A Living Magazine - Day 253 - Homecoming - Greensboro to McLeansville

Woke to the warmest day yet...

I removed my sweater for the first time in a week, then packed up and headed down town. As I was crossing one of the side roads, an asshole - who saw me midway across - accelerated and drove right in front of me over the crosswalk--close enough for me to slap his window (which I should have done). I could see the phone in his right hand, at which he was blabbing. I tried to take a picture of him, but he turned the corner, leaving only the unfortunate person behind him in the image. I wished so strongly that he would be at Starbucks when I got there...

Missed him by |< this >| much!

I got to Starbucks and there was no asshole. I went in, bought my usual, spent the day publishing a post, and double checked my route to Burlington. Unfortunately, it meant getting back onto Wendover (that crazy shoulderless road I walked into town on), and following it until it turned into Route 70 at the northeast end of town. I wasn't looking forward to it.

I bucked up and left around 5:00 p.m. intending to walk about six miles, which would put me past the city and somewhere near McLeansville, where I had located some green patches on the map. As I walked onto the highway, I saw that my lane (I was headed east in the west-bound lane) was practically empty and the rush hour traffic was all going east. Strange...

Eventually, I saw a few cars coming toward me, and they seemed to be accelerating over the bridge ahead...

When I myself got over the bridge, I realized what had caused the bottleneck in my lane. It was a multi car accident. I walked by the four cars involved. I felt bad for the drivers, especially the second car who had completely lost his front end, with the engine having been pushed right under the car. He had rear-ended the first car (now missing his entire rear end)--hard. Then, because of the density of the traffic, he had been rear-ended by the woman behind him, and she had been rear-ended by the truck behind her; causing her to be pushed up and over the grass shoulder.

The road was a mess, strewn with plastic bits and pieces, shattered reflectors, broken light bulbs, engine parts and various fluids. I had to walk in the traffic lane to go around all of this. Thankfully, no one seemed to be really injured. The three other opposite lanes were jam-packed and moving at about 2 mph. I wanted to take pictures, but I couldn't bring myself to exploit these people who had their day ruined. I was just SO happy to be walking and not driving. Yes, I walk at 3 mph, but nothing stops me from moving forward. And, over time, I cover some major distance (I've walked over 300 miles since the first of the year--with no transportation between destinations)...

A look back at the ambulance (one of two) stuck in traffic and unable to reach the accident,

now a mile behind me. There was also a fire truck. What would they have done if it had been

life threatening? Answer: NOTHING.

There was no way for emergency vehicles to drive on the median, nor the shoulder, nor any way to open up the opposite direction--since guardrails blocked. If people had been close to death, they would have died. Period. Of the many Achilles heels disabling society about car culture, certainly, rush hour, with no shoulders on the roads is among the most deadly of all. These city arteries are wishfully thought-out. There is no compensation made for emergencies.

It is simply what people have decided is acceptable. A few deaths that would have been preventable with smarter civil engineering are the cost of "convenience" and "efficiency." If it is your wife, brother, cousin or best friend? Tough shit. This is where society has chosen to place its priorities. The automobile must be held above all other things, or people don't get to work, eat, go to school or live in suburbs. A few needless deaths are the sacrifices made to essentially worship these metal boxes. Besides almost being hit each day by cars, they really don't slow me down. But, as with so many things that people don't think about, perhaps this scenario will actually give the reader some pause for thought--though, honestly, probably not; with all due respect.

I reached the point where Route 70 continued on from 220 and 29, lightening the traffic significantly. Despite the seriousness and unfortunate situations caused by the accident - now several miles behind me - my walk had been made significantly safer by the slow traffic. I moved faster than they did. By the time I was on the border of Greensboro, I think the two ambulances and fire truck were probably just arriving to assist those four cars. Interesting isn't it?

I remembered much from Google Maps and the satellite images of green areas approaching McLeansville (the small town bordering Greensboro). The land was delightfully rural. I passed many different potential sleep spots. But the sun hadn't sunk far enough until I got to the edge of a large field. It was literally a hop, skip and a jump through the tall grass and around some pricker bushes to a long-ago fallen and twisted stand of trees. It wasn't perfect, but it was damn good. Good enough...

I was surprised, with all of this open land not hear coyotes or see deer. I would get a bit of both in the next couple days and nights. But, North Carolina is strangely quiet when it comes to larger animals. Nice to hear the birds each morning though. I stood around for awhile, and then resigned myself to the tent and a deep sleep.

McLeansville Sleep Spot.