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

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