Day 9, Saturday
April 9, 2005

Alarm at 4 AM. It’s so early. I slept well and Walker slept well. I had to let him out once during the night. I did remember not to lock myself out as I had done the previous day. I packed light for the day - just my daypack with water, rain gear, snacks and my sign. I bandaged my feet and got everything else ready to go. The Lonard family from Tomball was coming to bring me lunch. We planned to meet about noon wherever I was on the road. They were very excited about the journey and Erin, who works part time at the Tomball church of Christ, mentioned the journey and the Dry Bones ministry at the church office. She shared with them the problems I was having with my feet and Rick Brown (the preacher) began praying for me and we corresponded by email.

Anyway, I was later getting ready than I intended but I hadn’t heard Bob up yet. When I went into the living room, he was horizontal on the couch waiting for me. We loaded up and headed back out. He dropped me off and I fixed my signs and lights. It was still really dark. The walk went well. Before long I was passing the church and heading towards my turn north through town. McDonald’s was coming into view - breakfast. I wonder if this cross street is where I should turn. I’m still ten miles behind. If I can do twenty today and ten before church tomorrow morning, I’ll be caught up. I planned to try to call the Lonard’s about 8 AM. I had not heard from them and was not certain they were coming. Before long, sooner than I expected, I reached the cutoff for highway 290 west. Up the hill and around the bend - there it was - the largest field of bluebonnets I had seen so far. It was beautiful. I took a few pictures and kept moving. At 8, I tried calling the Lonard’s, no answer at either number, left messages at both. Soon, I’m moving out of Brenham and into the countryside. We’re moving well and pretty fast. Soon the phone rings and it’s the Lonards. We confirm plans to meet about noon for lunch. They’ll be here in about three hours. I estimate I’ve covered about nine miles so far and should be able to cover about nine more before they arrive. I’ve mapped out 21 miles today, which will leave me with a little over nine for Sunday to be back on schedule. By about 11:00, Walker is beginning to slow down from the heat, it’s pretty warm. We are taking more breaks, and they are lasting longer. We’ll not make nine miles by noon. Soon, the Lonards call back. They are at Whataburger, but they are running late because of traffic - it’s Bluebonnet Festival day in Brenham. They think they’ll be there by about 1:00. I’d really like to make it to Burton by then, otherwise we’ll have a hard time finding a place close by to eat lunch. The combination of shade and short grass is in short supply.

It’s nearly 1:00, we’re approaching Burton, and Walker is very hot, tired, and thirsty. Up ahead, up a hill is a bridge over the highway - it’s the only shade we’ve seen in quite a while. We’ll stop there and wait for the Lonards. Hopefully, when they arrive we can drive into town and find a good picnic spot. They arrive just minutes after we stop. We load my pack, my dog, and my tired body into their SUV. Their two sons, Silas and Sam, are precious. After a short drive, we find a park next to the cotton gin museum. We had a great visit, but after an hour or so, I knew I still had three more miles to go. I asked if they would mind hanging around the area for an hour or so while I finished and maybe they could drop me off in Brenham on their way home so Bob would not have to come get me. They said they would love to. They also kept Walker, which would allow me to finish even sooner. They dropped me back under the bridge. I headed west again. It seemed like no time at all until I spotted the Highway 237 split. I called the Lonards and told them they could come get me any time. I would continue to walk west on the eastbound side until they arrived. I was still feeling good and moving fast. I hoped they might take their time so I could shave more distance off Sunday’s walk. Bob never mentioned it again, but I assumed that I would be staying until Monday morning. Sunday, Bob would have to take me out and pick me up before church. In just a few minutes, they arrived. I guessed I would have a little over nine miles to go tomorrow. We enjoyed more conversation and before I knew it we were back at Bob’s. After a brief bathroom break, I prayed with them for their family and church and we said our goodbyes.

On the way to Bob’s we past Blue Bell and it sure looked like they were doing tours (actually, I did not care about the tour, but I was very interested in the free ice cream). All day, I had seen Blue Bell delivery trucks on the road. They passed me going and coming. I kept thinking, “Surely, one of those drivers is reading my sign and will have mercy on me and stop and render aid (ice cream, that is), but no such luck. It might have still been early enough to catch a tour at Blue Bell, but I wanted to take Bob and Patti out to dinner for being so generous towards me. Bob said, “You know, it’s only 40 minutes to College Station, we could call your kids and meet them for dinner. You could see that grandbaby one more time before you head farther west.” Suddenly, Blue Bell’s priority fell to zero. I made the call and headed for the shower. In no time, we were cruising to College Station. Bob chose a place where he knew the owner. When we arrived we had to wait on my kids (the baby had to be fed). We ordered and Bob was telling the owner about walking to Denver. She was very interested and told me to see her before we left and she would make a donation. Dinner was great, or maybe it was the fact that I was with my kids - or maybe it was the fact that I was holding my granddaughter - probably all three. After dinner - and cheesecake for desert - I spotted the owner and went to see her again. She gave me $20 and promised to check out the website. We said our goodbyes and started home to Brenham.

We had to take Walker with us. Now my experience traveling with Walker is that when he is left alone, he will bark, whimper, and cry for company. He gets himself all worked up, and before long, he is transformed into ‘Hooch’ - he slimes everything. I certainly didn’t want him sliming Bob’s car. Now I had been in Justin’s truck a few days earlier and if it got slimed, I wasn’t certain that anyone would even notice. So, I asked Justin to bring his truck so we could put Walker in his truck rather than Bob’s car. Sure enough, after dinner, Justin’s truck was pretty well slimed. What I had not known was that Justin had spent a big part of the day cleaning his truck - inside and out.

Well, it was time to go so we said our good-byes and Bob and I headed back to Brenham. When we arrived, Bob, Patti and I talked for a while. In the midst of the conversation, the phone rang. I excused myself and answered it. It was Buddy Mills. Buddy is the youth minister at the University Church of Christ in Abilene. I can’t remember how Buddy found out about walking to Denver (maybe through Matt Wallace, Dry Bones staff), but Buddy has been on fire about since the first day. He has organized a fund raising dinner in Abilene on Friday night, April 29, at the Southern Hills Church of Christ building, and has invited just about everybody in Abilene. He’s been a one man public relations machine. Thanks, Buddy. Well, Buddy had heard about my feet and called to tell me that he would be coming to see me on April 12th, to walk with me. Now Buddy and I have exchanged numerous emails, but we’ve never met, and I think this was our first telephone conversation. My heart is both touched and overwhelmed at his offer. We agree to coordinate plans over the next few days. I am truly humbled and grateful at the prospect of company. Anticipation of his visit will give me an excitement and drive for the next few days. Afterwards, Bob, Patti, and I finish up our conversation then we all headed for bed.