The decision to take the 157 to the 72 has turned out to be wise. It has cut off considerable mileage between Cullman, AL and Corinth, MS and with a paved shoulder pretty much the entire way. Honestly all a man needs is a paved shoulder. My wheel has held up since Jeff fixed it back in Cullman. I am currently at The Coldwater Inn located in Tuscumbia, AL. Tomorrow I will most likely cross into Mississippi as well as break the 600 mile mark.
I guess I survived “the freeze” as the locals were calling it. The last couple nights I camped out in 20 degree temperatures. It really wasn’t that bad aside from my hands being so numb. Every store I passed I asked for handwarmers, but every place was sold out of them. Oh well it is supposed to get warmer from here on out. I got a place tonight because my old friend the rain is heading in tonight. The biggest downfall of it being so cold was I had to sleep in pretty much every article of clothing I have. This leaves my backpack mostly empty leaving it very uncomfortable as it acts as my pillow.
I still feel a barrier between me and the people I see. I hate that. I feel like I am so different from everyone here. I know that is not completely the case as I have learned by talking to some of these people, but I can’t help but feel this way. I need to force myself to talk to more people, I hate the feeling of being alone when I know I am not. It is all in my head, It can be changed.
A nice man who worked at Taco Bell set me up with several bottled waters and Orange juices. I forgot how good Orange Juice was. The other day an 84 year old man named Dewey touched my face in the Wal Mart men’s room. Hopefully after washing his hands. He touched my face and spoke of Jesus and Revalations, as seemingly everyone else in the bible belt tends to tell me about. He was a really nice man and all, but the constant talk of Jesus has started to become overbearing. What is the need of these thousands of churches I have passed If everyone will talk about their religion any chance they get? (or as Pat Hill would say, “Anytime, Anywhere”) I feel like all of these people are wearing masks, hiding from their problems and stuck in this place where they have stopped growing as people. Everything in their lives remains the same, even though they have “found god” I still feel like they are wearing these masks and trying to trick me in to thinking like them. This isn’t a negative thing, it is just an observation. All of these people have been very nice to me, and what do I know?
As Mississippi approaches and Tennessee a couple days after the prospect of crossing another state line has me very excited. It also got me to think back to my expirences in each state. While I have enjoyed my time in each state, I see how differently I expirenced each one. As I have become more comfortable with my new lifestyle I have been in such a different place mentally for each state. It is interesting to look back on and realize my growth in this time. I am optimistic that I will continue to grow and I hope everything continues to change and surprise me.
The Coldwater Inn is the nicest place I have stayed in thus far. They have a full breakfast in the morning, so that will be nice. My cart doesn’t look like it belongs in a place this nice, not to mention me. Looking at my map here Kansas City no longer seems like such a daunting task. That will be my unofficial halfway point. I had originally projected I would arrive there in June. It now looks like I will be pushing my cart into town around early May. I am pretty much never sore anymore. Now that the physical toll is pretty much non-existent, the mental grind becomes more apparent. I knew this would be the case and now the real battle begins. Me vs my mind, which is what I wanted.
I also want to say Good luck to my friend Scott. He is 64 years old and beginning a cross country walk beginning in Savannah, GA. His blog is here: http://scottwillcarm.simplesite.com, he is a much better writer than me.