Here we are again. Doing this update a little bit early because I am not doing any walking today. Using the time home to relax and recharge. But here is the update from a short week of walking.
Day 36-I covered 22 miles from Gratiot to West Licking County Fire Station 2 in Pataskala. I had a fast morning, covered a lot of ground pretty quickly, the landscape is flattening out, so my speed is picking up some. After my first 14 miles I met up with John and Kait Seyal for lunch in Hebron. John and Kait did a transcontinental walk in 2012 with their service dogs, and drove over an hour from Athens to meet up. We talked about their experiences in depth, and shared stories, and gathered insight.
Day 37- The death of a shoe. Covered 19 miles from Pataskala to just outside Bexley. I was developing a blister in the middle of my right foot and couldn't figure out why. Once I got to my destionation I pulled the shoe off and the Altra shoe had worn all the way through to the shoe itself. Zero sole. We reached out to Altra, who was concerned why the REI rep wouldve suggested a trail shoe for what I am doing, given that it would wear out quicker, but they still replaced it with a better shoe free of charge on a warranty upgrade. I met with Rick Abner, who runs a staffing agency for veterans, securing jobs for them overseas in various roles, and we discussed the effects of PTSD on veterans for quite some time.
Day 38- Covered another 18 miles from Bexley area to Jefferson Township FD. In the morning I connected and had breakfast at Tommy's Diner with Bryan Stork, a guidance counselor at Grandview Heights. We talked about the mental health struggles his kids are facing, and an event he put on at the school. He had a Columbus band, Pray For Sleep come in and play. They run all of their songs by Nationwide Children's to encourage the lyrics don't contain anything that could potentially trigger kids. The Dayton Daily News called to interview me during a mid day rest break. When I finally got to the FD, a friend of mine Felix Catheline met up with me and brought a lot of water, powerade and body armor (so much so I couldn't take it all in the stroller). I left some of it with the FD. Jefferson Township was awesome, they had guys on vacation and had some spare beds, so they allowed me to crash in one. This was three consecutive days I have been afforded the luxury of showering, and it means more than most people would possibly understand.
Day 39- This was a scary day, with a giant curve ball thrown my way. The heat had returned. Nowhere to grab breakfast, so I took the day on on zero calories. I got through the majority of the 17 mile day but started dry heaving. I took a break in the shade of someone's yard just outside the Clark county line. My mom had gone over to my dad's house to bring him a phone charger around 915, and thought he was having a stroke. She didn't tell me I had to extract the info from my sister. My mom wanted to wait until she went back later to see if he improved and then she'd take him to the hospital. She was worried he would refuse the treatment and transport. I wasn't having it, by the time I found out it had been 2.5 hours or so. I called the squad from 40+ miles away and they got him to the hospital. He couldn't speak, and was relatively combative I guess. My sister tried to facetime me, and see if my face could trigger something in him, he looked at me, and I could tell he recognized me, but he opened his mouth to speak and nothing came out. Then I saw him start to cry and I lost it. I hung up the phone and bawled in front of Harmony Township FD. Found out later in the evening that he had a white blood cell count of 25,000, well past septic. They began high doses of antibiotics and near the end of the night before my mom and sister left, he was at least saying words.
Day 40- Short walk for this day, covered 12 miles from Harmony Township to Springfield City Fire Station 1. En route the DDN sent a photographer out for an impromptu photo shoot along route 40. Once I got to Springfield, I talked with their fire captain for a few. Then, the city manager approached, and presented me with a proclamation. June 23rd, 2022 was officially "Hall Across the Country" Day in Springfield, a very cool honor. My sister facetimed me again with my dad, and he recognized me again, and after being asked if he recognized me, he said, very weakly, "That's Joey" and my heart was full again. He was recovering. Someone forgot to announce to the Clark County Sheriffs that I was okay to camp, and they saw my stroller around 3am and woke me up to see what was going on. Just doing their jobs, no big deal. I also got to meet up with some young men I used to coach, and jesus they're grown. I'm old.
Day 41-HOME. I covered 15 miles from Springfield to Fairborn, Ohio. When I woke up, the fire captain showed me the Springfield News Sun, and I was on the front page of the "Local" section. As I began walking and neared my hometown of Enon, I had multiple older people (who are the majority of people who read the print version of the paper) recognize me along the way. Once I got into downtown Enon, I had 7 or 8 people waiting to welcome me, my mom and sister included. My sister decided to walk the last 6.5 miles or so with me and greatly regretted it. When I got to Fairborn I met up with some of their city management people and they told me that when I complete this walk, they too plan on giving me a proclamation and a "day" in Fairborn. Got home, showered up, and went to visit with my dad. Having continued to recover, and been sober for at least a week or two, he was as close a thing to "ole dad" that he has been in a long time.
Today I am resting, and playing in my Alumni Football Golf Scramble, then getting together with people at a local bar/tavern and catching up. Tomorrow seeing movies with my cousin, Monday the chiropractor. Tuesday we should be picking up my new stroller and then Wednesday, the journey resumes. I really appreciate all of you guys for your support of someone you don't even know, and for those of you that have followed along on any of the social media paths. I am going to try to do some new things with the remaining 80% of this journey, adjusting my approach as I have learned some things thus far. It's been an eventful ride thus far.
Much love guys,
-Joe
