martin, a family who he had met gave him the bike and the cart. Sadie now rode in style instead of walking.

Watch for William in an upcoming video.

William noticed I was very hot, and offered me his hat, a handful of change, and a hamburger.  I kindly refused, though I did make the decision I would never make it without a wide-brimmed hat, which I never wear. So, William and I sat for awhile and he later was my first interview, so please look for him in later weeks.

William did give me a small tire patch kit that really came in handy on Day 8.

After 13 1/2 miles, which I thought would be easy, I plopped down in Martin's Dairy Queen and had my first Blizzard in about a year. An Oreo Blizzard. A large one. Awww, what pleasure.  End of day one.

Memorial Day on UT Martin Campus

I asked my Domino's delivering daughter if this is why sales were up at Domino's Pizza's around the country.   :)

ps. If you are not able to open these videos, please contact me as soon as possible. I have two different ways to display videos. So if some can not view them, I will step back and punt. 

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

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Day one map--Ky State line to Martin Dairy Queen