Lebanon to Waterloo... Frontpage of the Democrat Herald

Alright... today was a big day for Walk For Progress! I was front page on the Democrat Herald with a great write-up by Alex Paul. His story did a great job of encapsulating what WFP is about for me and how it is an evolutionary discussion across the country. The paper was everywhere I went today which was just too much fun. I assure you all that as I get more into the swing of things, I will have more discussion here on what I am hearing from the communities I pass through. I don’t want to write about my beliefs and conceptions but only wish to outline a sense of what and where my discussions are evolving towards. I got on the road today and stopped by to have breakfast and met Don Bailey at the seat next to me at the counter. He was another affirmation of my discoveries regarding attitude. His attitude has kept him youthful and vital. We spoke on all the roads and towns I would traverse on my travels and on his dream to ride across the country with his wife Jerry on motorcycles. This coming week he will be driving the 20 all the way across to visit his brother who has a dairy farm near Syracuse NY. His discussion of how farmers are doing was typical in that it is always a struggle for these families to stay afloat as very little of the profit margin comes back to the farmers. The interesting part of the equation I am seeing is that corn now is a dual use crop... Ethanol has started to drive the cost for corn up... so corn farmers are doing very well... (Jim and Val were telling me this the other night when Taby and I met them for the evening)... however, farmers who raise corn for cow feed and dairies are being sqeezed even more as the price of everything except milk seems to be skyrocketing. Along route 20 in western Oregon, a major paradigm shift is underway as the region is in search of what will define them after lumber. Many of the mills have shut down or scaled back and the communities are only now starting to come back. But it is a process. Lebanon, the town I was in yesterday and today has a homeless population and a community of people that are having a very rough time supporting themselves and their families. The First Church of Christ has a number of programs designed to help the community through this transition. Pastor Linda, is part of a program that provides counseling to individuals who the state has turned away and can’t afford any other source of mental or emotional help. They also have a “soup” kitchen that provides hot meals three days a week. These are not “soup” meals but rather full nutritional home-cooked dinners of Lasagna, Salad, Bread, dessert of various sorts, fruits, juices and great dining services! I was fortunate to be able to help out bussing tables and cleaning up as dozens of families came for meals and there was plenty for everyone to have seconds. I enjoyed my meal very much. I walked 7 miles from Lebanon to the Waterloo County Park where I would spend the night... Then Linda came and picked me up form there so that I could help out with the soup kitchen. On the way to the kitchen, we stopped and visited at a sushi place in town and I got to learn about the community and discuss issues of faith and soul with Linda and her sweet seven year old daughter Mattie. Linda expressed the cohesion of their church community by quoting the founders of the their denomination: “In essentials - Unity. In non-essentials -diversity (liberty). In all things Charity (Love).” She also used a phrase that appealed to me: “siempre gumbee” (always flexable). Then before I went to help at the soup kitchen, I met Rachel at the Lebanon Express who will be running a story on WFP next wednesday. Then in to help at the kitchen. After that Linda took me back out to my camp site here in Waterloo right on the river. This was about 6:30 and I got my tent set up. At around seven, Matt who is the son of Nancey that I met at the church came by and invited me to come out and join in discussion with a bible study that he and his friends hold. I had a stimulating evening with Matt, Brian, Scott, Bodie, and Tatton. We discussed everything from original sin to how our own perceptions of self affect how we live and whether we can live up to our own highest ideals. Matt took me back here to camp and we went even deeper into our faiths regarding the nature of good and how we choose to live our lives.

Link to the Front Page news story on WFP:
http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2007/04/23/news/top_story/7aaa01_walking.txt