Day 35 - Friday April 15th, 2005
Greenmont PA to Heidersburg PA
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| Day 35 - Friday April 15th, 2005 Greenmont PA to Heidersburg PA |
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A beautiful stone church to awaken in...
I was pleasantly surprised when 3 or 4 of the people we had met at the open mike last night managed to drag themselves out of bed to join us for breakfast and walking. Jake, the Ragged Edge coffee shop owner, didn't make it, but after hearing that he was jamming with Tyler until 2am I wasn't surprised !! We navigated past some early morning roadworks and slipped off the highway to take the back roads to Heidlersburg. Though the shoulder was narrow, there was hardly any traffic. Once my body heat had activated, I enjoyed the cool breeze and walked with the locals until the break. We were visited by the police just as we were leaving the break as someone had called to say we were on their property (we had sat on the gravel between the barn and a storage yard). It amazes me about America how protective people are of their "private property". and for example in this case would not even come outside to see what we were doing or ask us to leave personally. It's sad that people work so hard to maintain their isolation... In a nutshell, it was a lovely walking day all round: good weather, beautiful countryside and exemplary company !! This mixed bunch is a stimulating assortment and everyone has many different ideas, experiences , stories and visions to share. We arrived at the United Brothers of Christ church, which was fronted by a sign reading "Be the fisher of men- you catch 'em, God will clean 'em !!". Pastor Craig Loewen greeted us warmly and we sat outside in the sun for lunch. It had been our shortest walking day, only 10 miles, and it was a total luxury to be finished by lunchtime : ) We had not had or made time so far to sit down all together and talk, so we came together in a long overdue circle , giving people a chance to share thoughts about group process and discuss any problems or ideas that had arisen. It is unfortunate that the structure of the walk does not allow more time for us to meet this way, as I think it is very important to the process of building strong community. And it is from this group, from this community level that we need to be exploring and implementing radical and equitable ways of organising. I see thre nuclear industry as almost a natural extension of, or at least pandered to by hierarchical, capitalist, profit driven societies, where people are expected to follow orders without question, and without input. This is what I am actively working against. I am glad we had at least the brief chance to open to each other and hope that we are able to create another circle space to share our reasons for walking, intentions and visions. I had to go back to Gettysburg that afternoon, to drop back day walkers and pick up maps for a later part of the journey . I couldn't resist stopping back in at the Ragged Edge to say thanks again and get another scrumptious smoothie! So it wasn't an afternoon lazing around in the sun as I hope some people enjoyed, but I did stop on the way back at a river we'd crossed to have a quick splash under the bridge mmm. We don't have the opportunity when we are walking to be able to jump in rivers but it is still a blessed way to be travelling the land. I can't imagine how different this journey would be if the land was always racing by at 55 miles an hour ! This way we are feeling, smelling , and absorbing the land we are learning from and trying to save.... for the earth Nat |
Day 36 Nuclear Time-Line Press Release To Whom It May Concern Voices |
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