WALKING ROUTE 66

Be Careful What You Ask For

Chances are you might get it.

The truck stop was just north of Dwight, Illinois. Even though I got some rest, I wasn’t my cheerful self in the morning for some reason. It happens.

The plan for the day was to get to Odell, 10 miles away, by 10 AM. I would get lunch and some rest, and make a dash for Pontiac, another 10.5 miles away.

Not so fast, said God.

I was not even a quarter of a mile from the truck stop when I felt pain in my shin and calves. The voice in my head said you need protein. There was a restaurant nearby. I got three eggs and hashbrowns, no bacon or sausage because I don’t eat pork. For the first time in four years, I sprinkled some salt on my eggs and potatoes. I needed salt, not protein.

I have always been health-conscious, and I eat what my body asks. If you listen to your body when it speaks, you will live a happy and healthy lifestyle. Also, I take JuicePlus supplements, which is a whole food — dehydrated fruit and vegetable juices in capsules.

While I was mentally ready to stretch myself by going over 20 miles, I don’t think my body was, and it let me know.

As I approached the south end of Dwight, I felt discomfort in my pinky toe, the same one I had a blister on the first day. The sun was shining, and I was barely moving.

“Would you like to come out of the sun and have some cold water?”

Across the street, a gentleman was watering plants along the road. Pastor Victor Randle, aka Randy, invited me in. By the time we walked up to the Church building, he wanted to know if I would like five minutes to speak to the Rotary Club, where he was headed shortly. “I’d buy you lunch,” he said. (Twist my arm, why don’t you?)

It was just yesterday, halfway between Godley and Gardner, I had said, “Okay, God, use me. I am ready to be your mouthpiece.”

Be careful what you ask for. Because when you do, it is given to you. I delivered a truncated version of my “A Crazy Idea” speech that I had used at several Toastmasters clubs to drum up support for my trip.

More surprises and delights.

As I was leaving, Randy told me that he had spoken to Mike, a reporter from the local newspaper, who will be catching up with me when he returns from his out of town assignment. I had my first media interview a couple of hours later.

Before I got to Odell, a pickup truck pulled up, and a gentle came up to me and handed me an envelope. He said his wife was the waitress at the Rotary lunch and heard me speak. They wanted to contribute to my mission of inspiring others. (More validation).

Sam, the young man at the c-store where I stopped to use the restroom, told me about the city park and the picnic pavilion outside the swimming pool.

Did you know that picnic tables make excellent beds and sleeping bags can be emergency mattresses? That what I did.

Day 8: Amazingly Awesome! (original blog)

I invite you to tag along if you’re up to it. I am tagging a few friends who I think will be interested. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, just let me know in the comments, and I will not tag you moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t tagged but would like to come along, let me know so that I can tag you.

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As always, thank you for reading and responding.

Here are a couple of earlier stories:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author, and a regular contributor and editor for ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium, where writers support each other.

He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)

More about me:

An interview by Dr. M Yildiz for ILLUMINATION

Testimonial by other writers.