WALKING ROUTE 66
When You Want To Walk From An Oasis To Lebanon
But they are both in Missouri, USA.
Al was 65, and Tom was 69. They helped me lift my stroller over the railing, twice.
I had seen the sign that said road closed to motor vehicles, the day before. I asked the waitress about it when I went to eat breakfast. She checked with the regulars, and they told me that it is not advisable to go on the Interstate; there is no shoulder to walk on.
Yes, the bridge is closed on the old Route 66 to motor traffic, but bicyclists use it all the time. You will have to lift it over the railings. You may have to empty the stroller, lift it over the barriers, and reload it. Then repeat the process on the other end of the bridge.
I have been surprised and delighted before. I am going to trust God to come through with solutions as He has thus far.
It was a gorgeous day. People were riding their bicycles, and I was enjoying the scenery as I walked. One of the bicyclists slowed down to talk to me. He told me the bridge was only a half a mile ahead, and he and his friend will wait for me to help me lift the stroller over the railing. When I got there, they were waiting.
We walked and talked across the bridge before they helped me lift the stroller over the bridge again. Al was 65, and Tom was 69. They both competed in triathlons regularly. I thought I was some hotshot walking Route 66 at age 62.
I met more amazing people as I went on, like the lady who paid me $25 because I made a balloon animal for her little girl, and Nathan, a young man who was inspired by my story as we waited in line at the c-store and paid for my things. He said, talking to me gave him the clarity he needed to pursue his dreams.
As I neared the City of Lebanon, A ferocious little dog named Chihuahua greeted me. (I wish I had taken his picture). We had a face-off, and Mark had to come out and settle it. We talked for a little bit, and he gave me a couple of bottles of cold water. The next day, he posted on Facebook that his wife gave birth to a baby boy.
Later, I came to a T in the road. As I was trying to decide whether I should go left or right, a guy stopped his pick up and came out to ask me if he can take some pictures of my stroller. He was impressed by the way I had everything neatly packed.
As it turned out, Terry had a website and a podcast that talked about survival skills and being prepared for an emergency. He invited me to be on his show the next evening. Talking with him took up enough time and made the decision easy; I turned right and headed into the city.
Elm Street Diner had more surprises. Dinner was great, and I made a Poodle for the little girl at the table next to me. When I asked for my bill, the waitress said that someone had already paid for it because they saw me give the little the balloon decided that one good deed deserves another.
Then it was time to head to Anytime Fitness for a shower and some rest.
As I think back and ponder.
Yes, I undertook the journey to increase my Faith and to take my trust in God to the next level; I never realized that doing so will turn me into an instrument of God’s work in so many ways.
It’s only now that I can see in the hindsight that not only was I being lifted by others, but also, I was lifting others in the process as well. What’s that saying about a rising tide lifting all ships? Yeah, something like that.
Stay blessed and be happy, my friends.
Day 39: Angels Abound (original blog post).
Just for Fun.
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 included in the list below, but you’d like to come along, let me know so that I can tag 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
As always, thank you for reading and responding.
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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. (Buy him a coffee)
