PDY

 Greetings from up the road about 10 miles from yesterday, easy day that included a missed turn. Walked for about half a mile before realizing I had not turned onto 63 and stayed on 31. Half mile mistakes when you’re driving call for an easy u-turn and a minute or two. Not so when you walk… u-turn about the same, but then you have to walk back.

Busy Highway 31 all the way, but with a wide safe shoulder. Being my third Monday, I must admit I still have a few remaining feelings of guilt, or something like that, about not going to work today. I went to work a whole bunch of Mondays’, and so happy my “work” today is walking up a pretty Texas highway, and then writing about it. I definitely do not take it for granted, and it leads to the song of the day, These Are The Days… listened to about 20 versions, and decided on this one, the super cool Natalie. Used without consent or permission. I think she’d be OK with that.

These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break
These days you might feel a shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do you'll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
It's true
You'll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they're speaking to you, to you

Knowing it was a short day, left rather late, heading north. After about 2 miles I approached Interstate 20, an interesting few minutes. I-20 was one of the main west to east routes for the original iteration of this walk. And here I was, intersecting the original path and heading in a different direction. I spent quite a while thinking back on how this all has worked out. It was allowed to unfold on its own, and has happened the way it was supposed to happen.

Below is my rather un-exciting crossing of Interstate 20, on a new, fresher route!

I did notice a sharp decline in wave-return rates, down to like 30%, except for motorcycles, still at 100. I’m attributing this to the fact that it was Monday morning, and every Negative Nellie in the state of Texas seemed to be driving down Hwy 31… never seen so many long faces in a row, and they didn’t wave, in sharp contrast to yesterday, when everyone waved. So the trick here is to keep the weekend attitude throughout the week, easier said than done, but it seems the minute we know it’s Monday, we get negative, and the fault is no ones but our own. So try to keep that weekend attitude all week, see how it goes. Or, you could walk from your hometown to a distant park and you’ll have nothing but weekends, Sundays specifically :-)

Working on something in the efficiency area. I’ve noticed it takes me what seems like forever to get myself ready to get going in the morning. There’s a little routine,,, coffee, eat whatever I can, not hungry in the morning, dress blisters, brush teeth blah blah, and then pack up again. I have to unpack everything in order to get water bladder into backpack, previously filled with ice, and snacks, and all these little things that for me take way too long, given my rather serious case of ADD… it’s self-diagnosed for the moment, but I’m sure any first-year therapist or psychologist would agree, as do all the people that know me. But I deal with it, will talk more about it later, if I remember, but am really going to try to save some time by not unpacking and not touching anything I don’t need.

Glad to say that food for the last few days has been accessible and very good for the most part. Have had some really fresh salads, always amazed at how a head of lettuce can be picked in Salinas, CA, and within a handful of days, be perfectly ready to serve in a little bitty ol’ diner in Kilgore, TX.

And somewhat weird to be in Longview. I came here several times for work, usually a day trip out of Dallas, drive in and back, about 2 hours each way, which in my current mode of transportation would take about 12 days, round-trip, no rest! And while thinking back on work, I looked back on my pictures to see what I was doing a year from today, expecting yet another business trip, but happy to see that a year ago today was one of the happiest days of my life! On Aug 26, 2018, I finished the Mexico City marathon… it is best described in my then Facebook post…

Was a monumental day – so so cool and very significant on many levels… I completed my hometown marathon, but it was much more than that… Mexico City is a magical place, full of wonderful people, and I was fortunate enough yesterday to have the opportunity to travel its streets… from the Zocalo, steeped in history, up to Tlateloco, back to Reforma, past the beautiful parks, past the ground upon which I was born and years later had an incredible amount of fun, past the Liceo Franco Mexicano, where I mastered the French language (NOT… they didn’t allow me to stay long enough!), Polanco, through Chapultepec, where I went many Mondays as a kid with my ‘second mom’, into Condesa, past my sister’s old house.. and on and on… every place I looked was a great memory that further reinforced my gratitude. And then, walking through the tunnel into the 1968 Olympic Stadium to the finish line – epic, cool and very exciting, 50 years after the games were held here!

And the people, oh the people.. best supporters ever – loud and happy – if I didn’t know it before yesterday, I’m now fully convinced now that “si se puede” having heard it thousands of times along the route… but indeed, Si Se Puede! Also had a chuckle every few meters and an occasional downright LOL reading the signs and posters, reflecting the unique sense of humor…

Happy and honored to share the morning with my dear friend Emma, as she sent off the last day of her twenties on the eve of her birthday. We were being watched and accompanied from above, her dad, my friend, to whom we dedicated the day…

Perhaps I’ll check every so often what I was doing a year ago, not so much to recall, but primarily to see how life has changed, under my direction… and to remind me where I am today. Peace.