It is a lot of work and still have more work to complete. I'm not complaining because it is something I whole heartedly believe in. I'm not afraid of the word "no" so I will be contacting everyone I know, people I meet, asking for referrals, and asking individuals I don't know via phone, email, text, Facebook, this website, mailings, and face-to-face -- can't stop, won't stop.
It worked perfectly until another police officer pulled me over. He told me it was too cold to be walking the highway and offered me a ride, I declined and told him why I walking and that I was on a mission. He didn't like the sound of that, they never do, and proceeded to ask me for ID. How does it go from offering me a ride to running my record? Anyway, I went through the regular "yes'm boss" motions, he gave me my ID, and wishes me a good trip.
[Just deleted a whole rant.]
While walking the last leg of that day's walk, a couple pulled over and offered me a ride (which happens often) and I graciously declined. They respected that request and told me if I was hungry the house was a mile down the road, so I thanked them. That mile was the longest mile in the world. I was cold, tired, and hungry.
I finally made it, almost walking past the house. Jeff greeted me at the door and welcomed me in and introduced me to his beautiful wife Stephanie, his two children Samantha (whose going off to college in Venezuela) & Steven (who works doing construction) and their very energetic dog, Terrapin.
Their family lifted my spirits and fed my belly with both German stew and Spanish soup along with grapefruit juice, one of my
my favorite beverages. The way their family interacted wasn't anything extraordinarily, but I was in awe because it was just something I had and then lost after my mother passed away 17 years ago. Anyway, I talked with them for a bit, thanked them, said my good-byes, and then departed as I finished my day's journey near the heart of town.
A big part of life is loving and helping others, I try to practice this daily, and if an individual is not... they're truly missing out.