Day 12, Tuesday
April 12, 2005

The alarm sounded at 4 AM, as usual. It was pretty cool. I had taken a sort of a ‘bath’ the night before using wet wipes (a trick learned on Wilderness Trek). I had put on clean clothes the night before and slept in them. I had actually gotten hot sometime during the night but by 4 AM, it was cool. I put on my wind jacket and began to organize and pack my stuff inside the tent as best I could. There was really nothing between here and Elgin. But there would be Buddy. I hope he made it. He said he would meet me on the road early. I returned to packing things up. I got everything out of the tent and laid out on a sidewalk. The ground was covered with a heavy dew, as was the tent and rain fly. It took a while, but I got everything packed up and ready to go. Buddy did not know where I was. He thought I was starting in Paige and I was at least 20 minutes walk off of 290. I decided to check my phone. There were messages. I checked them. The phone was working great. There was a message from Buddy. It was from last night. I hoped it wasn’t bad news. It was not. He had made it to Austin and would be out looking for me early this morning. Hallelujah!! Still, I hoped I had not missed him. It was now well after 7 and I had heard nothing. In a few minutes, the phone rang. It was Buddy. They were running late. What a relief! I had not missed him. I could not believe how excited I was that he was coming – a man I had never laid eyes on. They were leaving Elgin and should be along in 15 or 20 minutes. Again, Hallelujah!! The walk suddenly seemed easier.

Buddy introduced himself. He was not at all what I had expected – I guess – although I don’t really know what I expected. It’s pretty rare to meet a youth minister who is roughly my age. He looked fit and well prepared. Most of all, he looked sincerely glad to be there and willing to serve me in any way I needed him to. What I did not know was how much I simply needed someone who was willing to walk with me on this day. We prayed together and Buddy, Walker and I began our parade. We walked on for a while. I was carrying a pretty good load, and my feet were still a little tender. I could feel a warn glow in my shoes that is not necessarily a good thing. After an hour or so, we came to a roadside park and I suggested that we take a break. It felt good to get the pack off. I have walked now for five days straight and yesterday was a marathon – literally. I changed my socks, had a snack, and gave Walker some water. Buddy and I were getting to know one another.

Soon, I said to Buddy, “Look up ahead, what do you see?” He seemed a bit puzzled and really did not know what I was referring to. We had already talked about how hard it is to determine where you are along the way. “Do you see any clues as to where we are?” “The water tower,” he said. A little further along, he spotted the gas station where they turned around. Just before the station, there was another picnic area. I suggested we take another break there. We crossed the road and took refuge in the shade of the picnic table canopy. I dropped my pack and felt a great deal of relief. I watered Walker and took a long drink myself. My phone rang. “Jeff? This is Marcus Black. Where are you?” “We just stopped to take a break a rest area a couple of miles west of Elgin.” “I’m driving your way looking for you and I would like to meet you and visit for a little bit. I’m not too far away.” “Great! We’ll just wait for you here.”

I told Buddy about the circumstances of Marcus Black and I not having had the opportunity to meet. In a couple of minutes, he pulled up in his van. I walked over to where he parked and talked with him for a minute. Marcus had brought cold Dr. Peppers and bananas. We talked for a bit. I noticed Marcus had cane and seemed to have a little bit of trouble with some motor movements. He wanted to get a picture of me and Walker so he started getting out of the van. It was an ordeal for him. He had had polio much earlier in his life. I thought of my blisters again, and of John Brandon. I was once again reminded that my momentary struggles are pretty insignificant in relation to the challenges that others face every single day. Marcus had to go. We prayed together. He gave me some literature that I promised I would read (I haven’t had time yet Marcus, I’m sorry). I helped him adjust his cane and walked him around to the driver’s side. As he got ready to get in, I was suddenly overcome with emotion. I was overwhelmed – again – by the fact that this man, whom I had never met, and who knew nothing about me, had driven all this way to meet me and minister to my needs, without regards to his own physical challenges. We said goodbye. I don’t know if he sensed my emotions or not.

It was time to move on. Buddy wanted to carry my pack the rest of the way. He thought we might be a mile and a half or two miles away. Soon we were moving on the last leg of today’s journey. Buddy seemed unaffected by the weight of my pack. His was noticeably lighter and a welcome relief. We kept moving toward Elgin. Soon we were in town, passing under the railroad bridge. We could see a McDonald’s sign ahead. Buddy said that the Holiday Inn Express was right behind the McDonald’s. We crossed a shopping center parking lot and headed straight to the Hotel. Within minutes we were in the room, packs off, shoes off – what a relief. Buddy headed for the shower and I checked my email. When Buddy got out, we talked about lunch. He decided to walk over to Subway and bring lunch back. We ate lunch and Buddy took a nap. Walker, of course, had been asleep since we walked through the door. I had the TV on and tried to nap but could not fall asleep. My brother Jon was coming out to get my pack in the evening. We planned to eat dinner together.

Jon showed up about 7:00. We all talked for a while. We tried to figure out what we wanted to do about dinner – where to go and what to do with Walker. Walker is still such a puppy and so social, he just does not do well on his own alone. He cries and barks. He gets himself so worked up that he begins to drool excessively. I refer to it as slime. If I leave him in the car for any length of time, when I return, the windows, seats, dashboard, and just about every surface inside looks like it has rained in the car. Anyway, I didn’t have a car, Buddy was on his motorcycle, and I didn’t want Jon to experience ‘The Slime.’ Buddy said he really wasn’t hungry. He had bought us both 12” subs for lunch about 3. I had eaten all of mine but Buddy still had half of his left. He said he’d eat that if he got hungry. I felt bad about leaving him to baby sit Walker, but it seemed like he really preferred to hang out there and rest. Jon and I decided to hit the BBQ place across the parking lot. It was a good meal. Sandwiches were 2 for 1 so I got 2 and took one back for Buddy. He didn’t really want it so I saved it to give to Walker tomorrow morning.

When we returned to the hotel, I was still thinking about sitting in the hot tub for a while. Buddy had wanted to do that also. Buddy and I both decided sleep was more appealing than the hot tub. We talked about the plan for the next morning. We were all set and soon both fast asleep.