WALKING ROUTE 66
This Is What Happens When You Live Your Dreams
The Universe conspires for you.
Four years ago, I walked Route 66 — from Chicago to Santa Monica and blogged about it daily. Now, I am reflecting on the lessons learned along the way.
(Read from the start) The saga continues…
When I woke up, the tire had gone flat again. I decided to get breakfast before dealing with it.
The problem, I discovered, was that the “fix-a-flat type liquid was leaking out and ungluing the patch because it was of poor quality. I had to drain all the fluid out. As I was tediously working on that, a couple of bikers stopped by to get breakfast. They let me borrow their repair kit as it had better quality glue and patches.
Tom was 62, and Earl was 67. They were riding only the Texas and Oklahoma portion of Route 66. When I went in to return the repair kit, they said to keep it, because they both had one. We talked for a little while and exchanged information before heading our separate ways.
I had a sixteen-mile journey planned for the day. My destination was Bristow, Oklahoma. The new patch was holding up well, and I was enjoying the morning sun and cool breeze. A couple of hours in, I noticed a pickup parked on the opposite side of the road. When I got closer, a lady came out and crossed the road to talk with me.
She had seen walking the day before and had decided to offer me a ride on her way back but didn't see me anywhere. When she saw me this morning, she wanted to find out what I was up to. Delores was 74 and said that she still had things that she wanted to do. No need to stop because of age. I was inspired.
While we were talking, a biker passed us with a casual, “what’s up?” I said, Walking Route 66. He stopped and waited, and soon, another biker joined him. When Delores left, I joined the two of them because they were waiting for me.
Hanke was 69, and Andre was 79. They’re both from Canada and were riding Route 66. Andre told me that he had started adventure biking at the tender age of 53. He has biked in 30 countries and 41 states in the USA. This was his 22nd consecutive year of cross country biking. He said he had ridden his bike over 100,000 Kilometers. And I thought I was a hotshot. Ha!
We continued our journey. I saw a McDonald’s on Bristow's outskirts and decided to get some electrolytes and catch up on blog posts while I charge my phone. Soon, the place was filled with middle school girls. A couple of them sat in a booth next to mine and asked me about the stroller. I handed them one of my fliers.
I hadn’t noticed it until then, but walking up and down the Ozark mountains had bulged up my calves like that of a football player’s. It was hilarious to watch these barely teenaged girls flip over the size of my calves. OMG, (as opposed to oh, m’god) OMG, look at those calves, OMG.
They were full of curiosity, as most children are. They had all kinds of questions for me, and I did the best I could to answer them. Then one of the girls asked if I would sign the flier for her. Then another, and another. It was both a proud and humbling moment to realize that I was making a difference and leaving a positive impression on these girls.
Since Wal-Mart was just across the street, I swung over there and bought a spare inner tube for the stroller. Also, I picked up a better quality repair kit. The next stop, Bristow Fire Department. I explained to them what I was doing and what I was looking for. A few phone calls later, they showed me the area where I could spend the night. The police were informed about it, too. The best part was that while all of this was going on, one of the firefighter's wife and children came in to say hi to him, and I got to make balloons for them.
As I think back and ponder.
Tom and Earl, whom I had met in the morning, who helped me with my flat tire, posted about my journey on Facebook, as I did the same about theirs. Lisa Carey, a friend of Tom’s, took it upon herself to reach out to her FB friends to see if anyone along the way can offer me a night to stay. Lisa and became good friends, and then Randi Armstrong, the lady who “saw” my energy and offered me a hug in Rallo, MO, and Lisa became FB friends.
What is amazing is that Lisa and Randi have become so close to each other that they call themselves soul sisters. You never know what miracles are in store when you go about living your best life. I honestly believe that the best thing to come out of this journey has been all the people I met in person and online, and how they connected to forge a friendship of their own.
Stay blessed and be happy, my friends.
Day 72: Angels Everywhere (Original blog post).
Just for fun.
I invite you to tag along if you’re up to it. I am mentioning a few friends who may be interested in it. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, let me know in the comments, and I will remove your name moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t included in the list below, but you’d like to come along, let me know so that I can add you.
Michele Amy Trista Henery Timothy Tim P.G. Sherry Saloni Indra B. A. Linda Sharon Tree Linda Britni Desiree Elisabeth Simona Kristin Helen Julia Chris Rosennab Tom Truenorth Agnes Aurora LauraRaduenz Catherine Joe Stuart Gurpreet BFoundAPen Margie Bob NaNa’sworld Wolfie Rebecca Susannah Paul
As always, thank you for reading and responding.
Here are some of my other stories:
Rasheed Hooda is a published author who has contributed to many of Medium’s top Publications; The Startup, The Ascent, P.S. I Love You, Rogues’ Gallery, and ILLUMINATION, to name a few. He is also a Top Writer for several topics. If you like his work, buy him a cup of coffee, he drinks a lot of it.