Manifest Destiny: America from the Bottom Up - Summary Thoughts

I want to start out saying that there was never a set plan for this journey. I just wanted to escape the winter in Maine - since I would have been homeless there - and go west and south, hopefully getting to California. I did plan to blog about the things that happened as a way to earn money.

But the whole thing turned into something that I really did not expect. For me personally it was surely a spiritual growth spurt. I discovered a power I never would have known about if I hadn't been traveling in this way. I also realized that no day is average or mediocre. There were certainly ups and downs. It was mostly ups. I had a constant feeling that I was doing something Real. It might not have been important in a historical way, but I do feel that I was led to the places and the people I met if that means anything.

Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Missouri stand out as places where I met the most people. And mind you, I had a rule for featuring people in a blog post: They had to have asked me what I am doing. Yet, this often came with free food and drink. That was something I never expected. Even before they knew my  story many of the people in these states simply offered, coffee, water, breakfast, lunch or dinner. I was astounded. We are led to believe that the world is a hostile place outside of the safety of home. It isn't.

If you'd like to read about the New England part of this journey please see days 1 through 8 in this "Manifest Destiny" series here at the blog.

I walked all the way through Boston, West Bridgeport, Providence, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I didn't expect trouble from people and I didn't get any. None. These walks were late on Saturday nights. If something was going to happen it would have happened then. The people I passed - even the rough looking folks - left me alone. I saw no crime at all.

Another revelation was sleeping outside in the towns I got to. I expected some kind of run in with wild animals. But in over 30 times of camping off roadsides, I was never in contact with any wild animals besides deer.

Granted there may be many reasons for both the peace of city walking at night and camping. I looked different from other people, with the large backpack and the walking stick. I could look like a beggar, a disabled person, a tough guy, a mentally ill guy... I could walk with a swagger or a stagger depending upon the circumstances. I looked poor to the middle class people and rich to the homeless. I would say ambiguity is strong defense mechanism.

I got the chance to see the bad parts of where humans live. West Bridgeport, CT, in particular, was surprisingly run down and its people were desperate. Providence and Philadelphia tied for second place. But these second place cities had a difference. There was still hope showing in the worst neighborhoods. There were volunteer neighborhood projects to try to add a measure of light into the darkness of poverty. A tiny city house in Philadelphia was falling apart but the owner had painted all the bricks on the front wall different colors and had potted flowers on the front steps.

It seemed that people wanted to express joy even when they only rarely received it from the world. In Tucson, Arizona I found the most prevalent use of positive public thinking. Tucson may not have the crime that these eastern cities supposedly have, but it is very poor. The city has constructed 4 x 8 x 3 foot boxes where the homeless can sleep. Others construct tents of all sorts, using stolen shopping carts, blankets and tarps. I saw a mother, father, little boy and their dog living in a blanket tent.

I had the experience many times of not having any money and having to get around cities, and sleep in some kind of peace. I was stared at everyday people and told it was "time to move on" by the police. I was pitied and reviled. And the people I met when I was among the very bottom of society's social scales were good, honest and very worthy people. They just needed some kind of help to get the chain back on the sprocket. This was especially true with families and single mothers. They were not drunk, or on "drugs." They were genuinely ashamed of themselves and how they appeared to the outside "normal" world. It was a sad day indeed when I watched a man's tears roll down after telling me his dreams for his little girl. What all of this reinforced for me was that people are valuable. To ignore that they are in terrible circumstances makes them disappear for us. But they ARE still here. Surely there must be some better way for them and us?

Leaving Pittsburgh for St. Louis was great journey by train. And I was met an hour late by my patient host, RhonnaLeigh MacKnight. This would turn into a very relaxing and fun week and a half. We went out to eat, drank a bit of wine in the evenings, RhonnaLeigh made delicious meals (and breakfasts!). I got to ride around in her truck. I didn't walk much at all during that time. I got my first impressions of Missouri and its people. She introduced me to people; many of whom I could have done essays on, but it seemed like I needed to really let my hair down and enjoy myself, so no writing got done either, perhaps regrettably.

Traveling through the Midwest brought more unexpected experiences. The hundreds of miles of farmland, cows as far as the eye could see. Hay fields and barns, pickup trucks and tractors. None of these things were a surprise but the warmth of the people was. Every person goes into a new area with assumptions about the citizens. I thought they would be stoic and silent. They were instead inviting and talkative. They really wanted to help each other, and others. I felt like every one of the people I met wanted to do something for me. I think faith had some role in this attitude. I noticed that some folks were simply trying to appear kind, while others practiced what they were preached.

The dog (we named "Phoenix Wallker") incident in Houston, Missouri, leading me to meeting Glenn and Rita Romines there, and then also finding the New Life community was the most active I've been in a community for years, maybe. It all happened in the space of three days. There is nothing in the world that could convince me those three days were an accident.

After Houston I knew there was some kind of outside "Intention" added to the journey.

I got sick in Arkansas, and never met any new friends there. I know I could have. The people are nice enough. But the cold or flu or whatever it was that I had, plus running out of my blood pressure medication, rain and that constant overcast Ozark-like winter sky was telling me it was time to head to the Southwest as soon as possible.

I spent a 36 hour bus and train ride right over Christmas Eve and Christmas getting to Gallup and Ramah, New Mexico. I appreciated the fact that when people are in close contact (multi-state trains are like moving hostels) they tend to form, in order: neighbor, friend and then family bonds. I met quite a number of people on trains and buses who I became temporary friends with. I've tried to locate them but have been unsuccessful, or lost their names. Maybe they will run across my blog somehow.

New Mexico felt like a frontier state. The vast stretches of desert and the recent snow storm upon it was strange to behold. I'd come hoping I might camp in the desert. But that was impossible there.

I also ran into someone who developed a kind of separation anxiety when I had to leave, People often offered to have me stay or tried to convince me to, which was always tempting. But this Gallup experience took things to the extreme. The situation was partially resolved. Still I had a lot of productive time in the state, especially in Ramah, with the Giannangelos. I got to see the stars in a pure black sky.

Then it was on to Arizona. Flagstaff was a beautiful place to stay until I could go southward. I walked halfway to Sedona from there and took a ride for the other half. Stupendous landscapes, New Age culture to the max, very high prices for everything. Through a stroke of good fortune I was able to take a shuttle bus all the way down to Phoenix from Sedona.

In Phoenix I reunited with a high school friend and got to meet an online friend in person at the same time. I also met a great and wise man and had some deep talks with all of these people. I had a great time in Phoenix; very productive and satisfying. It was easy to get a bus to Tucson from Phoenix.

Tucson seemed to be my final testing place. It was a test of personal resolve, a test of spiritual discernment and a test of physical hardship. After Tucson I truly felt that I had experienced the very bottom. And, as I explained above, many other people there simply thought the bottom was home. After my days in Tucson, I found California to be like a reward, and also a new challenge. The challenge is this: Build a new life from the bottom up. The bottom up concept works on so many levels for me.