Nuclear Free Future Run - 2004
Day 4, To Middlesboro, Ky
|
|
PeaceHq |
|
|
Nuclear Free Future Run - 2004 |
|
Wednesday, August 4th, 2004 The route for the day was to go roughly south on highway 421 to highway 119 and then southwest on it towards Pineville where we were to overnight at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. The first section on 421 was a somewhat narrow and hilly section that towards the intersection with 119 near Harlan, Kentucky went over Pine mountain on the biggest hill for the run to date. We knew that one of the runners in Jims van was in for a tough section of miles as the mountain went uphill for 2 miles and then downhill for 3 miles, whew! By the time we had gotten to our section of miles we were already heading southwest on 119, and it didn't take us long to see that we had gotten the widest and easiest section of road for the day. I guess things have a way of working out, as we had covered the section of old 80 yesterday that had been the worst so far. The footprayers were zinging down the road on our section. It is always easier to maintain your focus and prayer for the course of miles if you are blessed with wide shoulders and moderate traffic as we were this day. Having to expend a lot of energy just to stay safe seems to somewhat drain the power of your prayers and affirmations, but as John likes to say "all the footprayers count". The weather was good, the road was good, and by the end of Terry's last section of miles we had reached highway 25E and when he stopped we were only 5 miles from the Cumberland Gap that led over the mountains into Tennessee. At this point we ran into one of those synchronistic occurences that seem to be an integral part of going down the road. When we pulled into Pine Mountain State Resort Park, we were informed that the campground had closed down and no-one seemed to know of a viable alternative. Jim and his crew hadn't gotten there as yet, so we parked on the roadside at the Park entrance to wait for their arrival. While we were parked there a Kentucky State Trooper stopped to see if we needed help, and we learned from him that there was a campground at Cumberland Gap National Park, over on the Tennessee side, about 15 or 20 miles away. It seemed odd to us that in such a scenic area of the mountains there would be so few campgrounds in the vicinity (Hmm, perhaps a Peace Hostel eastern Kentucky Mountains Campground for a future business?). We weren't aware of it yet, but the synchronistic happening was to require us to be in the Cumberland gap Campground, so these things have a way of working out for the best. Those of us that have traveled with our Native American friends have learned about something called Indian time, meaning "It will happen when the time is right". It serves to teach us to be patient and not to get all that upset when our plans have a way of blowing up in our faces, and leading us in an unexpected direction. Sometimes these can lead us to meaningful learning experiences or just plain old wonderful adventures! We finally got in cell phone contact with Jim and it was decided for us to go on ahead to pick the camp spot, and they would meet us there. We found the campground and after 16 laps around the place looking for just the right spot John insisted on one that he liked. We went along with his wishes, rather than argue with him or listen to him bitch, and it wasn't long until we were all setting up camp on the fine spot. As it turned out, I suspect that his intuition or instincts were at work here, because as you will see we were supposed to be in that place for an unexpected meeting. Once setup was complete, a few showers were had, and Jon was awarded the Cadillac award for the toughest section of road for the day (for going over Pine mountain on HWY 421), we settled in for a good meal. Just as we were all finishing up getting our fill, a young man walked up to us and introduced himself as Joel. He allowed as how he had come over to our camp to pre-appologize for any disturbance he and his 7 mates, who were camped beside us in a grove of trees, might cause us, as they sometimes got a little loud. We didn't know if he meant all night beer parties or what, but we quickly ascertained they were part of a program called Student Conservation Association. They were in the park for the summer on a kind of internship doing maintenence and upgrade construction in the national park. So they weren't rowdy, just lively. John, never wanting to let the opportunity for a good web-site story pass us by, had by the time Joel was headed back to their campsite arranged for us all to get together later and share our stories. 
We walked into the SCA campsite for some fellowship with our young brothers and sisters and were rewarded with meeting 8 of the nicest, most intelligent, idealistic and motivated youngsters out there in the world. Kawhump! The second piece to "Hope is Alive in the World" loudly fell into place. I immediately saw the connection in series to the "Living Waters Spring" realization of yesterday! Mother Earth wasn't through with my answer just yet and I was about to experience the second part to Her response. These youth,
Dave Weber
(co-ordinator),
Katie Ross
(co-ordinator),
Gideon Burdick
,
Brian Maye
,
Allie Von Bieberstein
,
Julia Dewitt
,
Amy Barra
, and
Joel Barker
, once I had heard their stories of why they were doing internship, coupled with their youthful zeal and spirit, became the second demonstration of Hope being Alive in the World. I saw that if the youth (who are our future) were willing to take up the service cause spontaneously Hope Truly was Alive In the World, and not only we might make a difference, but with this next generation coming along with spirit and service in their hearts, we can make a positive difference in the world of the future! I hope and pray that the parents of these fine children are aware of what a magnificient job of parenting they have done, and from my perspective thank you, they are your gift to the world and to humanites progress. I truly believe that the synchronicity, fate, Grace or whatever you choose to call It saw fit to place us beside those wonderful youth this night so that we all might learn and grow from our interaction!
The main self avowed purpose of this get together was to share our respective stories, which we did comprehensively and beautifully. Jim started the process from our perspective and gave one of the most inspired descriptions of what we do and why that I felt compelled to include it in its entirety, so please bear with us for the length, but struggle through to the end and it will surely be worth it. Jim speaks; "We believe in selfawareness and that All Life is Sacred, and we believe in the action of our Prayers. So we run, and as we are running we are praying, each for his or her own reasons and in their own forms. This particular run is based on the healing of Mother Earth and the fact that nuclear weapons and power don't get us anywhere but hurt. We wish to demonstrate that we believe the whole process of nuclear technology is a bad idea! I got started on this path on the 1994 Walk for Justice to support the freeing of Leonard Peltier, a native american political prisoner. His story is told in a book named "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" by Peter Matthiessen. After many events over many years supporting native american, and peace and justice issues, I decided to start an organization called Footprints for Peace. The idea was to continue the tradition of combining running with prayer (a process we have aptly named - Footprayers), carrying forward the message that All Life is Sacred, supporting causes of peace and justice, and the healing of our Mother Earth and humanity as a whole. Our main focus is to create peace through footprayers and to carry our message, spreading it from village to village, town to town, person to person, heart to heart." After Jim finished we all had an opportunity to have our say, and explain the why and how of the road from our own perspective. Then it was time for our young friends to tell their stories, which we recorded and included on this site as( insert link ). We had finished all the stories and were engaged in general conversation when the thunder boomers that had been circling us for a few hours decided to set in for the night. That pretty much sent the runners scattering for their respective tents, however I personally stayed to long in talking (I have been accused of this before), and took shelter under the SCA tarps. Before long the main front of the storm blew itself out and I was able to make a mad dash for the iron tent (my wagon which has room for me to sleep in) and settled in for the evening only moderately wet. I drifted off into dreamland with the last waking thought...Take Heart - Hope Is Alive In The World! A sentiment I wasn't quite through with yet as I was to find in the future! TIL THE AM! |
Participants Jim Toren John Toren Jon Blickenstaff Jon Burkindine Larry Crane Mark Porter-Webb Terry Stagman Day 3 Day 5 Home |