Bad Back, Good People, Great God
June 11, 2006
Burlington, WV
The walk across America for Jesus Christ is history. Maybe it's done for, forever, and maybe just for a year or two--time will tell. "Bad back, Good people, Great God" might be the last walk story in Loaves and Fishes and it might not be--time will also tell.

This is the second time the walk has been over, with the first occurring in Texas. Obviously termination time was short lived in the Lone Star State, or you would have heard about the end already.

Between July, 2001 and January, 2002 I walked 493 miles getting into walking shape. "Shape" was accomplished with ten to thirty pounds on my back, and not the sixty to ninety that has been the reality of the actual walk that unfolded in between Feb 2, 2002 and June 11, 2006. I was naïve enough to think I was in shape and remember contemplating the 2,410 vehicle miles in between Franklin, WV and Tucson, AZ (January 31 thru February 2) as a long way to travel. It was, and still is a long way, but not quite as far as 19,502 on foot carrying a back-breaking load. I'm meant to be a skinny 155 pound person, not a skinny 215-245 pounder, which has been my weight with the backpack on the last 1,591 days.

By far my biggest walk concern prior to its beginning was the bad back I've had for two decades. A chiropractor was visited in Elkton, Maryland many times for my aching mid and upper back the weeks before the start of the many mile meander. To say the least, a walk across the USA is not recommended exercise for a person with a problematic back.

My lower back "went out" February 3, 2005. This has occurred approximately fifteen times since 1983, with all the other times predating the walk. Aching pain accompanies mid and upper back problems, but the lower back is a different story. Every step is accompanied with the feeling of a knife blade in the lower vertebrae. If you've ever experienced lower back problems you know what I mean. Transporting myself via vehicle to a chiropractor from my farm the first fifteen times wasn't fun. Being homeless, knowing no one, and carrying a heavy weight on my back, took "wasn't fun" to the next level.

"Lord it's ok if the walk is over, or if it continues. I can bear the abuse and rejection dished out by humanity, the loneliness, not knowing where I'll sleep at night, living in places I don't want to live, and being on a walk that seems endless with a huge weight on my back. I can handle not washing up or brushing my teeth for weeks at a time, the slime, itching, rot, scabs, and roaches nibbling on my armpit. I can also tolerate the spiders, snakes, skunks, coyotes, raccoons, dogs, and blood suckers and biters like leeches, ticks, mosquitoes, flies, chiggers, and fire ants. I can handle the concussion, sickness, infection, torn muscles, and mid and upper back problems, but I can't handle this. It's too much. Please help me if your desire is for this walk to continue, otherwise it's over." This was my prayer.

Eighteen painful miles were walked that Thursday while constantly praying. After calling a friend from a payphone, who had access to the bus schedule in southeast Texas, I was informed the next stop was a ways down the road, thus I walked until dark. An unlit nook where I wouldn't be seen, was found at a church, and I bedded down for the night.

Having my back go "out" has taught me a number of tricks that possibly will make it go back "in". Walking with a large weight for eighteen miles wasn't one of them, but I did all the ones that have worked in the past while lying down at night, including much prayer.

Friday morning, February 4, arrived and I felt somewhat better. Knowing the circumstances, somewhat better probably wouldn't last long after I hit the pavement. Lo and behold, as the day progressed, I felt 90% better! My friend was called from the next bus stop town and I exclaimed, "False alarm, thanks anyways!"

Twenty one miles later, A sleeping place was found like happens every night, this time on the porch of an un-recently used community building. All the Thursday night tricks were repeated, and Saturday morning my lower back deteriorated quickly. The 90% better went down to a million percent worse. I know there is no such thing as a million percent, but it felt that bad!

I arrived at the next town, and found out from my friend that the nearest bus station was Joe's Hamburger Joint, or something like that, in Wharton, TX. Wharton became my goal in order to catch the 5:00pm Saturday bus for West Virginia.

Five arrived, and the bus stop was still an hour and a half away, but after seventeen impossible miles, the right sleeping place appeared as usual. This place was a used home lot consisting of 7 or 8 older site-built homes. The homes had been jacked up and moved to the lot on U.S. 59, a couple of miles from Wharton. Because there wasn't anyone around, I had my choice of "home sweet homes" for the night.

The pain was off the scale of the pain meter. Written almost illegibly in my journal, Saturday night, February 5, was: "Dear Lord, I am grateful for this place where I can moan and scream in private. Can't walk, sit, lay down-I'm screwed-almost throwing up." None of my tricks worked, and I knew the walk was over. The bus wasn't very appealing cuz it's not a good place to hang out with a really bad back, but walking any further was impossible.

Although I didn't sleep, Sunday morning still arrived. I straggled into Wharton, and like every Sunday, I looked for a church to praise God along with other Christians. Joe's was only a mile away and I had seven hours to get there. There was plenty of time.

The Wharton First Baptist Church was an excruciating four blocks off highway 59, which was my route to Joe's. Settling into the front pew, it didn't take those folks long to start loving the filthy, hurting, drifter. In fact, they loved me so much, I eventually had to tell them about the walk across America for Jesus Christ. Just like you, when you visit another church, I don't walk in snapping my fingers saying, "Guess who's here today worshiping with ya'll". People have to show a real interest in me before the truth comes out. Praise God, some of those folks loved me to death. After worship service, a whole bunch of them laid hands on me and prayed for the healing of my back. I'd like to tell you that I was healed and walked for another 16 months, but that's not what happened. They then said, "We want you to stay with us".

Their church was a large church. They had a campus with numerous buildings, and the youth building was offered as my abode for the night. Sound equipment worth thousands of dollars, along with a phone, a full refrigerator, a shower, and so on, were all at my disposal. After showering, someone came by and laundered all my filthy, smelly clothes. I was grateful for all of those gifts, especially comforting, was I wouldn't smell up the bus Monday afternoon.

Prior to arriving at my home for Sunday night, Herb, an 84 year old man, put my backpack on and carried it to the youth building as I followed. Can you imagine an 84 year old man packing 70 pounds? Wow! After taking it off, he said, "Do you know why we are treating you this way?" Praise God that I didn't share any of the dozens of possible answers I could have given him, because they all would have been incorrect. He said, "Because you might be God!" I quickly replied, "I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like anyone else, and I'm not God or an angel," and added, "It doesn't get any better than this, we should be treating everyone this way, no less than we'd treat God if we knew it was Him. Thank you for treating me this way!"

To make a long story short, I was 100% better as I walked full speed past Joe's Monday morning. I was healed because some caring Christian people decided to love the unlovable, with words and deeds, and God healed me.


I hope and pray for us all, that we will be wide awake spiritually all the time, not just when it's convenient, or when we're not busy, angry, or scared. I could have ripped my host off big time. It's time to live a riskier life than the life of safety, plenty, and comfort most of us in America are accustomed to. It's time to wake up.

James writes in the Bible, chapter 2, verse 26, "Faith without works is dead". John follows from I John 3:17-18 "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and with truth." I'm with James and John, and am very grateful to those who have reached out to me in some positive way during the past nineteen and a half thousand miles.

Oh, by the way, the walk didn't end June 11, 2006 because of a bad back.

Till the next time…
In Christ's love,
Don

19,502 miles walked
1591 days walked
Most miles in a day: 34
Average miles per day: 12.3
Average coins per day: 31
81% were pennies
741 nights homeless
850 nights cared for by humanity
53.5% of nights cared for by humanity