Walk a mile in my shoes

I'll begin with a a hearty "Hwæt!" for this contemporary saga. Well, I'm probably pushing it, a modern heroic narrative this certainly is not! But what the heck, "Lo", did I ever have an adventure this past weekend. I walked 26 miles!

• Walk a mile in my shoes
• just walk a mile in my shoes
• Before you abuse, criticize and accuse
• Then walk a mile in my shoes

Classical and early English literature seems to have been written largely by men who were prodigious walkers, and Emerson and Thoreau helped carry on the tradition in America. Among American presidents, the most famous walkers included Jefferson, Lincoln, and Truman. Paul Scott Mowrer, the first Poet Laureate of New Hampshire stated: "There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country.  A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo.  Even a bicycle goes too fast."

Well, it's not a coffeehouse, but it's made out of wood

• There's a crazy little shack beyond the tracks
• And ev'rybody calls it the sugar shack

Mowrer explained about being Poet Laureate: "I was much impressed with the commission, but I had to take an oath of loyalty to the state." At that time the Poet Laureate was appointed for life and Mowrer went on to say "that's pretty tough, a life sentence, what's more, I'm only 82 years old and I could be hanging around for the next 50 years. But there's a way out of that, too; it says my tenure is subject to good behavior."

Lines from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass came to my mind as I began my journey with a backpack on my back, a bottle of water and my camera.

• Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open roads
• Healthy, free, the world before me.
• The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
• Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune.
• Henceforth I whimper no more,
• Postpone no more, need nothing,
• Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms.
• Strong and content I travel the open road."

After six and a half hours I whimpered, complained about the pain in my ankles and few poetic verses rattled in my head. I did capture scenes which would have escaped my view, even from a bicycle. I have recovered some. I did almost ask for help getting up after weeding the garden this morning. I am still drinking water like a desert survivor. I now weigh less than 200 pounds.

I've digressed from my intended writing schedule. However, come back to this blog soon if you are planning to attend the next carnival in your area. I'll be writing about my experience helping to assemble the giant Ferris wheel at a carnival in Fort Hayes, Kansas.

You may enjoy reading: Help, I Can't Get Up.

Also, may I recommend for your enjoyment: The rhythm of the drummers in the street.

The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in the comic book Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc fans and historians call "The Galactus Trilogy".

Originally a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, in order to save his home-world from destruction by a fearsome cosmic entity known as Galactus, Norrin Radd made a bargain with the being, pledging himself to serve as his herald. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a silvery appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return with everlasting exile there.

Stan Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own individual title in 1968. John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the eighteenth and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. The Silver Surfer comic book series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Englehart writes that Buscema and Lee were "pouring their souls into the series".

Waldo County, situated in mid-coast Maine along scenic Penobscot Bay, has genuine New England character evidenced by working port towns and quaint rural villages. Visitors are awed by the area's unspoiled beauty. From striking coastal views to sweeping mountain vistas, dramatic natural settings abound. In addition great care has been taken to preserve and refurbish numerous historic landmarks, homes and buildings. Consequently, the Maine of yesteryear is still found here.

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