SACCommentary

Daily Update: Tuesday October 4, 2011

2011-10-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

A soybean field on U.S. Highway 150 east of Washington, Indiana.

Walk: Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Yesterday I took the day off to catch up which as always I did to some extent, but didn't get fully caught up. Today I began walking east from our motel on East National Highway in Washington. Loret suggested I find out more about this topic in an e-mail. She said every drought year corn prices are predicted to be high, but when the harvest actually comes in they fall. Farmers don't know what they are getting until the harvest actually occurs. I have given this some thought on and off for some time. It does not seem different than the situation my father faced growing wine grapes in the 1940s-1960s. He never knew the price before hand, and occasionally even after they were delivered to the winery he didn't know the price he would receive. If the wineries really needed grapes, they would pay the price of transporting them from the vineyard; if not Dad, paid for that, too. Although San Joaquin Valley grapes were not as good wine grapes as ours, Dad would read the price for them since the harvest started earlier in the San Joaquin Valley. They harvested perhaps a month or so before we harvested in October in Sonoma County, California. There was the issue of quality. If the grapes didn't reach a certain sugar content, the price was dropped. If it rained during harvest a mold developed on the skins of the grapes and the skins ruptured, allowing the juice to run out. The juice gave the grapes weight which is what the wineries were paying us for. I remember one year helping pick up lug boxes of grapes to load on our wagon and having a stream of juice flow from each end no matter how level I lifted the box. I think Dad had my brother and me pick those boxes up so he wouldn't have to watch his potential income soak into the soil. In large measure any business venture in a capitalistic society is fraught with risk. Perhaps farmers are a bit more vulnerable in that they tend to have a limited number of items to sell. In my father's case it was wine grapes and beef cattle. Some farmers may only market one crop. Marketing the beef cattle provided some choice. Buyers would visit Dad and offer him a price per pound; always, of course a bit below the market price. If Dad had accepted it, which I don't believe he ever did, or perhaps only once, they shipped the cattle. Dad usually paid to have them shipped to the stock yards in South San Francisco and have a commission man sell them. Selling them at a local auction yard would have been another option Dad never utilized.

After walking about 1½ miles I reached U.S. Highway 150 and continued east on it. Immediately to my left was a Case farm equipment dealership. It didn't look too busy so I decided to ask if anyone there knew about the price of corn and soybeans. I talked briefly with Jason Witchman. He commented the price a farmer receives is typically 20¢ to 30¢ lower than the futures for both corn and soybeans. He did say farmers may forward contract, sell their crop ahead in the spring or summer. They can also sell at today's price when they harvest. I thought of the situation with grapes and their sugar content, so I also asked if farmers received a lower price if the corn or beans didn't meet certain standards. He said yes, variables being moisture content, test weight, and foreign matter.

Several miles further east I saw Sherry Edwards working in her garden. The sign on the highway said Edwards Family Farm. I asked her take on prices of soybeans and corn. She reiterated what Jason had said, a crop can be sold ahead or a portion can be. She added another option is for the farmer to store a part of their crop. She, too, said as the harvest approaches, the price drops. She said farmers have to be good at marketing. She and her husband farm 2,000 to 3,000 acres. She did mention a problem with soybeans being if the moisture content of the seeds fall below 12% or 11% the seeds will fall out of the pods. She said yesterday they were down to nine percent. While I was talking to Sherry her mother came out and the three of us talked briefly. Sherry's mother is a widow, and her husband had been a farmer, too. She said there is no comparison between the situation when she and her husband began farming and the situation today. Now her mother leases her land to a large farming operation. She said when they come in to harvest the corn in the field next to where we were talking, they will come in with 11 to 13 combines and a fleet of trucks.

I mentioned last year at harvest time I was in Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas where the crops were wheat, corn, milo maize and sunflowers. Sherry said her husband planted milo maize once when it was too late to get in soybeans, but he didn't like the crop. I guess he isn't the only one. I don't think I have walked past a field of it since Kansas. Again it would have been interesting to have asked some more questions, but Sherry received a phone call, so I left. It would have been interesting to talk to her mother about all the changes she remembered.

It would have been nice to have had a longer conversation with Jason, Sherry and her mother and probed these issues more deeply. However, as I walk, it is difficult to know where I will be or when I will be there. People are busy and so I hate to take too much of their time. However, probing this would be a fruitful project for anthropologists much younger than me. As beef and wine grapes are different but fraught with uncertainty, so are corn and soybean prices.

In addition to Loret's comments on my Update on soybeans and corn I received this one from Mary Gresham who sent it on to her cousin in Nebraska who replied to her which she forwarded to me focusing on the uses of soybean.

The uses are all correct for the soy products, a few comments tho...the oils are

also made into bio-diesel which has a natural lubricant that replaces the sulfur

additives in regular diesel fuel. One of the biggest new uses for the meal is in

aquaculture. The ocean fisheries are declining and the soy meal is a main

ingredient in the pelleted food the industry feeds the "farmed fish", Old

McDonald had a fish....

As I observed in Morro and Tomales Bays, the commercial fishing industry is in a state of collapse on the California Coast. Another of the nation's natural resources, and a renewable one at that, rapidly going, if not gone. Interesting in the middle of our nation soybeans are being grown to maintain the farmed fish industry on our coasts.

Today's walk was easy, perhaps too easy. Just east of Washington I stopped at an Amish Country Store for a cup of coffee and a root beer float. I stopped again for coffee in Montgomery. The shoulder of the road was narrow in places and traffic pretty heavy so often I had to step off the shoulder and wait for traffic to pass. Just as I started walking east on 150 they are constructing an overpass. Traffic going east was stopped and no traffic was coming toward me. A truck driver asked me to slow down because I was making them look bad. The backup was caused by a truck delivering a long cement beam backing into the work area and blocking traffic going in both directions. Just before I reached it, he finished backing off the road. Then I had to wait a long time for the backed up traffic coming toward me to clear.

All in all, another very good day. Beautiful Fall weather, the temperature was in the high 70s. I had some good conversations, found restaurants at the right interval along my route. I reached Montgomery and continued east Carole picked me up at the juncture of 150 and 900 East Road. I calculate I walked 11¾ miles today.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Friday, September 30, 2011

2011-10-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Verne Store est. 1898, Verne, Indiana

Walk: Friday, September 30, 2011

Today we had to leave Vincennes. Lincoln High School here has an annual multi class reunion on their homecoming weekend which is scheduled the last weekend of September. Consequently we moved to a motel in Washington. The people at the desk of the motel here could understand why we had to leave Vincennes. As I left the motel a flight of Canadian geese were in formation flying over the motel. It was another reminder Fall has arrived.

A portion of U.S. Highway 150, which I plan to follow to Louisville, Kentucky, is freeway as it circles north of Vincennes and to reach it I walked out of our motel on Kimmell Road. First I walked by a shopping center featuring a Walmart Super Store, an Applebee's, Office Depot, etc. then through a nice residential area. When I reached State Highway 61, I turned east. Initially the road was lined by nice homes and they seemed to become more expensive as I continued east. After perhaps two miles I was in the country. Compared to Illinois it seemed the country was rolling, or one might say gently hilly. The crops remained the same, corn and soybeans. Occasionally there were small clusters of homes. After about four miles I reached Verne. The only commercial establishment I saw was the Verne Store. It sold gasoline and some restaurant items. The current owner Martha "Duffer" Downer met me and asked if she could help me. I said I hope so, do you have coffee? She said no, they had closed the lunch counter ( it was about 2 p.m.), but she offered me iced tea, which I accepted. A group of women were at a long table, I sat at the opposite end. Verne Store was established in 1898, although it has gone through three changes of ownership. I guess now it could be classified as an individually owned convenience store. Martha, as well as the women at the other end of the table, said it was more than that, a place for community meetings as they demonstrated. They were meeting to discuss genealogy. One of the women's daughters had baked and frosted a very professional layer cake very for them. Martha said due to its history and uniqueness, Indiana Governors and members of Congress from the state have visited it. It seemed no sooner than I had been set straight on its history than Mark Twain walked in. Actually he was Stephen Hollen who impersonates Mark Twain. He was dressed in his white suit and his white hat and looked pretty much like the genuine article. He had done a program at both the local elementary and high school and had heard of the store and wanted to see it. The women in the store gave Mr. Twain and myself a piece of their cake. Before he departed Mark, gave me an autographed copy of his book Tom Sawyer.

From Verne as I walked east, I passed a corn field as a gust of wind hit it and tore a lot of dry leaves from the stalks and, as they rose, swirled them in the air. I have never seen anything like it, but I have never lived in a corn producing region. I instantly thought of the line from "Twas the Night Before Christmas," "as dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly." The road seemed beautiful, in places it was forested on one or the other or sometimes on both with the branches of the trees on either side of the road entwined high above the road. Houses seemed pretty well maintained with mature trees. There were small lakes and some windmills. All in all it was a nice road to walk.

When I reached the junction of State Highways 61 and 241 I turned north on 241 and soon walked a short distance to Monroe City and after a short distance passed through it . Carole picked me up about two miles north of Monroe City.

Loret Newlin asked me to add a correction on the dentist who did orthodontic work for her. She said the work occurred in 2006. The dentist, although a licensed dentist, was learning orthodontics and, at that point in his career he had an experienced orthodontist overseeing his cases so he offered to work on her teeth for significantly less than an experienced orthodontist would charge. She wanted it made clear that the reduced price for her work was not related to the economic downturn.

I thought about Loret's experience in light of my father's experience with dentists learning their craft. As children my brother and I heard how our father's family did not have much money, but they lived in San Francisco not far from a dental college. Dad would go to a dental student, Van Alsteine ( I am not sure of the spelling ). A simple filling would take all afternoon because after every step in the procedure the students would have to get the professor to approve it before moving on. Since there were a number of students, they would have to wait for the teacher to see their patient. If the professor didn't approve of the work, the student dentist had to correct it and get it approved. Dad said since they were students they used drills driven by treadles, like old Singer sewing machines. As Van Alstine learned and had to pass various test for his certification, he too offered lower rates. From his experiences my father developed a deathly fear of dentists. Dad, like Loret, developed a deep respect and loyalty for these dentists who were at the time learning various aspects of their craft. My mother went to Van Alstein as did one my father's sisters. I believe, when I was a child before we moved to the family farm near Santa Rosa, I too was seen by him. I remember thinking of my father's experience as Loret told us about her experience as we were having dinner in Joe's restaurant.

Highway 61 was a lovely road to walk along on a nice Fall day. Stopping at a store over 100 years old, still functioning not only as a store but as a community center and seeing Mark Twain made today a unique one. I did 15.75 miles today. Today was a great day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Thursday, September 29, 2011

2011-10-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Wabash River from the bridge leading to Vincennes, Indiana.

Walk: Thursday, September 29, 2011

Today I began walking east from Lawrenceville, Illinois. As I walked east on U.S. Highway 50 Business, I passed some nice homes on a height before the road descended to the Embarras River. The river was not flowing rapidly, and the water appeared brown. I had been told in Effingham that Illinois is the flattest state in the nation. I found that difficult to believe since the highest point in Florida is only 345 feet above sea level. However Illinois is by and large pretty flat. At the Illinois State Museum it said the Illinois River had less fall than any other river in the U.S. It is 273 miles long with a fall of 88 feet. When I walked across the Yuba River at Marysville, California, it was said the Yuba had the greatest fall of any U.S. River. I am not sure I would vouch for how the rates of fall for various rivers or hoe the flatness of states is determined, but all the rivers I have passed in Illinois seem to be lazy rivers. Likely they were flowing faster and carrying a greater volume of water this spring when the area was hit with heavy rains while I was walking in Kansas. Today I saw washed out trees lying in the shallows of both the Embarras and Wabash Rivers as I walked over them.

East of Lawrenceville I left U.S. Highway 50 Business for Old Highway 50. I passed the smoldering remains of a structure, likely a house that had been demolished, and the remains were being burned, although the cement foundation was still relatively intact. After passing a few houses I was back in the country amidst corn and soybean fields, and it was flat to the Wabash River. As I walked I passed over some "ditches." Pond Ditch, Allison Ditch and Allison DItch Number 2. As I looked down, there was a large school of fish in Alison Ditch. I am not great on fish identification, but as they were at the surface and the placement of their mouths, which faced slightly downward, they reminded me of carp. I passed a large field with squash; there were a lot of big yellow blossoms on the vines. Some squash had formed that were green and some, likely more mature a cream color, like butternut squash, but they were more round than butternut squash. It is the only such field I have seen in Illinois.

After about six miles Old Highway 50 ended at State Highway 33. I continued east on 33 past soybeans fields and some commercial and former commercial real estate, such as a closed Dodge dealership. After about a mile 33 turned and I continued east on Vigo Street. On the north side of the street was a monument to the Lincoln family as they migrated through the area as they moved from Indiana to Illinois when Abraham was about 21. It was in a small park where I sat and drank a bottle of water. I then crossed the Wabash River on the Lincoln Memorial Bridge. (The bridge on the U.S. Highway 50 freeway to the north is named for a Vincennes favorite son, Red Skelton.) Yes, I did think briefly of jumping in and making a big splash, doing a Wabash canon ball. The picture is the view from the bridge looking southeast. The water in the river looked muddy when I saw it , but in the picture it miraculously turned to a beautiful blue. In the background is a cylindrical shaped building surrounded by Greek columns. When I reached the Indiana side, I walked to it, climbed the stairs leading up to it only to find it locked. I then went to the visitor's center and was told a ranger was going to open it. As we walked over we talked. He said he was from Kentucky and now lived in Indiana. I asked him if he was following in Lincoln's footsteps and would move to Illinois. He said he had no desire to move west of the Wabash. Interestingly he is working on a B.A. at Vincennes University majoring in "Homeland Security." It in interesting how quickly America's fear has been translated into a hugh bureaucracy and how quickly Vincennes University has picked up on this new paranoia. The monument commemorates George Rogers Clark taking Fort Sackville, site from the British during the Revolutionary War. The strategic significance of the victory was to prevent the British from encouraging and supplying their Indian allies from attacking American settlers in Kentucky. The long range significance was by taking the fort it established an American presence north of the Ohio River. Consequently the Treaty of Paris that officially ended the Revolutionary War in 1783 put the boundary between Canada and the United States at the Great Lakes, giving the Americans what became known as the Old Northwest. Seven panel paintings depicted scenes relating to Rogers taking the fort, with a statue of Clark in the circular interior. Beginning in Kansas City, Missouri I ran across places associated with the Civil War. Here in Vincennes is my first experience with a Revolutionary War site.

I then walked north on 2nd Street to Main Street past "the Old Cathedral," the first Catholic church in Indiana. It was established by the Jesuits shortly after French fur trappers from Canada established Vincennes in 1732. The present church structure however only dates from 1826. The old church bell cast in France is on display on 2nd Street. From there I walked to Zander's Ice Cream & Coffee on Main Street where Carole met me for coffee. When I left Zanders I the sky had clouded up, I walked north on 4th Street to Hart Street, then turned east to our motel. I felt a sense of urgency due to the change in the weather, but I made it.

Today I walked about 11 miles. It was gratifying to say I have left Illinois and entered Indiana. Leaving one state for another is both gratifying and sad. As has been the case in all the states I have passed through. I had a good time and was well received in Illinois. I have many fond memories of it. It was great to see some of the historic sites and the monuments honoring them. I had heard about George Rogers Clark, but it was nice to learn about both the difficulty as well as the significance of his achievement. Having coffee and ice cream cone with Carole was a nice break during the walk. The weather was comfortable, although it did become a source of worry late. All in all it was another great day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2011-10-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

A bulldozed house on Illinois State Highway 250 east of Sumner.

Walk: Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Carole and I think we are both running a sleep deficit. Going to California from the motel where we were staying in Vincennes to California for Carole's class reunion meant going from Eastern to Pacific time. In addition my brother, Joe, was in Carole's class, and he attended the reunion, too. Every evening after the events associated with the reunion, the three of us would move to our motel room and talk several additional hours. Returning east our flights were 100% booked and although we caught a bit of sleep, it was not long or deep. I got a late start and only walked about 10 miles. I walked east on Illinois State Highway 250 through Bridgeport, then on to Lawrenceville. As I left Bridgeport, I passed Red Hills State Park to the north of the road. It seems this part of Illinois is a bit more rolling than Illinois further north, although I am not certain I would consider them hills. The portion of the park visible from the road was forested. The shoulder of the road was narrow about a foot between the white line defining the edge of the road and the edge of the asphalt. Consequently when traffic approached, I had to step off the road and often stop; although in places where the grass and weeds were not too high, I could continue walking. Traffic between Sumner and Bridgeport was light. The main industry in Bridgeport, a town of about 2,200, appeared to be a large Rucker's candy factory. East of Bridgeport to Lawrenceville it seemed a continuous line of houses to the north of 250, like a rural strip city. To the south were fields alternating between corn and soybeans. Along this stretch of the road the condition of the shoulder did not improve, but traffic increased. When I reached Lawrenceville 250 ended at U.S. Highway 50 Business. On the western outskirts was a shopping center with the Walmart and McDonalds, in the center of town was the Lawrence County Court House presiding in the center of a square. A bit further on Carole picked me up.

Before we left for Carole's class reunion I received an interesting e-mail from Loret Newlin. She asked about reunions, "What are yours like and have they changed over the years?" She commented her reunions tend to be rather simple affairs vs. class reunions that go all out. She also commented that at her reunion she was much more outgoing than when she was in high school. As I though about it today, it seems as we have attended reunions over the years, there have been changes. One thing that makes it a bit different for us is we both graduated from the same high school, Santa Rosa High School (SRHS). Carole was in the same class as my brother, Joe, so I know a number of Carole's as well as some of my brother's friends. I was in the class of 1955 and Carole in the class of 1957. It did seem our early reunions were simpler than they later became. They were dinner/dances on a Saturday during the summer at a local motel with a large enough room to accommodate the class and their spouses. It seemed during the earlier reunions people tended to talk mainly to the friends they had in high school but as time passed it changed and people tend to talk to others in a more relaxed manner. I do remember a reunion when my class metes had children when after the Saturday event we had a picnic where children could be invited, although we did not bring our children. There then developed a new custom, grad night only. As I remember it Carole's class used it before mine. It was a no host event with hors d'oeuvres, (what Hawai'ians call heavy pau paus; hors d'oeuvres sufficient that you can consider it a meal) on Friday night before the dinner/dance on Saturday night. It seemed that some people would attend one or the other event, or both. Also the class of 1956 seemed to like joint reunions. My class had one joint reunion with them, but decided it involved too many people and changed the dynamics of the reunion so we have not held another joint reunion. Carole's class, on the other hand, has had several reunions with the class of 1956, including this year's reunion. Another wrinkle my class developed, although Carole's class has not, is periodically providing a booklet with our high school pictures, current pictures, some information about ourselves, and current addresses/e-mail addresses/ phone numbers. I have found this very helpful, in contacting various classmates. I hope at our next reunion we update this information.

As time has passed so it seems has the responsibility for the reunions. In the case of my reunions our class Secretary, Sandy Garwood, seems to have taken the responsibility for our early reunions and Carole's class Secretary Judy Radley for hers. After Sandy passed away our reunions seem to have become organized by a strong committee. When Judy felt she had to step down another woman, Jacky Schalich, stepped up to organize their reunions. Jacky likes working with the woman who organized the class of 1956 reunions so often Carole's class and the class of 1956 have joint reunions, as they did this year.

About 20 years ago the SRHS Foundation was formed and on the Sunday following reunions there was an added event, a tour of the school with a hamburger/hot dog lunch. The school has undergone many changes since the 1950s starting with a earthquake retrofitting of the 1924 brick buildings in the 1960s, and later changes and new buildings. Each tour we have taken is unique depending who leads it and what they show you. The tour this year was led by a former Principal, Tony Negri. In addition to showing us some of the buildings he focused on some of the new traditions students at SRHS have developed.

Not all high school class reunions change in the same way. Last year as I walked in Carson City, Nevada, I met a man who attended his said 60th reunion in a small town in Texas. He said it was only a lunch that was supposed to last on into the afternoon for about four hours, but was shortened to only a couple of hours. He commented that many of his classmates still lived in the town and saw each other regularly. He though, had left the town after high school and was disappointed he had gone to Texas to attend the reunion. Our experiences with reunions are more positive. My classmates have supported me in more ways than I can mention in this brief Update. Three of them have walked segments of my walk across the nation with me.

Today I did not walk as far as I would have liked, but I was shaking off the effects of a sleep deficit due to having a good time and crossing a couple of time zones. Loret's question gave me something to ponder as I walked. I feel fortunate for our reunions and the bonds of friendship we have retained from our youth and have retained and even straightened over time. Our reunions, although organized differently, have changed and developed greater depth over time. Overall it was another good day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Tuesday, September 20, 2011

2011-10-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

An abandoned bank next to a self service car wash in Sumner, Illinois.

Walk: Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Yesterday I did not walk. Carole and I did laundry after which we went to a coffee shop where I worked on my Daily Updates. I had hoped to work on them while the clothes were going around in circles inside the machines, but I forgot to bring my computer. Tomorrow we will drive to Saint Louis to fly to San Francisco on Thursday for Carole's high school class reunion, this weekend in Santa Rosa. Tonight we got things around to take getting everything we believe we will need in one suitcase and some carry ons. It rained on and off yesterday, heavy at times. I was glad I wasn't walking again yesterday.

Today I began walking east on Main Street from Hawthorne Street in Olney. I soon reached U.S. Highway 50 and crossed it and turned east on the frontage that paralleled 50, 1100 East Road. This was about as relaxing as the walk along the bicycle trail south of Taylorville on September 6. I walked along it for about 10 miles, and only four cars passed me, two in each direction. I did talk to two construction workers. They asked me if I walked at night. I said no, but I did have a small flashlight in my backpack in case it got dark, although I told them the only time I used it was when walking through a tunnel in Boulder Canyon west of Boulder, Colorado. I told them I was given a bright orange hat by MoDOT. Seemingly not to be outdone, he rummaged through a compartment in his truck and pulled out a lime green construction vest with reflective white strips on it and gave it to me. It will be easy to keep it in my backpack and put it on if needed.

I walked by several old homes and barns, abandoned and falling into disrepair. I passed a pair of brick columns, about six feet high with flat cement capitals, placed about five yards apart. Seemingly they marked the driveway leading to a now completely destroyed farmhouse. Now they merely stand before a cornfield. This seems to be another example of the comment Carole's cousin, Larry Stevenson, made that many abandoned houses have been bulldozed to expand fields. I passed an Illinois prison west of Sumner. Just west of Sumner 1100 East Road where it met Illinois State Highway 250, and I switched to it. After about a mile on 250 I entered Sumner, a town of about 1,000. There were some modest but nicely maintained homes as I entered the town. At the corner of 250 and County Road 6 there was a Casey's General Store. It seems every small town I have passed through in Missouri and Illinois has had a Casey's. Although General Store is used in the name, one must not mistake them for the traditional general store with some clothing, hardware as well as groceries. Casey's are convenience stores; they have gas, snack food, some fast food and soft drinks. Often they have tables where people can sit and eat. I walked about two blocks south on 6 to a coffee shop that was advertised by a sign at the junction of 250 and 6, only to find it closed. As I walked to the coffee shop, I passed two two story brick buildings that were abandoned and crumbling. One was surrounded by the bright orange plastic mesh fencing characteristic of construction zones. The bank building pictured above was also abandoned. Raised letters above the second story windows say "First National Bank" the sign attached to the building says "The Peoples State Bank." An ATM machine had been fitted into the window on the lower right window, however it has been removed and appears in the picture as a black hole. The wall facing the car wash would appear to indicate another two story building once existed next to the bank. Sumner appears to have once had a nice tight downtown, as did many even larger towns, such as Santa Rosa when I was growing up. About the only businesses not located in Santa Rosa's downtown area were some small Mom and Pop grocery stores that were sprinkled around Santa Rosa. However, after World War II that changed in the late 1940s as shopping centers away from the downtown area emerged.

The other day on the television news broadcast in the motel's breakfast room was a bit on a Congressman who was holding up the Federal Government's allocation to the states for highway maintenance in the hopes of removing from the bill that 10% be used for alternative transportation, such as bicycles paths, etc. I am not sure what all might be involved in that 10% other than bicycle paths, but bicycles as a viable alternative to automobiles given the diffuse nature of even relatively small cities in the early 21st century. Likely in the past someone could have bicycled to downtown Sumner, parked their bicycle and easily walked to establishments providing whatever they needed. The same would have been true of Santa Rosa before 1950. I have passed many bicyclists as I have walked, few if any appear headed for work; I have not even passed any student riding a bicycle to school. I have passed many recreational bicyclists and some bicycling across the nation for a cause, generally church related.

It does seem there is an attempt to flog bicycling off as an alternative to automobile use to go to and from work. I thought back to an interview I heard several years ago on N.P.R. ( National Public Radio). The man being interviewed was hired by Washington D.C. to promote bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation to commute to and from work. He struggled mightily when asked by the interviewer concerning any semblance of success he had. However, he was able to shift the conversation to the recreational use of bicycling in Rock Creek Park ( I believe that was the park; I was driving at the time and didn't write it down). Then he waxed enthusiastically about the "literally thousands" of bicyclists who used its trails on weekends. As I listened, it seemed he was a big failure. I am not sure I can imagine the bicycle as a viable alternative for commuting in as spread out of a metropolitan area as Washington D.C. where many of the jobs are desk jobs and the summer climate is hot and humid. Why do American's focus on non-solutions as viable solutions? It reminded me of a quote from John Kenneth Gailbraith's The Affluent Society, "nothing succeeds like failure."

For me it was a nice day's walk, about 12 miles. Nice weather and virtually no traffic. Yes, it would have been nice if the coffee shop in Sumner had been open, but I am now conditioned to many restaurants/coffee shops in small towns closing in the early afternoon. The weather was nice; the temperature was probably in the low 70s, and there was no rain in sight. I found a good stopping place, to take some time off for Carole's class reunion.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Sunday September 18, 2011

2011-10-30T16:49:00.001-07:00

An manure spreader along Illinois State Highway 130 north of Olney.

Walk: Sunday, September 18, 2011

Today I began walking south on Illinois State Highway 130 just south of the Jasper/Richland County line. The sky was overcast, and it looked like rain. I walked amongst corn fields that looked ready for harvesting. Often near farm houses were silos from a previous era, when farmers raised cattle or hogs and fed them with the silage they produced and stored. Some of the silos now stand without their silver colored domed tops, although others retain them. I also passed a farm with some free range chickens running loose around the farm house and its outbuildings. It seemed the closer I got to Olney the more small lakes I saw near the houses. On one of the lakes were a number of swans. They were so far away I could not get a picture with the camera I carry. In front of one of the farm the manure spreader pictured above was sitting with some other farm equipment. In motel's complementary breakfast rooms it seems there is always a television set tuned to some "news cast." A superfluity of candidates of the opposition party are lining up to challenge the incumbent President. Since television station's concept of fair play provides every potential candidate time to air their views, no matter how ridiculous they may be, it seems the piece of farm equipment pictured above may be an appropriate logo for American television news.

After I had walked about six miles, I reached the northwestern outskirts of Olney. It began to rain gently. I reached a building which looked like a bank, but which turned out to be Job Works. I am not certain whether it was closed because it was Sunday or if no jobs existed in Olney, I will give it the benefit of the doubt and conclude it was the former. It had a cement slab porch protected by an extension of the roof...a great place to take off my glasses, put on my poncho, and get ready for rain, and rain it did.

As I walked south it gradually began raining harder. Then in the distance I began to hear thunder. Still further along the sky occasionally was lit up by a flash from lightening. As I walked south on 130, it rained heavier and heavier. Water began running in the gutters. When I reached Main Street, I turned east. It kept coming down. I am convinced if the Lord wanted to flood the world he could have accomplished it in 20 days and nights at that rate. There was a coffee shop just about a block off Main Street on Whittle Street, I hoped it was open, but it wasn't. I have heard that in some states alcohol is not sold on Sundays, but coffee? By now the water in the gutters was pooling up at the intersections, and I could not longer step over the water. Since my shoes were already soaked, the only thing to do was just wade through the pools. After perhaps four blocks I came to a McDonald's. They were open and I ordered a big cup of coffee, which tasted very good. I took off my poncho while I sat and drank the coffee. Water from the poncho, as well as my shoes, made the floor wet around the table where I sat near the door. When I left I noticed an employee had placed a sign there saying "Caution: Wet Floor." I don't know if I was totally responsible for this or if it was the cumulative effect of people entering the restaurant. Perhaps I was the straw that broke the camel's back. After the coffee I put my backpack, poncho and hat on and returned to face Mother Nature once more. The rain had tapered off a bit but was still coming down at a fairly good rate. As I walked east, I realized walking in heavy rain was not relaxing, but exhilarating and challenging. After about a mile Carole picked me up at the corner of Main and Hawthorne Streets.

Before it began raining I gave some thought to an issue Mary Gresham, a retired California community college anthropology teacher who is also a registered nurse, e-mailed me. "I found myself wondering about folks with really strong ideology.....what do they do when that doesn't mesh with their own economic reality. How does any integration work?" From my perspective and again, as Professor Edward Carr would insist, I will state my qualifications. For my M.A. in Social Science at San Jose State College ( now University) my course work was equally divided between history, sociology and anthropology. Although my Ph.D. is in anthropology, I continue to read from the other two disciplines and at Cuesta I taught both Sociology and Anthropology. Historians such as Walter Prescott Webb, Fredrick Jackson Turner, Sociologists such as William Ogburn and Anthropologists such as Leslie White see technology determining other aspects of a culture. The technological realm includes the resources both natural, renewable and non-renewable, as well as the goods human's create (both capital and consumer goods). This "technological" ( and as I thought about it I am not sure technology is the best term to describe it, or if it is Americans need a clearer understanding of the concept ) would also include the human population along with their skills. Perhaps Robert Thomas Malthus, a minister, could be listed with those above as a careful reading of his An Essay on the Principle of Population as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers indicates. Social behavior, the political system, economy, religion, and family are based on the technological underpinnings. If change occurs at this basic technological level, it will be reflected in social behavior. For example, when I was growing up there were some stay at home wives; four of my aunts would fit this category. One, my Aunt Evelyn, worked once a year for my Father picking grapes, which I believed she used as Christmas money. She only did this to help her brother, although she became a very fast and efficient picker that my father said he would put up against any other picker he ever had. In my generation I know very few stay at home wives. Now as I walk I don't believe I have met a woman who would self identify as a stay at home wife. More likely they have two jobs. Ideology is seen as the last thing people cling to as technological and social reality change. Some religions still cling to the desirability of large families. They may cite the Bible "go forth and multiply." When I taught I used to pull down a world map and slap it and tell classes the world has more refugees and peoples wishing to emigrate than nations looking for additional population. Can anyone come up and point to a nation looking for a larger population? I got no takers. (It was more dramatic to pull down and slap a map mounted behind the blackboard that put up a power point picture.) Are those insisting that "go forth and multiply" means by a large number? Is this another desperate attempt to subvert meaning? Could this passage's correct meaning be, multiply by a responsible number? Two? One? 1.5?

I had some interesting thoughts, until the rains came and gave me an entirely different set of issues to focus on. Still I walked about 11 miles today and reached Olney. All in all it was a good day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Saturday September 17, 2011

2011-10-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Corn on Illinois state Highway 130 south of Newton.

Walk: Saturday, September 17, 2011

Today I began walking from the CVS pharmacy on Illinois state Highway 33 and walked a block past the Newton Fall Festival around the Jasper County Court House. I turned south on State Highway 130 and walked past the east side of the a display of old tractors, old being those from the 1940s and 1950s. I will admit the difference between them and those I see working in fields is striking. I saw Loret Newlin and said goodbye and then continued south. On the way out of Newton I saw Solid Grounds, a small coffee shop, so I stopped for a cup of coffee and a pastry. It was very relaxing. The volume of the music was turned down, was instrumental and relaxing. It finally occurred to me the music was hymns. Usually the hymns I have heard are sung and are stirring. In the instrumental form they were relaxing. After coffee and relaxation I continued south on 130.

A couple of people stopped to see if I was OK. One man said after high school in 1971 he hitchhiked to California, where he lived for a time in San Jose. While I was talking to him, a Jasper County Sheriff Deputy stopped. The man I was talking to identified me as someone who was walking across the nation and the deputy had no additional questions for me. He asked if I wanted a cold diet cola, which I gratefully accepted. We talked for some time, and I think likely we would have talked more if some traffic hadn't come up behind him.

I few days ago I commented on the importance of story telling as an educational tool in both public school education and in the church. I received well though out e-mails from people who receive my Daily Updates. Here are some of them.

Richard Osborne who teaches Anthropology at Porterville College in California wrote:

Just a quick note regarding storytelling as a teaching mechanism. As my years as a teacher passed by, I found myself using

stories more and more often to make a specific point. This was a slow and evolutionary process, and I did not even really realize it was

happening until I ran into a former student one day about 6 or 7 years ago. She recounted her interest in the class she had taken and

added "I always think of you as the storyteller, and so do many of my friends." That comment really struck me, and I realized that my

stories were perhaps a more powerful teaching/learning tool than I had suspected. When I run into former students I find that they often

remember a specific story, almost verbatim. I only hope that they also understand the point or points that the story was attempting to

convey. Another thing I always do that keeps the students engaged is put students in the story. I have quite a few stories that I tell each

semester, and I insert students from the current class into those stories. It personalizes things, and all of the other students seem to pay

attention because I am talking about one of their own. At the beginning of the class, I emphasize the fact that the stories are fictitious and

the students featured in the story did not actually do what I am saying they did (does that make sense?).

I wholeheartedly concur with your observation that many folks do not adjust their speech or stories to the audience they are

presenting to. I once had a friend who was presenting to a group of elderly volunteers at an archaeology project. Her topic was lithic

technology and analysis. At the end of a one hour talk, the little old lady next to me said "Excuse me, but what does lithic mean?" The

presenter assumed that everyone in attendance was more knowledgable than they really were.

From my cousin Jennifer Krug. ( Actually Jennifer is my cousin, Barbara Wofford's daughter, I provide this information to place Jennifer a generation younger than I am. I received the following.) Jennifer looked at the issue from the student's perspective.

Interesting what you said about stories. I agree with your former student, a professor who is a good story teller is a gem.

I had a wonderful Human Resources teacher who told the best stories, I loved going to his classes. He could tell a story to make the most

boring labor law seem relevant and interesting. A friend is currently taking an HR class, I got all excited because I have such an interest

in the subject. She said their class is horribly boring. I said, "well you must not have the right teacher!" I wish I would have been able

to take one of your classes, sounds like I would have enjoyed it.

Taking up the challenge of crafting a good children's sermon for Grandparent's Day our son Bill a.k.a. U.B. wrote; ( My parents lived in an old farm house and as was typical in farm houses of that period, much of our daily life occurred in the kitchen.)

You talked about Grandparents day and stories. Something I think about almost daily involved your mother so I

will share it with you. Every morning on the ranch when I would get up Grandma would take me into the kitchen and run some

hot water on a wash cloth and clean my face - wipe away the eye boogers. I remember at first not really appreciating it, but in

time and frequency I learned to relax and enjoy the warmth and time with Grandma. I don't recall asking her to ever do it, but

in my memory it happened every morning. This thought has been in my mind always, now almost every time I rinse my face off I

find relaxation and a pleasant thought of Grandma.

As I thought of these comments I thought about some teachers as well as administrators attempting to sell technological approaches based on clichés, as the way the younger generation learn. As I wrote in my Daily Update of September 1, 2009:

This evening...I attended the Planning Commission meeting in Redwood City. When I arrived... a representative from

Cañada College, I believe it was the college’s President, was describing the college’s current building program... He mentioned the ethnic

mix at the college, 44% Hispanic, six percent Asian, etc. Half the students fell outside the traditional age range for lower division college

students...He was enthusiastic that the project had smart rooms, since that’s how students learn these days. He was well received by the

members of the commission.

As I sat in the audience thinking about what was being said I remembered community college administrators were pushing the idea

that there were different learning styles and people, particularly members of different ethnic groups. Now uniformity seems to have become

the sin qua nom of education. Standardized tests, everyone learn in the same electronic technological way. Diversity in, uniformity out.

Do college administrators really know how students learn? Or do they just know what to say to please their audiences, e.g. planning commissions?

As Richard pointed out, it is important to know your audience.

Today was another good day. No rain, good coffee in a relaxing environment, some nice conversations however brief and 11 miles. I am now a bit south of Jasper County on Illinois State Highway 130.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Friday, September 16, 2011

2011-10-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Loret Newlin in Newton, Illinois.

Walk: Friday, September 16, 2011

Clouds dominated the sky when I began walking south on State 33 from Dieterich. As the day progressed the weather seemed to improve, and it gave me no trouble as I walked. As they have, soybeans and corn dominated the landscape. About four miles south of Dieterich was Wheeler and about four miles further along I came to Lis. Both are small towns and in both the dominant feature is a grain elevator. In addition to the grain elevator there was a handful of residences in Wheeler and the road sign announcing the town indicated its population was 150. In Lis there was only one house across the highway from the elevator and no population was mentioned on the sign indicating I had reach the town. About 4 p.m. I reached Newton. Mary Gresham recently e-mailed me about the soybeans I have seen since Missouri. As I entered Newton there was a Farm Bureau office so I decided to ask some questions. Marilyn Schaefer confirmed what I suspected; many are exported. This morning a local newspaper said Gover Quinn of Illinois was going to China to work on a deal whereby China would purchase 180,000 tons of soybeans from Illinois and Marilyn provided me a paper that listed the 10 top nations purchasing American soybeans. China leads the list, $7,258,000,000 in 2008. I was surprised to see Mexico in second place with $1,784,000,000. Soybeans have a variety of uses e.g., their oils are used in cosmetics, crayons, soap, sunscreen, etc. They are also used in foods for livestock, poultry and pets as well as for human consumption. Carole, who as a Home Economics major, has a good background in nutrition, says they are a good protein source. Marilyn said farmers are now receiving $14 a bushel for them. I asked if they were more or less profitable than corn. She said it is a tradeoff. Farmers can earn more from corn, but it requires more capital to bring a corn crop to harvest. The dry summer this year has meant the soybeans are not as big as would be with more rain. Corn she said is higher than ever at seven dollars a bushel.

No sooner did I leave the farm Bureau Office than I saw Loret who had parked on a side street and waving to me. When I left Springfield Loret passed me and stopped to give me a brownie. She lives in Newton and had seen the article on me in the Effingham Daily News . She mentioned the Fall Festival which was being held around the Jasper County Court House and invited Carole and I to see it. A couple of blocks after I left Loret, a man who parked on a side street recognized me from the article in the Effingham Daily News. He, too, said I should see the Fall Festival. When Carole picked me up, I was about a block west of the Fall Festival, and we went. We saw Loret, she gives therapeutic messages and was setting up a booth. She showed us around the booths, mostly selling various craft items. Loret also introduced to many of the people there. Food booths seemed concentrated on the west side of the square and Loret said Joe's, an Italian restaurant also located on the west side, across the street from the court house was the best restaurant in town. Carole and I invited her to dinner with us at Joe's.

Loret invited Carole and me to stay with her. She said she lives in a 75 year old farm house with one toilet. We were not put off by the house being 75, or only having one toilet, but because we were already in a motel we declined. Although in retrospect perhaps we should split the distance between a motel in Effingham and one in Vincennes, Indiana more equably. Loret said her great great grandfather walked from California to Illinois. He went to California during the gold rush, but didn't see the elephant so, like many others, returned east on foot. Loret said although she knew this family legend, I was the first person she actually met who had walked from California to Illinois.

She also said something I have heard frequently since Downeyville, California; people don't have a job. They make ends meet by having jobs. (a in the sentence is used as what linguists would call a singular marker, the suffix s on job, of course denotes the plural.) Americans I have found as I walk increasingly have to piece together a living. I was introduced to a veterinarian who also served as a preacher. Loret said she broke a tooth, but didn't have dental insurance. She felt very fortunate to find a dentist who would fix it for a reasonable price. She sings his praise and said she has referred several people to him. This seemed like what I had heard of dentists in Kirksville, Missouri who were losing business as a result of the economic downturn the nation has experienced. Loret does therapeutic messages as well as variety of other things. Recently she has baby sat and tutored four children, whose parents were going to Florida for a few days. Loret had gone to college with the intention of becoming a teacher but realized she was not suited to be in a classroom. She said the children's assignments were clearly laid out, but the children can complete them in whatever order they choose, and since the children are at different grade levels she says the questions come at her from virtually every direction at once. It seems she is handling it well.

Loret said Jasper County has the highest percent of home schooled students in Illinois. Many of the parents are doing it for religious reasons, to make sure their children learn the same Christian values they hold. Then the children go to public high school. We then had a good discussion on the various reasons for home schooling. Given where I had began and ended today Loret figured I walked about 15 miles. I see no reason to question her on this. When we left Joes it was raining gently. Fortunately I was finished walking by then.

A very good day indeed. I found out a bit on soybeans, went to the Newton Fall Festival, got a bit better acquainted with Loret and walked 15 miles!

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Wednesday September 14, 2011

2011-10-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

A railroad trestle over Little Salt Creek east of Effingham, Illinois.

Walk: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

It was overcast when I began walking and from evidence on the motel parking lot, I concluded it rained last night. I am not too intimidated by the weather so I figured I could get a pretty good days walk in. I figured the rain had passed, and it had cooled off. Yesterday it was still warm, probably in the 80s and today when I began walking the electronic thermometers said it was in the upper 60s, and one even went so far as to tell me it was 71℉.

About half a mile after I began walking Jim Hedges drove his pickup truck into a bank parking lot and beckoned me over. He said he recognized me by my picture which was on the front page of the Effingham Daily News. He had a copy of the paper with him and showed me the picture and article. He said he had been at Steak and Shake and had discussed it with a woman who, he said was intrigued by what I was doing. He attempted to call her on his cell phone so I could talk to her, but she didn't answer.

After I had walked about two miles, I reached Joe Sippers where Carole was going to meet me for lunch after she went to a quilt store. When I got my coffee and sat down, a woman who identified herself as Linda said she recognized me from the picture on the front page of the paper, too. Linda is also a retired community college teacher. She taught nursing at Lake Land Community College. She says, on a part time basis, she still teaches one course. I mentioned the last two years I taught at Cuesta I served on the Nursing Selection Committee. Although many of my colleagues at Cuesta served on the same committee year after year, my strategy was to serve on a committee for three years then move to another, that way I got a sense of how the school operated. Perhaps my strategy reflected my anthropological upbringing, to attempt to see things wholistically.

When I left Joe Sippers, it was raining very gently. I didn't think it necessary to put on my poncho. After walking about half a mile I took off my glasses and put them in my backpack. I don't like to get rain on them when I am walking. Although the rain was still gentle after another quarter of a mile, I decided I had better put on my poncho. There was no wind, which made it easy to put my poncho on over my backpack. As I continued east on State Highway 33. ( Highway 32 which I had been on for some time joined 33 about five miles west of Effingham and 32 ended in Effingham at its juncture with U.S. Highway 40. ) As I continued east I was again amongst corn and soybean fields with occasional forested areas. Railroad tracks paralleled the highway, as can be seen in the picture.

As the afternoon progressed, the rain gradually increased in intensity. By 3 p.m. it was really coming down. I was thankful there was still no wind. An Effingham Sheriff Deputy stopped to ask if I was OK. I said I was. He took my word for it, but said procedure required him to ask for I.D. I said I put my wallet in a plastic bag in my backpack to keep it dry, and the backpack was under my poncho. He could see I really didn't want to take my poncho off in the rain, which was really coming down. He went to plan B. He asked me my full name and date of birth. I then remembered to show him the I.D. Bracelet my daughter Judy gave me for Christmas in 2009. He took it and said it was good I.D. Before leaving he cautioned me to be careful. I told him how I was dealing with the traffic, and he was satisfied.

The shoulder was narrow maybe a couple of feet wide. Traffic was pretty heavy, although because of the rain people were driving cautiously. It seemed frequently a string of about eight to ten cars would approach. Then I would step off the road a bit further into the grass and weeds along the road, stand still and let them pass. When 18 wheelers passed, I did the same. Because of the fairly heavy traffic it seemed like I was continually walking a bit them stopping. Now of course there was road slick as well as rain. It was OK there was nothing I could do about it but remain vigilant. I figured I am in it now. Then as if to up the ante, about 3:30 a strong cold north wind came up. By 4:45 p.m. I walked into the small town of Dieterich. I was hoping for a place to wait for Carole that would both provide some protection from the elements and where I would be visible from the highway. The best I could do was Dieterich Country Mart where I stood under the roof over the gas pumps, which of course was open on all four sides. Although it enabled me to get out of the rain it in no way protected me from the cold north wind. When Carole picked me up the temperature was in the mid 50s. A far cry from yesterday when even a seven mile walk left me perspiring. When Carole picked me up, my fingers were numb; about 4 p.m. I thought it would feel good to put my gloves on, but they were in my backpack under my poncho. I figured with only an hour to go before Carole picks me up, I would be OK. Now I am thinking Autumn was coming the harvest moon was full Monday, and now the weather has changed. What timing. I will have my gloves at the ready.

Despite Mother Nature I walked 12⅓ miles today. I made the front page of the newspaper, Cathy Thoele wrote a nice article. I had some nice conversations with people who read it, had a nice lunch with Carole at Joe Sippers. Today was a great day as well as a challenging day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Tuesday September 13, 2011

2011-10-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

A side road through a forested area off Illinois State Highway 32 north of Effingham.

Walk: Tuesday September 13, 2011

This morning it looked like it could rain, although it didn't. I didn't have far to walk to reach the motel where we were staying in Effingham. Yesterday, when Carole picked me up at 4:30 traffic on Highway 32 was a bit heavy and fast. That seemed to be commute traffic, which tends to be fast as people know the road and hurry to get home. Carole was a bit concerned about a stretch of about a mile that went through the forested area in the picture, the shoulder was narrow. Today it posed no problem, traffic was light and not nearly as fast as at day's end yesterday. That segment was enjoyable. After about three miles Highway 32 joined State Highway 33 and turned east. There were clusters of new upscale houses. One cluster featured very large magnificent homes and formal gardens. I then crossed a bridge over the Little Wabash River, which was barely flowing, beyond that was a slight rise and when I reached the top of the rise there was Effingham. I had reached a section of the city with the large chain; Walmart, Burger King, McDonalds, Starbucks, etc. Immediately after the I-70 overpass was the motel where we are staying, the Comfort Inn.

Some time ago I wrote about people who presented children's sermons reading to the children rather than presenting the sermon in story form. As I walked, I thought about the children's sermon we heard Sunday. The woman who presented it, Robin Yockey, did not read from a book, but perhaps should have. The order of worship said, "Children through the 4th grade are invited to come forward." Knowing their audience ranged from toddlers upward to fourth graders, the most sophisticated members of the audience. Someone who knew about story telling would know something about both the attention span of the audience and the vocabulary say second graders were likely to comprehend. Robin began with an attempt to explain how the day was "a very special day" to honor the heroes of 9/11. Most of the audience did not appear too clear about 9/11 or the concept of honor. Then Robin switched to the day also being special because it was Grandparent's Day, a day set aside as the first Sunday in September after Labor Day as Grandparent's Day in 1978 during the Carter administration. The children's sermon seemed to last longer than the children's attention span. As I walked today I pondered how I would have crafted the children's sermon if I had been asked to present it. I suspect I would have ignored 9/11 in favor of something I think the children were more familiar with, grandparents. I believe I would have then run back through my memories of my grandparents, to see if I could come up with some appropriate story. If I couldn't find one in my memory bank I would go to a story of Carole's parents, or my parent's interaction with our children.

I did receive some comments on my earlier comments on the of the ability to tell stories. My cousin Joanne Anstine wrote:

How right you are. A story is a powerful vehicle, a wonderfully interesting and provocative

way of putting across an idea, sharing a truth, captivating the attention of the listener. I am a

storyteller - been doing so since about 1982 or so...in schools, groups, to the elderly (rarely,

for being unable to hear is a definite handicap)... The benefit to telling a story over reading one

is that you can make eye contact with the listeners...and with children especially, it can be truly

powerful. Anyway, you are right - and too many congregations do use the reading from a book

(I say congregation because the "church" is the people, not the building or the denomination).

If it should happen again, when you are visiting a particular service, you could (as a visitor)

suggest the efficacy of telling vs reading. A thought.

Remembering Rev. Gerald King's sermon at Laurel UMC in Springfield a week earlier I should have, humble and in the spirit of reconciliation have as Joanne suggested.

I also received the following from Jeannie Ashby who was a student of mine one summer when I was a visiting professor at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. In my class I remember Jeannie always sat in the front row directly in front of the lectern, I assumed she was a student who always sat in front.

For what ever it is worth; you are the best story teller I have been able to listen to. I have

heard some Native American story tellers but none match up to you. Being in your class I took

a lot of notes/but the stories stuck. I'm not usually one to want to sit up front in a class room. I

loved going to your class and listening to your stories. It made the subject more real and

appealing. Easier to learn and study, too. Thanks for the stories.

Perhaps as I thought about it today it may reflect people's lack of confidence and/or a willingness to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone. In teaching Anthropology and Sociology by using stories I was saying, in effect to the students, this is how this concept connected to my life. It may well in some way relate to yours. Certainly those responsible for children's sermons ought to be able to connect their church's teachings to the children's lives.

Today was pretty relaxed, a short walk, a dip in the motel's swimming pool to cool off, a shower then a visit to a local coffee shop, Joe Sippers. I only walked seven miles but it is always nice to just walk into a motel. Yes, a great day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Monday September 12, 2011

2011-10-30T16:38:00.002-07:00

Cathy Thoele, a reporter for the Effingham Daily News interviewing me on the shoulder of Illinois State Highway 32 north of Effingham.

Walk: Monday, September 12, 2011

Sunday I didn't walk but went to church and figured I would get caught up in the relaxed atmosphere of the Shelby Inn. We went to First United Methodist Church, Shelbyville. We were, of course aware it was the tin anniversary ( using the traditional wedding anniversary accounting method) of 9/11. Reverend Lee Lovett preached on it. The sermon began by ruminating on the events, carefully noting the hour and minute they occurred as they unfolded on 9/11. Periodically throughout the sermon he paused to recount other events, carefully noting the time of its occurrence in the 9/11 sequence of events. He pointed out the way 9/11 is being widely celebrated today, including at National Football League games, versus the way Pearl Harbor was virtually ignored on its 10th anniversary on December 7, 1951. Points he attempted to develop included not to seek revenge. "We overcome evil with good by saying no to revenge." The point seemed to be weak, given the wars the United States has become involved in as a result of the 9/11 events. Another point Rev. Lovett focused on was honor, to honor those who acted heroically on 9/11. These included men and women whose names are not recorded in history. Again his sermon did not develop the point. Individual acts of heroism are passed down orally and occasionally make their way into print. Although I have not taken it on as a project, I suspect a local historian in New York City could ferret out numerous stories of heroism involving both fireman and non-firemen on 9/11. No such stories were mentioned in the sermon. Although to develop his point such stories would seem more appropriate than the chronological approach he took. Rev. Lovett did not elaborate on which was more desirable; the closure Americans experienced with Pearl Harbor or the continual reminder of the unpleasant memories of 9/11. Finally he said, " we often demand answers we will never have." Likely we have the answers, but they are answers we don't like. Since President Truman, who for political reasons, recognized Israel in 1948, we have supported Israel even in their treatment of the indigenous Palestinians. We have determined that women in Afghanistan should have "rights" similar to those of early 21st century American women. We fought to drive the Iraqis out of Kuwait in the Gulf War of 1990-1991, then went well beyond the Iraq-Kuwait border and imposed restrictions on Iraqi sovereignty, etc. We seem to have the answers. The handwriting is on the wall. However, they are not the answers we want to hear. The sermon was interesting yet seemed to reflect America's own confusion and biases about 9/11.

After church we went for breakfast at the Court House Inn across the Court House Square from the Shelby County Court House, a beautiful building constructed in 1881. The Court House Inn had a high ceiling and the walls were covered with pictures of various Illinois court houses; some were historic. There were other historic pictures as well as those of the court houses.

Today when we checked out of the Shelby Inn we talked to the owner, Ken Fry, who has owned the inn for 41 years. he asked me about my walk and was particularly interested in my having crossed Nevada on U.S. Highway 50. He said he has driven this road several times and likes it. I asked him if he had seen Van's Hall in Delta, Utah. He said 'no" although he had stayed in Delta. I told him I would e-mail him some pictures of it. He asked me if I had seen the "shoe tree" before it was cut down. I said I did and would e-mail him that too. He said when he told people in Shelbyville about it, some people didn't believe him. My high school classmate, Ted Smith and his wife Susan Wiesner, were walking with me the day we passed the shoe tree. I don't remember how many pictures they took of it, but now they are historic pictures.

After leaving Shelbyville Carole dropped me off where I stopped walking Saturday, a bit south of Strasburg. The land was basically flat and traffic wasn't bad. THe landscape, as it has been, is dominated by soybeans and corn. After about six miles I reached the outskirts of Stewardson, most of the town lies to the west of Highway 32. I stopped at the Citgo Store, a convenience store on the highway and got a large cup of ice and cola. When I got ready to leave I filled the cup with ice to let melt in my mouth as I walked.

I walked perhaps two miles and was still working on ice in the cup when I heard a voice behind me. When I turned around, I saw a young woman who asked me if I was walking across the country. She identified herself as Cathy Thoele, a reporter for the Effingham Daily News. I said I was. She then asked me if she could interview me. I agreed. She interviewed me on the shoulder of the road, which was none too wide as can be seen in the picture. She parked her car about a quarter of a mile north of where she caught up with me for the interview where she could find a place she could pull her car completely off the highway. After the interview she started back with her back to traffic. I told her to cross the road to face traffic, she did.

Since we moved today Carole picked me up at 4 p.m. Today was warm, in the low 90s, but comfortable walking. Stopping at a convenience store and stopping for an interview broke the day up nicely. Still I walked about 10½ miles today. It was a good Sunday and Monday.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Saturday September 10, 2011

2011-10-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

A statue of Abraham Lincoln and Anthony Thornton in front of the Shelby County Court House Shelbyville, Illinois. Commerating their August 9, 1856 debate on the issue of slavery.

Walk: Saturday, September 10, 2011

I took Friday off, rested and almost got caught up on updates. The Shelby Inn is a great place to relax. Today I walked east from the motel on Illinois State Highway 29. In the downtown area I passed the Shelby County Court House. The statues you see are in front of it. The Court House itself is a beautiful structure, built in 1881. There were two earlier court houses, the first one being a two story log building that lasted five years. All the court houses were located on essentially the same site. Abraham Lincoln during his years as an attorney on the Eighth Circuit visited Shelbyville frequently. A historical marker said itinerate attorneys such as Lincoln, travel together with the Circuit Court Judge and State's Attorney. When they reached a town, accommodations might be limited, and they would have to share the same room and some might have to share the same bed. This, of course, was long before the "right to privacy' a concept said to have developed after World War II.

Interestingly, it said most of the cases involved slander and the plaintiff, if he won the case, might receive a settlement of approximately $ 400. Often the plaintiff returned the settlement to the defendant, since his motive in bringing the suit was not to make money but to preserve his good reputation. The marker did indicate that Lincoln defended Davy Crocket's feeble minded nephew on a murder charge and had the charges reduced from murder to manslaughter, then later worked to get him pardoned as feeble minded.

The plaque near the statue pictured above said sculptor John McClarey's positioning was meant to suggest the body language of two men engaged in a: friendly debate in a bi-partisan context. The statuary suggests a need that existed then as now to work together in a friendly and civil manner in order to find lasting solutions to common problems. Both Abraham Lincoln and Anthony Thornton exhibited a great magnanimity of spirit during the debate. And the theme of rational political discourse is always timely.

Across the street from the court house was an impressive monument honoring veterans. The monument was erected in 1907 and the four figures at the base appear to be Union Civil War solders, above them rises an obelisk. In front of the monument an eternal flame burns. Although from the date of its construction and appearance it would seem to honor Civil War veterans is it has been extended to honor all Shelby County Veterans down to the present.

Immediately after the Court House Square I crossed the railroad tracks and was out of town. I then crossed the Kaskaska River and looking to the north could see the Shelbyville Dam behind which is Lake Shelbyville, a large lake said to cover 11,000 acres. The dam is about a quarter of a mile north of the road and between the dam and the highway was a park along the river. Several people were fishing along the river's banks as I passed. After that there were some businesses that require space and in general supplied the needs of agriculture, such as seed and farm equipment. These businesses were interspersed with corn and soybean fields. As I passed a field I noticed a large flock of blackbirds in a corn field. It seems as the summer has progressed the blackbirds have given up on cackling at anything that believe might possibly threaten their nests and have flocked up.

As I walked, I thought about the message on the statue and about the problem with politics. A historical marker said many towns had two newspapers, one with a Democratic bias and the other with a Republican slant. In either case objective reporting was not a high priority. The marker had the articles relating to the Lincoln-Thornton debate and the only thing they appeared to agree on was the names of the two participants. If McClarey wanted to present the debate as a friendly bi-partisan event that perspective was not shared by local newspapers of the day. My cousin Joanne Anstine some time ago sent me a quote from President George Washington about Congress, he made about the time he decided to run for a second term as President. "It would be much better if an honest Congress were elected." As would be true today it is unlikely all members of Congress are dishonest or put their personal commitments and personal interests above those of the nation, but seemingly enough of them did that President Washington felt the generalization was appropriate.

If America is facing a crisis, it seems American politics need some revamping. We hear a lot about "sustainability" although it still seems to be little more than a cliché. We are certainly no longer in our growth period as when Lincoln lived in a largely frontier New Salem or gold could be extracted from streams in the Sierra Nevada with a pan. What standard of living would Americans like to sustain, what population could be supported at that level, how much national uniformity would we want and how much regional differences would we find tolerable? What type of foreign policy can we sustain in terms of the government aid and the goals of the wars we engage in. Perhaps America today needs to follow President Theodore Roosevelt's idea when he convened the conference of Governors in May 1908 on conservation. Today omitting the governors but convening a wide variety of persons with expertise in a variety of topics such as demography, economics, foreign policy, agriculture, transportation, business, education, medicine, criminology as well as many others. Convened over a period of time as was Vatican II. It seems America may need some thinking outside the box, the political box.

After walking east for about 10½ miles on State Highway 16 I came to State Highway 32 and turned south on it. After four miles I came to Strasburg a town of 650. As I entered the town, the houses reminded me of Pana, houses spaced at some distance from each other amongth mature trees and the grass neatly cropped, giving the area a park like appearance. I have seen it in many of the small towns I have walked through since Eastern Colorado. Toward the center of town the houses, some fairly new and some old, were more conventionally placed on lots.

After reaching about a mile south of town, Carole picked me up. I had walked 16 miles today. The temperature was in the low 70s and the shoulder relatively wide, at least in most places. It was overcast and all day it looked like it might rain at any time, but it didn't. There was no wind,every flag I saw was hanging limp on its staff.

We ate at The Farmhouse Restaurant on the eastern outskirts of Shelbyville. It advertised "home cooking;" it could have been a bit more specific and said "southern style home cooking" The buffet featured a reasonably good salad bar and hush puppies, okra, fried chicken, two type of deep fried fish, barbeque ribs, mashed and baked potatoes. It is the first time in Illinois I have seen hush puppies and okra. If you ordered from the menu, you could get horseshoes and for the dieters pony shoes. It is the first time, other than in Springfield we have seen them on a menu.

Sixteen miles! Today was a great day!

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Thursday September 8, 2011

2011-10-03T07:20:00.001-07:00

The Shelby Inn in Shelbyville, Illinois.

Walk: Thursday, September 8, 2011

Today I wanted to reach the motel where we are staying, the Shelby Inn. I thought it would be a relatively easy walk. I estimated about seven miles, more realistically it was only 5½. Carole dropped me off at the junction of State Highway 16 and 1300 East Road. Almost immediately I walked over Roberson Creek which was flowing, but just barely. The water had a lot of scum on it. As yesterday I walked by an abandoned farmhouse in the process of decay. As I entered Shelbyville the first thing I saw was the Walmart Superstore. It was followed by other retail stores both in malls and individually. After the Sporteman Restaurant I was in a residential area and I reached the Shelby Inn where we are staying.

As I walked, I thought of a brief article Joanne Neft sent me on the homogenization of America. The article was based on the book Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks by Byrant Simon. I have certainly seen the national and multinational chains. They are all in the big cities, often in several different locations, many exist in small cities, and a few are found in the larger towns and some, such as Pizza Hut and Subway even in small towns. It further concludes there is nostalgia about Main street with its variety of stores, each a bit different a.k.a. unique. When the only chains were Woolworths' and J.J. Newberry's, which were content to locate on Man Street. Although I see this, it seems to represent an attempt to provide the maximum of goods to people at the lowest price given existing technology; automobiles to transport goods from store to homes and 18 wheelers to transport goods from warehouses to stores. Every culture needs a degree of homogeneity, or universals. (Universals is used in two ways in anthropology 1) Traits assumed to be characteristic of all members of a society. For example, Americans assume all Americans speak English. Some may not; they may just have immigrated, or they may be babies that have not yet learned the language. 2) Traits characteristic of all humans in all cultures. For example, they have some form of family, economic system.)

The issue I see is what should be homogenous and what should reflect diversity. I do not use diversity in the narrow affirmative action sense of the word, but to reflect regional, vocational and theoretical differences. For example since I have been in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois agriculture has been dominated by soybeans and corn. It reminded me of when I was a student at Santa Rosa High School (SRHS). The morning bulletins that were read to us reported all the successes of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). It seemed to me as a student that SRHS must have had the best FFA program in the state if not the nation. Judging teams were continually winning state and national competitions. When I taught at Yuba City High School from 1962-1966, the morning bulletin kept mentioning how their FFA Chapter won competition after competition. I realized at the time the two schools won in entirely different categories and I doubt they ever competed directly against each other. SRHS won competitions dealing with sheep, dairy cattle, etc. Yuba City won in categories like agricultural equipment, land leveling. As the crow flies the two towns are less than 200 miles apart, but Santa Rosa is located in a valley in the North Coast Range and Yuba City in the Sacramento Valley. Their agriculture was then and, although it has changed, is still different and the difference was reflected in their FFA programs. Now we find education becoming more standardized on a national scale without much discussion about the how desirable is it to standardize education on a national scale. Standardize it on what used to be known as a college prep curriculum would seem even more questionable.

Perhaps the one local school board trustee that seemed to buy fully into the higher standards was a member of the Manhattan, Kansas School Board. He was pleased to hear that about 46% of the junior high students took algebra so they could in his words, "position themselves for careers in engineering and the hard sciences." When I attended that Board meeting the news was filled with McDonald's announcement they would hire nationwide 50, 000 workers on April 19. The news reported several members of Congress were happy with McDonald's decision. When I read local newspapers I often look at the classified ads for help wanted. It seems, since Kansas, the most frequent adds are for truck or occasionally school bus drivers.

I remember one of the messages the Federal Reserve Museum in Kansas City attempted to convey, and they weren't at all subtle about it, managing personal finances. Avoid debt you can't manage.

The homogenizing of American education may be far more dysfunctional than the chains I see in the towns through which I pass. Could a local school district, in any state, take the bull by the horns and develop a program for fitting students to function effectively as employees of fast food chains? Perhaps preparing them to advance to managerial positions? Could some school expand its driver's education/driver's training program to prepare students to acquire chauffeur's licenses to drive trucks and busses? Could they postpone algebra a bit and teach students to balance checkbooks, compute the cost of making minimum payments on the balance of their credit cards, estimating monthly income vs. expenses. Many, even reasonable well educated and successful people, are ignorant of this. I remember a teacher from my days at Yuba City High. We had the same prep period, and it was always entertaining to listen to his tales of woe when he received his monthly bank statement. When I walked with my cousin Dick Gilman, he recounted a story he had heard about a man who bought a car and the payments put him over the edge, resulting in the car being re-possessed.

It does appear that in a time of great change, crisis?, America might find it profitable to reexamine some of its past traditions. Obviously not all traditions will work in the future. Some, though, might. Local control is certainly an old American tradition, and it may profitably be brought back, at least in some areas of our social life, as in education.

Personally, when I taught, I always figured if I did what everyone else did I was average. I always attempted to provide my students an advantage, provide them the theory behind the data, how to study effectively, the importance of professional conferences, etc. It does appear that by homogenizing education, teachers are increasingly forced to be average with the range of acceptable narrowed.

Perhaps it is the school districts and teachers that are not doing what everyone else in doing that need to be studied to see how successful they are in their situation. Perhaps, too, the concept of homogenization needs to be studied to determine where it is and isn't appropriate.

Today's walk was short. It is always nice to walk into the motel where we are staying. My thoughts on the homogenization of America are rambling. I suspect other peoples are too. I was able to get to the Shelby Inn just before it began raining lightly. Carole and I ate some more bread we were given at Laurel UMC as we sat on the porch outside our motel room relaxing, I worked on Updates.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Wednesday September 7, 2011

2011-10-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

An abandoned railroad bridge paralleling Illinois State Highway 29 east of Pana.

Walk: Wednesday September 7, 2011

Today Carole dropped me off on Illinois State Highway 29 and 400 North Road, a bit north of Pana where I stopped walking yesterday . I soon reached Pana, a town of about 5,800. As I entered the town, the houses seemed widely spaced amid mature trees and the grass, turned from the recent heat and lack of rain to a straw color, was neatly cut. It had a park like appearance. As I got further into town the houses were closer together on more traditional city lots. Some of them looked like they were in need of maintenance. The downtown business district looked like many I have seen with vacant commercial buildings. As I continued east on 29 on my left was an old, long, low, cement wall and behind it forest. I looked over the wall and saw a lot of cement rebar, wire etc. I did not investigate further but wondered what had been there, perhaps a factory of some sort? At the east end of town there were some nice newer homes. A bit further Highway 29 ended, and I started east on State Highway 16.

East of Pana I stopped at a old cement bridge over a creek. Behind me was the abandoned railroad bridge pictured above. The rail of the bridge provided a nice bench and the trees you can see in the picture provided enough shade to make it a comfortable place to stop for a bite to eat. Sunday when we attended Laurel UMC, because we were visitors, we were given a loaf of bread. Carole bought some sliced swiss cheese which I had in my back pack along with a healthy chunk of the loaf. I broke the bread and inserted some cheese and had lunch. Eating bread from Laurel and breaking the bread into chunks gave me the feeling of communion. No alter rail, but a bridge railing and an old railroad bridge behind me.

Tower Hill, a town of about 600, is about four miles east of Pana. I stopped at the Casey's General Store, which seems more a convenience store associated with a gas station. It did have a cola dispenser where I got a cup, put in a large quantity of ice then added cola. As I walked, I gradually sipped the coke and let the ice dissolve in my mouth. It was more satisfying than a luke warm bottle of water from my backpack. The landscape today was, as it has been corn and soybeans. Murray e-mailed me the following question "Are you getting bored with soy beans and corn yet?' I would say no. The corn perhaps is more interesting, how it has grown over the summer and the dry spell and heat have effected it. Soybean fields always seem so green in contrast with the corn. The occasional forests and farm houses, both occupied and abandoned offer variation, too. I would say I am not bored.

I have received a lot of comments on letting school out early due to heat. Tom Potter one of my high school classmates and a retired Education Professor from California State University, Northridge said:

I think that the lesson you discuss in today's account is a very good one, one that is
lost on many Americans. Life isn't always comfortable and living in air conditioning is not always
the best way to live. We can and often do just keep the rooms we live in at 76 degrees summer
and winter. That leads to a kind of inability to understand a lot about our world.

Temperature is not just some abstract concept.to be controlled. Many of us do know
and appreciate the seasons and their significant differences. We can appreciate a cold snap,
We can live well, as you do these days, by drinking a lot of water and exercising in reasonable

heat. It's a way of connecting to the world as it really is.

Richard Osborne, who teaches Anthropology at Porterville College in the San Joaquin Valley of California which can be very hot replied: "Whenever the classroom becomes too hot or too cold, or we have a power outage (several times I have lectured using a flashlight for illumination), I tell the students, “we’re anthropologists . . . . we adapt to environmental changes and become stronger for it!” Richard also made the following observations on my comments on the secondary functions of education: "This is one of my big concerns with degree granting programs that are entirely online. Students miss out on much of the process of education."

Jeannie Ashby a retired elementary teacher said:

I did all the things you said/taught outside under the shade. Los Osos has the perfect weather for

teaching. Not too hot or too cold. Substitute teaching I used a water bottle with a mist spray and

asked the child if they wanted a squirt. Atascadero does get hot. At the high school the students

just go for a swim on breaks, or wear cloths with less fabric;which doesn't fit the dress code.

My cousin Joanne Anstine who went to school in Sacramento , California which can get hot and who now lives in Oklahoma commented:

We went to school in all kinds of weather, walked no matter what, and there were no excuses

about our not "being able to learn" when it is hot... Here in Oklahoma, you go to school no

matter how hot. Only "excuse" for not going...snow and ice on the road...which has nothing to

do with "not being able to learn when it is cold,"

My cousin Bill Gass commented as follows: "If you took a page from the book of the schools that had to let their students out early because it was too hot to learn, and decided that you would only walk when the conditions were optimal - say between 65 and 75 degrees and no rain or wind, it would take you 20 years to complete your walk."

It seems the school year that begins in Early Fall and ends in Late Spring confronts some hot days at both ends of the school year. It may be that some of the problem lies with school architecture, schools being built without windows that open and totally dependent on air conditioning systems that can malfunction. Then there are students grasping any excuse to not learn. The high school Carole and I attended which was built in the 1920s had windows that were hinged in the middle and could be opened to the point where the window pane was parallel to the ground. In contrast the community college where I taught has windows that don't open, dependent on an air conditioning system that rarely worked well.

Carole picked me up the junction of 1300 East Road and Highway 16. I walked 12¼ miles today. It was pleasant temperatures again in the 70s and a breeze from the north. It was a great day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Tuesday September 6, 2011

2011-10-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

A bicycle trail utilizing an abandoned railroad track paralleling Illinois State Highway 29 south of Taylorville.

Walk: Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Today I didn't walk very far. Before I began I had to get a prescription refilled, which went smoothly. Sometimes when Carole has had prescriptions refilled it is difficult so I was felt fortunate. As I was about to walk, my cousin Marcia Gilbert called. I began walking at 100 North Road and State Highway 29. Paralleling 29 is a bicycle trail created from an abandoned railroad right of way. I don't use trails unless I know where they go. Since Carole picks me up in the afternoon, I want to be sure I can get back to the road where she expects to see me. This one I know parallels 29 to Pana, so I decided to take advantage of it. The trail, as can be seen from the picture, was forested much of its length on one or both sides. Occasionally there were views of the highway to my left and corn and soybean fields to my right. I wish I had walked this stretch when it was hot last week. Today the temperature was in the low to mid 70s with a stiff north wind. Walking was easy and I didn't have to worry about traffic. I soon reached Owaneco, a small town. The main business seemed to be its grain elevator. Men were working on it seemingly preparing it for this year's approaching corn harvest. Owaneco's business district was small and confined to a couple of blocks, many of what had been stores were now empty. I was surprised to see the Glen Earl Wine Shop on South Main Street. Although it wasn't open when I was there, it was open only three days a week and then its hours were limited. After about four more miles I reached another even smaller town, Millersville. Again the dominant features was the grain elevator. I walked another few miles and Carole called me to say she had gone to the quilt store in Shelbyville and when the owner found out what we were doing, she called Valorie Eversole a reporter for the Shelbyville Daily Union, who came to the quilt store to interview Carole. She said there was a City Council meeting and if I attended it she would interview me, too. Carole called me, and we decided she would come and pick me up so I could shower and attend the City Council meeting at 7 p.m. I then left the bicycle trail and got back on 29 and reached 400 North Road, about half a mile north of Pana.

As I walked today I thought of some of the interesting comments I have received on recent Updates. On horseshoes my brother, Joe, sent me the following:

I was intrigued by eating horseshoes, so I did a little internet research on them. It seems they are a Springfield

specialty (kind of like Buffalo wings). Like all these kinds of “inventions” there seems to be conflicting stories

surrounding its invention. It seems to have been first served in the late 1920’s at the Leland Hotel in Springfield.

You had better not eat too many as they contain about 1900 calories per sandwich, but if you want lighter fare you could order a ponyshoe – one slice of bread and one serving of meat. Happy atherosclerosis.

I did have a horseshoe and Carole had a pony shoe. They do seem to be pretty much confined to Springfield. We did not see them on the menus of the restaurants where we ate in Jacksonville nor have we seen them on the menu here in Shelbyville. In Springfield the Holy Land Diner advertised "Greek Horseshoes" and D'Arcy's Pint advertised a variety of horseshoes; chicken, corned beef, pork. We did not see any listed as low calorie or vegetarian.

Murray seems to be on the same page as most of the comments I received on horseshoes with the following "A heavy diet of horse shoes could easily up your weight to that of a horse, or at least a Shetland pony."

Americans are great blamers. Fast food chains seem now to be the focus of blame for Americans obesity problem, but the eating habits of the general public go a long way in explaining it. As I entered Springfield I, remembered the old saying "When in Springfield do as the Springfielders do." I had a horseshoe once. I guess if I lived in Springfield and treated them as a rare delight to have only occasionally it wouldn't be too bad but eating them on a regular basis would lead to obesity.

When I arrived at the City Council meeting a few minutes before the meeting started, I was a bit surprised how quiet it was. In contrast to recent city council meetings I have attended, none of the Council Members were talking to each other or members of the audience. The agenda proved not to be controversial. Occasionally the Mayor directed the Council members' attention to documents relating to one or another issue, which I did not have to refer to. The Council Members seemed to have done their homework and were ready to vote on the issues before them with a minimum of discussion. Every item brought before the Council passed unanimously. In some instances the Council heard reports, such as from a representative of the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management concerning the city's insurance coverage. The woman making the presentation said the League covers over 700 Illinois communities, mostly smaller towns and cities. She said larger cities (those over 35,-40,00, such as Springfield and Chicago) self insure, although they may have some catastrophic insurance. The presenter pointed out the deductibles for various situations, e.g. $500 for equipment accidents, none on liability. The Council listened to the presentation. A presentation was made by a woman representing the Chamber of Commerce about Scarecrow Daze, a major Fall community festival, the Columbus Day weekend. They requested the use of a park, a street closed for a parade as well as a parking lot closure. The Police Chief was asked about, and agreed to it so all the requests were granted. The bargaining agreement for the Fraternal Order of Police and Operating Engineers was discussed and passed. The police agreed to a wage freeze this year and next and a restructuring of their insurance. The Operating Engineers, who were defined by the Mayor as virtually all other city employees agreed to a pay freeze this year and a cost of living increase next year of between 1.5 and 3%. Additionally the employees would assume the responsibility for $600 to cover the cost of their insurance. It was indicated the Police also agree to pick up a similar share of the cost of their insurance. A proposal to purchase a truck for the Sewer Department was presented. The truck would replace a 17 year old truck. A dealer in Shelbyville gave what was considered a good price on a new truck and all things being equal the presenter said he liked to see business done with local providers of goods. The purchase was moved and passed unanimously. When considering some requests for liquor licenses the Council recessed and convened as the Liquor Commission. One was a request for a temporary license for a Chamber of Commerce event, the other for a business license. After considering these issues the Council reconvened as the Council for the remainder of the issues on their agenda.

After the meeting the atmosphere seemed more relaxed and the members of the Council and remaining audience talked. Valorie Eversole, who had interviewed Carole earlier today interviewed me in a room next to the Council Chambers. One of the Council members waited patiently to lock up the building and after I left, he and Valorie talked briefly.

It was a great day. I didn't walk as far as I thought I would because I attended the City Council meeting, still I did 8¼ miles. The bicycle trail was pleasant, as was the temperature; even getting my prescription refilled went well. I enjoyed the City Council meeting, another great day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2011

2011-10-03T07:16:00.001-07:00

Taylorville, Illinois High School.

Walk: Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2011

Yesterday I didn't walk, rather we went to church, and then did laundry. This week we went to the 10:45 service of Laurel United Methodist Church (UMC). Rev. Gerald King met us as we entered the sanctuary and inquired about us. I told him I was walking across the nation. During his announcements he introduced me and urged members of the congregation to greet me after the service, several did as they were asked. His sermon title was "The Weak Link." The scripture lesson was Matthew 18: 15-20 which is concerned with correcting a fault of a member of the church. Rev. King said church communities in Jesus' time may have been the stable cohesive communities implied in this passage, or the passage might have been an ideal that never really was achieved. If a community is only as strong as its weakest link, then correcting the faults of the members is important for all. The passage dealt with a religious community, but it would also be true of other social groups, such as families, schools, communities, Congress, etc. The question Rev. King addressed was how do you correct the faults of another member of your group? He suggested a person do it humbly, with compassion and in the spirit of reconciliation. He also suggested you should follow Jesus' admonition to not judge so you will not in turn be judged. Rev. King said it is fortunate that Jesus did not blame people and in correcting someone a person would be well advised to do the same.

The sermon provided other suggestions as well. He told a story about a Christian invited to a stoning. When he arrived he was given the honor of casting the first stone. Remembering Jesus' admonition about throwing the first stone he said, "I'll go second." It reminded me of something I have thought about for some time and as I walked today gave it some more thought, how people deliberately twist meaning to suit themselves. It reminded me of a news story, maybe 10 years ago about a person who stole something from a church in Florida. The person was caught and convicted and the judge was a bit lenient with the sentence which he said he felt was in the spirit of Christ's admonition to "turn the other cheek." The minister of the church was was outraged at the judge's leniency and said if he got an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, he would turn the other cheek. As I remember the Biblical quote it goes "You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you when someone strikes you on one cheek turn to him the other." It does appear the meaning of Christ's statement is reasonably clear. I would suppose a person could say they believe some, but not all, of Christ's teachings. It seems some people desperately want to use the Bible, or other authoritative documents, to support their positions while twisting their meaning to suit themselves. Another example is the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution as providing justification for people to acquire arms of whatever kind and for whatever reasons they choose. The function, defining the goals for which the Constitution was written are clearly, yet rather generally, stated in the Preamble. "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure the domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States." The remainder of the Constitution defines how the framers felt the goals as defined in the Preamble would best be achieved; given their understanding of the recently won Revolutionary War, the situation the 13 independent states found themselves in at the time and their understanding of political philosophy. The Second Amendment says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Militias of citizens were important in the period when the Constitution was written in contrast to the mercenary soldiers of the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Now what I hear and see in support of the Second Amendment are clichés. "Guns save lives," " If guns were outlawed only criminals would have guns," etc. So guns are available to Americans with a variety of emotional problems, phobias and extreme causes as well as many who might be considered unproblematic, hunters, target shooters, farmers protecting their livelihood from predatory animals, collectors of antique weapons, etc. Many supporters of unrestrained gun ownership seem to present themselves as supporting the Constitution, yet they seem both unwilling and unable to show how their stance has led to domestic tranquility and justice. I wondered, too, would today's extreme supporters of the Second Amendment be wiling to abide by the first clause of the sentence and, regardless of age or sex, report say twice a month for militia drills. Yes, even in 103〫weather.

Today we checked out of the motel where we were staying in Springfield for one in Shelbyville. Carole dropped me off near 1900 North Road about a mile north of Sharpsburg. The landscape today was as it has been dominated by corn and soybeans. The corn is ripening and the stalks drying. The weather had cooled off dramatically; the temperature today was in the mid 70s with a north wind blowing that was projected as between 15 and 30 m.p.h. I doubt the wind ever reached 30 m.p.h., but it was constant and cooling. Walking was comfortable today. With the breeze and the dry corn stalks when I walked past corn fields I could hear a gentle rustling. I said grasshoppers had not swarmed this year. Today they did. As they hopped, they hit me, and landed on me. Do they realize Fall is approaching and if they want to swarm they had better get with it? Taylorville is a small city of 11, 200. I did stop at a Wendy's for a milkshake and a cup of water. I continued south on State Highway 29. As I continued south two women stopped. They said they had seen me walking earlier in the day as they were driving to Springfield. They were returning from an event they had made brownies for and had a few left and offered me one. It was very good.

Despite moving from a motel in Springfield to one in Shelbyville I walked 12½ miles today. When it is cooler I tend to walk faster. I also saw another small American flag in the dirt beside the road. It is badly tattered. If I were close to Hot Suphur Springs, Colorado I would give it to Angus Simpson for proper handling as I did when I found one near Steamboat Springs. It has been a great couple of days. Today was a great day for walking!

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Saturday September 3, 2011

2011-10-03T07:15:00.001-07:00

Carole at New Salem, Illinois.

Walk: Saturday, September 3, 2011

Yesterday I took the day off to go to New Salem. This is an interesting reconstructed village. Abraham Lincoln came here when he left his family of orientation. When he moved there, it was a frontier town on the Sangamon River, and those who moved there had high hopes for. Lincoln, said he came here like a piece of driftwood, and during the six years he lived there he did a variety of things. He took a flatboat down the Sangamon to the Illinois then the Mississippi and hence to New Orleans. He also also worked as a surveyor, postmaster, owned with a partner a store which failed. In his his spare time he studied and it was said when he was postmaster he could read the newspapers that came to people in the community, and he studied law. While there he developed his focus. It seems that about the time Lincoln left, others left as well, and New Salem became a ghost town. In the early 1900s interest in New Salem developed due to its relation to Lincoln. William Randolph Hurst purchased it, and eventually it was acquired as a state park by Illinois. Although some structures had been reconstructed earlier, a lot of the village was reconstructed by the CCC during the Great Depression.

We had heard we should visit New Salem. John Harney of Curran, when he gave me a bottle of water and we talked said, I should see it. He said he has lived in the area all his life and about once a year visits New Salem often on a night when it is lit by candles and fires in the fireplaces with docents in period costumes. When we were there, we discovered this occurs annually in October. When we were there the women in the museum store said we were there at the best time of the year; between the Summer crowds and the time when children arrive on field trips. Certainly it was not crowded yesterday. It was relaxing. There were lots of benches in the shade that we took advantage of. When we were sitting on a bench Carole received a call from Jill Sabol and Leslie Brown, two women Carole quilts with when we are at home. There were two women playing period music on dulcimers. Carole talked to them and they attempted to convince her she should take up the dulcimer. Although it was hot, 103〫F., it was a relaxing day.

Today I did not get as early a start as I would have liked. I started walking south on State Highway 29 where I ended Thursday about two or three miles south of Rochester. I passed the town of Berry. Highway 29 arches around it to the east. Looking at it from the highway it seemed to consist of a grain elevator and some residences. South of Berry the highway went from a four lane divided highway with wide asphalt shoulders to a two lane highway with asphalt shoulders about two feet wide. I would not say traffic was heavy, but it was constant and I had to keep alert. A sign said I reached Breckenridge, which seemed to consist of an abandoned cafe on the north side of the highway. Immediately after the cafe I passed a sign that said "Brenckeridge" pointed in the opposite direction. After another six miles I reached Edinburg, a town of about 1,100. There was an Ayerco convenience store, where I was able to get a large cup of cola and ice and a table where I could sit and relax for a few moments. Then I walked another couple of miles and just before Carole picked me up the four lane divided highway with wide shoulders returned.

Today I thought about American's romanticizing the past. I have heard comments, although admittedly not recently, about the country being headed toward revolution with the tone being the speaker agreed it would be necessary. I will admit that the American Revolution turned out pretty well for America in the long run. Perhaps the crucial event did not occur during the Revolutionary War at all which for practical purposes ended with Lord Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown in 1781, even before the Treaty of Paris was concluded in 1783. The Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia in 1787. Most rebellions turn out poorly, an examination of those that occurred the 20th Century would likely conclude rebellions most likely lead to swapping one dictator for another, or one dysfunctional government for another dysfunctional government. Americans seem to naively believe the exception is the rule. Can you imagine Americans today gathering a group of the best minds of our time hammering out a constitution that included compromises on a wide range of issues, keeping in mind the need to accomplish this for the common good? Certainly Congress' recent actions regarding the budget crisis provided no evidence a majority of the members of that body would be willing to put their ideological and/or personal commitments aside for the good of the nation. More likely if a revolution were to occur the nation would find itself in a situation where many conflicting interests, many of them well armed, would fragment the nation, with strife becoming endemic. The romantic fantasy that we would have a revolution after which we would emerge as a happy unified nation seem to have no historical president. At some point I learned a revolution resulted in a significant change in the structural characteristics; a rebellion only resulted in a change in the leadership. Likely if America did experience a revolution it would emerge in a very different form, yes it would be a "revolution." Again, it could be asked what is the understanding of those who approvingly see America headed toward revolution? Is it a junior high level? At that level The Revolutionary War is presented as a glorious and patriotic event. The Constitutional Convention is presented as following the revolutionary War almost automatically, with the period 1781-1787 covered by the sentence. "The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation became apparent so delegates met in Philadelphia to write a constitution."

It would be interesting to interview people who view revolutions in such positive light. A young anthropologist might want to consider such a study.

We drove back to Springfield and ate at the Holy Land Diner. It featured a buffet of vegetarian dishes which were good. The atmosphere was very relaxed. When we left, the woman who, with her husband seemed to be the proprietor, asked Carole if we lived in Springfield. When she replied I was walking across the nation, she introduced us to some other customers who apparently were regulars.

I walked 11 miles today. It was a bit cooler than it has been. The high temperature was in the 98-99°F. range. Humidity was low; someone told me it was only around 20%. Both yesterday and today were good days. We are certainly glad we visited New Salem yesterday and today's walk was easy. A great couple of days.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Thursday September 1, 2011

2011-10-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

A boarded up house in a poor neighborhood on South Grand Ave. Springfield, Illinois.

Walk: Thursday, September 1, 2011

Today I began walking east on South Grand Ave, from Sixth Street. There were a variety of businesses along the street, but it was definitely a less prosperous area than those I passed through further west yesterday. I then walked under a railroad underpass, and I definitely was on the other side of the tracks. When East Grand reemerged from its dip under the underpass the first building on my left was a bar, "Bourbon Street." It had sold its last drink and was out of business. The first block east of the underpass had some other commercial buildings standing empty. As I walked east, the area was essentially residential. Some of the houses were well maintained; most looked like they could use quite a bit of maintenance, and some were boarded up. there were some convenience stores, a tobacco shop, churches. It was a poor neighborhood. After four miles I came to I-72. There were some businesses that appealed to traffic on the freeway. There was Popeye's and a Burger King. I went into the King's place and ordered a milkshake only to b told the milkshake machine didn't work, and they were waiting for a new one. I know people in poor sections of a city often have to settle for poorer goods and services, in this instance a poor King.

Once I passed I-72 it seemed I was again in the country and the road changed its name from South Grand Ave to State Highway 29. The road was a four lane divided highway with wide asphalt shoulders. Carole called to ask if I was OK. She had heard because of the heat some schools were dismissed early. This evening the television news reported the students couldn't learn in this heat which made it hard on the teachers. The temperature was in the 101-102° F. range. It was not humid like it was when I walked through Missouri in June, July and August; additionally there was a slight breeze so it wasn't bad. Traffic wasn't too heavy so it was an easy walk. After about four miles I reached Rochester, a town of about 3,300. Their schools were located along Highway 29 on the west side of town. They had not been excused early.

As I walked, I wondered if Americans are becoming overly protective of their children. It is too hot for the children to learn, so excuse school early. I am sure my brother and I attended school, elementary, junior high and high school, when it was that hot. It seems children need to learn the world isn't perfect, and they will have to adjust. When my brother and I were students at the one room Bennett Valley School, and it was hot we ate lunch in the shade and avoided games where we would expend a lot of energy and be exposed to the direct sun. I will admit it is difficult to learn new concepts when it is too hot, especially abstract ones which the student has no experience with so nothing to tie the new concept to, as seems to be increasingly prevalent as education theory is increasingly driven by pop culture theorists; such as the rush to ever higher standards. However, even in heat students can reenforce that which they have "learned' but which has not become fully automatic. The difference between asking a person "What is 4+5?" and having them immediately reply "nine" versus having them hold up four fingers on one hand and five on the other, counting them and finally replying "nine." Then, too, there was the option of a class going outside to sit under the shade of a tree for a class. When I taught at Cuesta College on their "Old Campus" which utilized Army barracks built during World War II on Camp San Luis Obispo, I periodically took classes outside on hot days.

I survived hot days in classrooms both as a student and a teacher. As an Anthropologist/Sociologist a person learns institutions, such as education, have both primary and secondary functions. The primary functions are the stated objectives of the institution. Students will learn to read English, students will learn to read and comprehend English, they will learn and be able to apply various mathematical principles, etc. Secondary functions may not be stated but important for the individual and society. For example learning to follow directions and be evaluated by a variety of people, learning to get along with a variety of others, developing techniques for functioning in groups, as well as learning to cope with conditions the individual considers less than desirable, etc.

I guess the theoretical question would be; Would I be a better person today if I had only had to attend school when conditions were ideal for my learning? ALso would today's youths be better or worse off experiencing a bit more adversity?

Rochester had a small business district and the houses in the residential areas seemed nice. I was soon out of town and back into the corn and soybean fields that dominated the landscape since Springfield. Just east of Springfield I passed Sugar Creek and the South Fork of the Sangamon River. There was some forest around them and I noticed some leaves beginning to fall. I guess Autumn is approaching. Grasshoppers are around; they have been since June, but they don't seem be present in swarms. Also as I walked past the patches of forest I could hear cicadas, but not the cacophony I heard from them in June and early July.

Today I walked 14 miles, under less than ideal conditions, but conditions I have been comfortable with. Yes, another very good day.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Wednesday August 31, 2011

2011-10-03T07:12:00.001-07:00

First United Methodist Church in Springfield, Illinois.

Walk Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I did not walk since Saturday. I attempted to catch up and see some of Springfield's museums. We began hearing about museums we should see in Springfield when we were in Kansas City. So Monday we went to the Lincoln Museum and Library and Tuesday we went to the Illinois State Museum. Sunday we went to First United Methodist Church, which is pictured above. They have a new church on Wasatch Ave. They have a downtown church, which we saw when we ate horseshoes at Norb Andy's Tabarin. They said they outgrew that church and built the new one on the western outskirts of town. For a time they held services at both locations, but now only at the new location.

The sanctuary was large and the pulpit wide. On the wall behind the pulpit, on left and right side were two large screens for power point, etc. Between the a wood cross, it seemed the eye was attracted to the screens rather than the cross. There was a video message on financial planning which was projected on the screen. At the church we attend in Los Osos it would be presented by a member of our congregation. That video and the two screens, as well as the size of the church made it seem a bit impersonal compared to the smaller services we have attended. However, as Rev. Helen McFarland said, even small congregations are not necessarily hospitable. Despite its size First Churh seemed hospitable. Rev. Bob Swickard's sermon was titled "Godcasting," a title that somehow seemed to fit the setting. He focused on three techniques for following the word of God. He said there are a lot of voices giving a lot of misinformation to people, so how do you know which voice to listen to? For example, he said we frequently hear advice like "do your own thing." First he said scripture. He did caution the congregation to be humble. He pointed out Christ was humble; he didn't get in people's face with lines like: "Pardon Me!!, I'm Jesus!" Second he said people need "peace". time to relax and sort things out. He told a story about an important decision he and his wife had to made about an assignment when he was in seminary. After struggling with it for a time, they decided to go to the Brookfield Zoo. After going to the zoo they both easily agreed on the decision. Third, a person needs community. Small groups of friends, family, a supportive congregation. People, like automobiles, have blind spots. It is these people who will guide you. Others may only say things to make you feel good. He really criticized the "feel good" approach, building a person's confidence rather than helping them face reality. He used the analogy of a person taking his car to a mechanic for a tune up, and when he picks up, is told the car is in perfect. You must be an automotive engineer to have maintained it in such mint condition. As you confidently drive home the breaks fail as you approach a stop sign, you are barely able to stop. You ask the mechanic about it, and he says, "Yeh, you have no brake fluid". In response to the question, Why did you tell me the car was perfect? he says. "I wanted you to feel good about yourself. It was a good sermon, spiced with a lot of tidbits, such as reading scripture to seek the meaning of the message don't get caught up in reading scripture so you can pass a trivial quiz on the Bible. His sermon was well organized, made good points, was supported with appropriate stories that were told well.

After church we went to a coffee shop so I could work on my Updates and then did some shopping to resupply.

Monday, after working on my Updates in the morning, we went to the Abraham LIncoln Presidential Library & Museum. It was an interesting museum, it focused on various aspects of Lincoln's life and administration, his childhood and the movement of his family from Kentucky to Indiana and his eventual migration to Illinois. It mentioned that as a youth living at home he worked up to 16 hours a day. As an adult it covered his family life and the effect on him and Mary of the loss of their children who died in childhood. It discussed the difficulty of choosing his Cabinet and the rivalries in it, the differences of opinion within the Cabinet over resupplying Forts Sumter and Pickens, the Emancipation Proclamation, the social rivalry between Mary Lincoln and the wives of Lincoln's rivals. A room was devoted to derogatory cartoons of Lincoln when he was President. When we left, we went to the gift shop. When the volunteer who checked us out found out I was walking across the nation, he got the manager and brought her over to meet me. I guess I should consider it an honor to create even a bit of a stir in President Lincoln's Presidential Library & Museum. After seeing the Museum we went to a nearby downtown restaurant for dinner, Augie's Front Burner. We had a duck and pasta special which was very good.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the Illinois State Museum. This too was a good museum. They did an excellent job by combining geology, geography, zoology and botany to explain the changing characteristics of the state over time as well as its changing flora and fauna. It did explain the wide flat valley I walked across from Chambersburg to the juncture of State Highway 104 with U.S. Highway 63 at the foot of bluffs about three miles east of Meredosia. It was the bed of the Mississippi River before the last glacial advance when ice sheets forced the Mississippi further west to its present location. When the ice sheets began to retreat, a large lake was formed south of the ice sheet contained within the moraines formed by the ice sheets. Eventually the water broke through the moraine, in what is known as the Kankakee Torrent, and flowed down the old channel of the Mississippi creating what is now the Illinois River. The museum also did a good job with cultural change since European contact. It mentioned the French fur trappers from Quebec in Illinois and how they purchased Indian slaves from Indians who had captured Indians from other tribes. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me; the Spanish did the same thing in Arizona. During the 1830s a display indicated two groups were immigrating. Yankees from New England and Plain Folk from Kentucky. Plain Folk were small farmers who couldn't compete with plantations with slave labor. However, in an attempt to compete, they had large families and used they children as their labor force, which explained Lincoln having to work up to 16 hours a day as a youth. Seeing this caused me to reconsider what I should put when asked my ethnicity. Since my great grandfather on my mother's side, Coleman Talbot, migrated from Kentucky to Illinois before taking the family to California via. a wagon train, I suppose that would made me "Plain Folk." However since My great grandfather on my father's side came to California from Vermont in 1848 that would identify me as an Yankee. As an anthropologist I know that ethnicity is malleable. After the museum we went to another very good downtown restaurant, Sebastian's Hideout.

Today I went to Lincoln Land Community College to talk with the anthropology faculty member. Consequently I didn't began walking until the early afternoon. Today I began walking east on Wabash Ave. from Veteran's Parkway which I walked past Saturday. Along Wabash Avenue were a series of malls of various sizes. These malls had some chain establishments, but not the big box chains I saw along Veteran's Parkway. These would be H & R Block, Farmers Insurance, banks, etc. There were some chain pharmacies, such as Walgreens, and fast food places, but there were other local businesses such as dog grooming establishments and restaurants. When I reached Fifth Street I turned north and entered a residential area. Although some houses looked like they were well maintained, most looked like they could use a lot of maintenance and some were boarded up. When I reached Jackson Street I turned west and then turned north again on Second Street to walk past the state capital. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me, something that I seem to do about once a month. Illinois has a very impressive capital building. When I reached Monroe I walked east to Sixth Street where I turned south when I reached Capital Ave. I walked about half a block west to Norb Andy's Tabarin where we had horseshoes Saturday. I received an e-mail from Murray Thomas, who lives in Los Osos and has written numerous works on world religions, saying: "I'm curious about how the two pieces of toast topped by hamburger and fries got became named "horse shoes". Did the proprietor explain that?" Carole was told the Norb Andy's Tabarin had the best horseshoes in Springfield. Since I was so close, I decided to ask. I was told by the proprietor. As he understands the toast represents the horses hoof,the hamburger the shoe, the french fries the nails, but in all honesty he really didn't know. While at Norb Andy's I had three glasses of ice water and was given a cup to go. The temperature today was in the 90s so the ice water was a welcome treat. After leaving Andy's I returned to Sixth Street and walked to South Grand Ave where Carole picked me up.

Jeannie Ashby e-mailed me the following comment on horseshoes, "The horseshoe dish sounds very high in fat?" They are. I am not sure I would eat very many, although they seem popular here. After Carole picked my up we went to D'Arcy's Pint for dinner. It is a good restaurant and they too serve horseshoes. Neither Carole nor I had them, but it seemed most of the patrons were eating them.

Today I walked about 12½ miles. It was a great few days, hearing a great sermon, seeing some great museums and eating some great food. What could be better?

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Saturday August 27, 2011

2011-10-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

A pink elephant at a house in Curran, Illinois.

Walk: Saturday August 27, 2011

This morning as Carole and I were having breakfast in the motel's lobby we began talking to David Fauble, an artist in town to see his granddaughter participate in a tennis tournament. When he discovered I was walking across the nation, he said he had something for me in his car. We walked to his car, and he pulled out a stack of prints of some of his paintings and told me to choose one for myself and one for Carole. What a great gift!

Carole drove me to the point where I ended my walk yesterday, about a mile east of New Berlin. I continued walking west on Old Route 54. I remembered Davon Trimble telling me yesterday this was old U.S. Highway 36 and in the late 1950s (1957?) former President Truman and his wife, Bess, decided to go to Washington D.C. to see friends so they got in their car and started driving east on 36. people along the route recognized them, and it created a sensation and a lot of local news coverage. The Trumans had given the Secret Service agents the slip, but all the media hype allowed the Secret Service to catch up with the Trumans east of Springfield. I remember my father telling me when Truman was President he made a game of giving the Secret Service men protecting him the slip, so I accepted Davon's story at face value.

During this long straight stretch of walking I thought about what Rodger Fox told me about the self sufficient facility for people with physical handicaps and/or limited mental capability. In the mid 1980s Carole and I took a special education tour of Western Europe. Carole was then teaching special education,then in a program for severely emotionally disturbed students K-12 in San Luis Obispo, California. I was teaching Anthropology and Sociology at Cuesta. We went to several nations in Western Europe and had their special education programs explained to us. Switzerland had a program that allowed parents to keep a physically and/or mentally low functioning child in their home. However, when the parents chose, they could take the child to a facility and leave them for any length of time they chose to just get some time away, for a vacation, business, to attend an event , etc.

Why do Americans think there is "a" solution to problems, where there may be a variety of solutions? A self sufficient farm might be a nice place to drop a family member who qualifies for such care on a temporary and perhaps some on a permanent basis. Yes, some might prefer group homes, and even then occasionally they might temporarily stay on the farm. It seems in a diverse society many issues demand more than one solution.

As yesterday the land was flat and the fields alternated between soybeans and corn. Paralleling the road on the south was a railroad track and between the two was a line of old telephone poles with wires and glass insulators characteristic of the 1930s. The wires were cut or sagged between the poles. Some of the soybean fields, as they have been throughout the summer, have stray stalks of corn most likely from kernels from last year's crop when the field was planted in corn.

I reached the small town of Curran, about a mile west of Springfield. On the left was a house seemingly getting ready for a child's birthday party. In addition to some inflatable play apparatus was the pink elephant pictured above. It reminded me of the old question popular during the California gold rush era but apparently used in other contexts as well; "Did you see the elephant?" For miners it meant did you find gold? In other contexts it referred to did the person see what they wanted to see? Or accomplish what they hoped to accomplish? I thought on this walk I can say I saw the elephant! albeit a pink one.

About a city block further east John Harney was mowing grass. I had just about passed him when he came abreast of me and offered me a bottle of ice cold water. He had a drink and we drank and talked for awhile. About a mile further east I entered Springfield, and the name of the road changed to Wabash Ave. I continued to Veterans Parkway and turned south to our motel.

Today was an interesting day and one that gave me the satisfaction of reaching Springfield. I walked 15 miles. My Uncle Parker Talbot in his brief family history on my Mother's side of the family said my Great Grandfather Coleman Talbot was in Springfield on his way from Kentucky to Quincy. Uncle Parker did not say if Coleman and his wife Drusilla resided in Springfield or just passed through on their way west. After I showered Carole and I drove to the downtown area and had dinner at Maldaner's Restaurant on Sixth Street. We had a very good dinner, duck with sausage made of duck. I was wearing a t-shirt my brother, Joe, gave me that says "walking America." A young man sitting at the table next to us asked if it was true, we said yes. He complemented me on my project. At day's end I was reminded of something my high school classmate, Ted Smith, said when we walked together around Nevada City, California. I would get more respect the further east I went. Ted has certainly proved to be right. It was a great day.

Bill and Catole

Daily Update: Friday August 23, 2011

2011-10-03T07:10:00.001-07:00

Davon Trimble who stopped to see if I was OK east of Alexander, Illinois on Old 36.

Walk: Friday, August 23, 2011

Today I began walking east from Orleans on Old Route 36. The land is flat and soybean and corn are the only visible agriculture. Unlike further west in Missouri and more especially in Kansas when I would see some herds of beef cattle. I am not sure I have seen any beef cattle in Illinois. My cousin Bill Gass e-mailed me asking if I had seen any hog farms. So far the only one I can remember was in Missouri north of Shelbyville. When we stayed with Carole's cousins, Gene and Pat Hatcher, their son-in-law Paul said although I wouldn't see it because it was off the highway I would smell one as I walked on U.S. 36 from Monroe City to Hannibal. When I did pass it I didn't have the predicted olfactory experience.

When I reached the small town of Alexander, I sat in their park on a bench under a roof that provided shade and drank a bottle of Gatorade. I was a bit surprised there was no garbage can in the park so I had to put the empty bottle back in my backpack. Across Old Route 36 from the park was an abandoned Methodist Church that was built in 1939. Alexander essentially consisted of a cluster of residential dwellings, although there was a chemical company facility at the east end of town to meet agricultural needs. The facility was dominated by trailers with tanks of ammonia on them. This is a scene I have seen since Kansas. It seems the further east I go the more expensive agricultural land becomes. As I remember it, Rodger Fox said it was going for over $8,000 per acre around Jacksonville. As I continued east a farmer came out of his house and down his driveway toward me to give me a bottle of ice cold water which I gratefully accepted and quickly drank.

Davon Trimble stopped to see if I was OK. I told her what I was doing; she reached in her purse, pulled out a $20 bill and gave it to me. She then pulled further off the road and we talked for awhile. She lives in Jacksonville and explained how it felt to live through the flood the city experienced in late June and early July. Her toilet wouldn't flush and water had to be boiled and even then it wasn't potable. She said after boiling the water it still had an unappealing odor and there would be scum on the pot. Then the water was declared potable but smelled strongly of chlorine. She felt the chief focus of the City Council should be the water and sewer systems. Davon commented unfavorably on the quality of Illinois' Governor. In her view the people who provide services to the public are cut, but advisors to elected officials remain and in her opinion are overpaid. After I left her and continued walking I thought about what she said about state employers. It reminded me of basic sociology as it relates to bureaucracy and the distinction between staff and line positions. Line personnel provide the goods or services of the organization. For example, at Cuesta College where I taught, the line positions would be the college president, the vice president of educational services, the deans, the department chairs, the faculty members. Staff supports the line. This would include grant writers, the person responsible for public relations, the Foundation people, etc. At the state level these might include all sorts of advisors to the Governor and members of the state legislature. Staff may well support and provide vital services to an organization, but at the same time it must be remembered they don't deliver the organization's goods or services. When cuts must be made, staff may be a good place to look first. It may be that political office holders are reluctant to cut their own staff who advise and support them. Rather they would prefer to cut line positions covered by civil service. These people may or may not support the office holder, but provide services to the public. It could be Americans are reluctant to realize these distinctions because of a bias against bureaucracy. When I taught, I would ask students what they thought about bureaucracy? Do they see it positively? Negatively? Overwhelmingly they raised their hands for negative. I would tell them they were fortunate, they could easily migrate to Mexico with its clientistic system and be rid of bureaucracy. Ideally each bureaucrat is an expert in their area of expertise e.g. a high school algebra teacher need not be a great mathematician but an expert in teaching algebra to high school students. In a clientistic system the qualification a high school algebra teacher would be that they were a relative of the principal. Clientism exists to an extent in the United States with political staff appointees. They are appointed by an elected official. They know their positions depend on the reelection of their patron. It is an interesting issue, democratically elected officials with staffs in a clientistic relationship with their patron, knowing they will be replaced if their patron loses the next election. On the other hand, the bureaucracy responsibility is to providing a service to the public under the rules written into law by democratically elected officials. Now that America is no longer the affluent nation it once was, perhaps the citizens need to look at issues such as this long and hard.

Eventually, I reached New Berlin. It was a bit before 4 p.m. and I went into Shepp's Bar & Grill. When I arrived there were only a few customers, a man in a motorized scooter and a woman, one at either end of the bar. I sat in the middle. I asked if they had milkshakes: the waitress/bar maid said"no." I replied "than give me a beer." The temperature was in the 80s and i knew Carole would pick me up pretty soon so I figured a beer and three or four glasses of water would work. I told the waitress what I was doing and as I was about to leave she filled a styrofoam cup with ice and water for me. The man in the scooter heard what I doing, and I answered some of his questions before leaving. I walked another mile east of New Berlin when Carole picked me up.

During the day Carole had been told we should try a local dish while we were in Springfield, a horseshoe. The best place, she said, was Norb Andy's Tabarin. We went there and had horseshoes; two pieces of toast with two hamburger patties on them topped with french fries and cheese sauce. They were good. We think the quality of the horseshoe is largely dependent on the quality of the cheese sauce and french fries. It was a great day. I probably walked 10 miles today, met Davon who gave me something to think about, and had a regional dish I had not tried before. It was another great day!

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Thursday August 25, 2011

2011-10-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

Chimes activated by stepping on them in a 100% handicapped accessable park in Jacksonville, Illinois built by Pathways.

Walk: Thursday August 25, 2011

Yesterday I took off to attempt to catch up. We went to a Walgreens' pharmacy so Carole could get a prescription refilled and we could get flu shots. Medicare did not recognize I exist. This came as a bit of a shock. I will say I expected problems when I first went on Medicare in 2007 in making sure the ducks were in a row, but after four years I was taken aback. After the Walgreens pharmacist sent a long time on the phone, it seemed the issue was they had my birthday wrong by one day. (I am not sure weather I am a day older or younger than I thought I was.) It seems the name is the primary means of identification with social security number as a secondary means. Why the Medicare official went to the tertiary means remains a mystery. In an earlier Update I commented on the problem pharmacies are having with insurance companies favoring mail order suppliers over mortar and brick pharmacies. I wonder how often the employees of American pharmacies are required to spend inordinate time on the phone on behalf of their customers.

I did get my flu shot, and I hope Medicare now knows my birthday. Of course for them to change it, I had to respond to the quaternary level question for establishing my identity, my mother's maiden name. We went to a coffee shop on the square and had coffee at Three Legged Dog, which is located in a beautifully restored building that had been a bank. There is even a small closet sized room with the word "Telephone" on the door. I remember old buildings as a child with small rooms with "Telephone" on the door. They were built in an era before telephone booths emerged as the dominate location for public telephones.

I called Rodger Fox, President of Jacksonville's American Business Club (ABC). Carole met his wife, Sue, when Carole visited her quilt store. Sue said Rodger might like to have me speak at the club's lunch meeting Wednesday. Rodger invited me to be his guest and speak for 10 to 15 minutes, since they already were committed to another speaker. Consequently, some of the time I would have used on catching up on my Updates I used for organizing my thoughts for a 10 minute speech.

Wednesday I went to the Ponderosa Steak House for the noon meeting of the ABC. The speaker that had been lined up was a woman, Marcy Patterson, who owner a weekly newspaper, The Source. She provided some background about herself; she had served the Air Force and now in addition to the newspaper she works for FEMA. What was interesting was her strategy for the paper. She provided inexpensive advertising. Jackson has a daily newspaper, but Marcy said many small businesses cannot afford ads in it. They can in The Source and she said for many businesses it is the first advertising they have done. The Source is distributed free so it reaches people who do not read the daily. It was interesting to listen to her. Eventually it was my turn, which went very well.

After the meeting Rodger and I talked as we ate dessert and he invited Carole and me to dinner and a tour of the town. We took him up on his generous offer. He first took us to Praireland Heritage Museums. It is the former grounds of a state hospital for low functioning people. Rodger said it had been self sustaining. The old brick dairy barn still stands and has been converted to a museum. It reminded me of Sonoma State Hospital, near Glen Ellen, California, when I was growing up on our family farm in Bennett Valley. It also was for the low functioning and then had a dairy, although the barn was not as impressive as Praireland's. Rodger then showed us a 100% handicapped accessible park built by Pathways. There were swings wheel chairs could be wheeled onto and attached, a mary-go-round sunk into the ground so at ground level wheel chairs could roll onto it. The chimes pictured above can be activated by someone in a wheel chair. Rodger was a part of the group that founded Pathways and was rightly proud of its accomplishment. Rodger said he had a good life and felt he had to give back to the community. Next to the park was a Pathway school. Next to that was a group home. Rodger said there are 12 such homes throughout the city, some in very good neighborhoods. He contended you could not have a better neighbor than a Pathway group home. Gardens are professionally maintained. Equipment relating to disabilities is always out of sight in back of the house.

Jacksonville has both The Illinois School for the Deaf and The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. The town prides itself on the way it treats the handicapped. The Jacksonville Chapter of ABC's service project is to build wheel chair ramps for those that need them. One inch fall per foot, and a landing every 10 feet, I was told this is the legal requirement for such ramps.

Rodger also gave us a tour of the beautiful old homes in Jacksonville. Some of the houses were in need of repair, and Rodger hoped they would be renovated and maintained. We drove through the town square, which recently opened and Illinois College then MacMurray College. We then picked up his cousin, Judy, and went to dinner. It was a great evening. Rodger is proud of Jacksonville and said he wanted to show and explain the city to us so it would stand out in our minds years from now when we reflect back on our walk.

Today we left the Hampton Inn in Jacksonville. Michelle Foreman, the General Manager of the motel, told Carole to tell the Hampton motel in Springfield we knew her. With packing the van I didn't get an early start, and I stopped early to unload in Springfield. I then started walking east on Morton Avenue. Since our motel was at the east end of Jacksonville, I basically walked through the city today. Morton Ave. is lined with shopping malls small and large with the various chain, Home Depot, Fashion Bug, etc. as well as the chain restaurants, especially it seemed the fast food chains. I passed Community Park, a beautiful park. A number of people were walking for exercise in it. At its east end is Eli ferris wheel # 17. A historical marker said the Eli Bridge Co. of Jacksonville felt they could build portable ferris wheels based on the giant ferris wheel at the Columbian Exposition of 1893. Around 1900 they began making them, the kind I remember as a child at the Sonoma County Fair as I was growing up.

After the park I came to a drive through Three Legged Dog coffee shop. They did have some tables shaded by a beach umbrella, so I stopped for coffee and to jot down a few notes to myself. It was nice to sit, but not as nice as the Three Legged Dog on the Square.

I crossed Terre Creek and began noticing factories, one indicated it made Hefty bags, and finally I passed a prison. It seems Jacksonville has a diverse economy. It is surrounded by farmland, has factories, a variety of commercial establishments, many of the chains, two colleges, two school for handicaps, prison and is the county seat of Morton County. This certainly contrasted with the small towns I passed in Eastern Colorado that had only agriculture.

On the side of the road on the eastern edge of town was a large mass of corn stalks, leaves and cobs that had likely washed down a plugged a culvert passing under the road during the heavy rains of late June early July. I reached Orleans. The only thing I could see, other than the sign saying "Orleans," was a grain elevator along the railroad tracks.

I had a good time during my days off. Today's walk was enjoyable. The temperature was in the 80s with a nice cooling breeze. Yes, a great time. Rodger made Jacksonville truly memorable.

Bill and Carole

Daily Update: Monday August 22, 2011

2011-10-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

A Nestle´ plant in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Walk: Monday August 22, 2011

Yesterday I didn't walk. I did almost got caught up on my Updates, and we went to church at Centenary United Methodist Church in Jacksonville. We attended the 10:45 a.m. service. As we watched the person who did the Children's Sermon read to the children from a book, a practice I have often seen and heard in a variety of churches. It seemed to sink in, can't people tell stories anymore? Christ did. Native Americans did and Americans used to be quite competent story tellers. In all cultures some are better at storytelling than others, it is a skill and one that has to be developed as are other skills. In a sense a children's sermon is like teaching. I have had college teachers who read the text to the class. In one such class I could look down the row I was seated in and count 10 of the 12 students in the row sleeping. You can take a text and put it in your own words and learn to read the audience and tailor the message to the audience. I have often thought Americans mistakenly believe any art form can be converted to any other form, e.g. novels to movies, oral literature to written literature.

The sermon was by a lay speaker, Martha Vache. The title of her sermon was, "Is God Calling You?", a homily focused on members of Centenary who were answering a call. One was doing missionary work in Asia and others working locally, with retired nomads who have taken to RVs, and at the local food center. She concluded people receive different calls and have different gifts. Again it seemed to fit the sermon I heard last week preached by Rev. Scott Grulke at Vermont Street United Methodist Church about being somebody. It seems the sermons I have been hearing since Shelbina, Missouri have fit together nicely.

Today I walked from the point I ended Saturday, about a mile east of Chapin on state Highway 104. I walked over Terre Creek which was flowing as one would expect a lazy river to flow. Soybean and corn fields continued right up to to Jacksonville. When I reached the junction of State Highway 104 and 78, I took 78 for two miles into Jacksonville. Just after passing the city limits sign, I turned south on Westgate, which passed through a middle class residential area to our motel on West Morton Ave.

This evening I attended a meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. Preceding the meeting at 7:30 was a more informal Workshop at 6:30. The first item discussed was the water plant. In late June and early July Jacksonville was hit by very heavy rain occurring in the Mid West at the time, and their water treatment plant flooded. They are no longer in a state of emergency, but they need to make some decisions. "We can't let this happen again" was a phrase used several times by the men responsible for the plant who made the report. They said the plant was out of date but had been functioning well because they took good care of the equipment. The item that took the most time was a request that came from golfers to allow the sale of liquor to start at 6 a.m. Sunday at the golf course. The request did not come from the holder of the liquor license there. The Mayor indicated this was the item that most of the audience came to hear. There were 28 people in the room. Different Council members approached the issue differently. One, who said he rarely drank, supported it and said it was an issue of personal responsibility, so he would support it. Another said if liquor could be sold at the golf course at 6 a.m. on Sundays then other establishments with liquor licenses throughout the city would want the same privilege. Some restaurant owners who had liquor licenses who were in the audience said they would not change their hours of operation if the request passed. Some did point out that occasionally they receive requests for alcoholic drinks before noon, and they tell their customers they can't be served. Interestingly one proprietor said Mother's Day was a day she frequently had requests for alcoholic drinks such as bloody Mary's before noon. Another said he gets requests from people in town for a conference, as well as Super Bowl Sunday, etc. One council member said 15 constituents called and all opposed the request. Another said he called some of his constituents because if he waited for them to call him only those in opposition would call. By taking the initiative he said he was told by all he called they didn't care. The issue of contracts for ambulance service for the city came up. The city may contract with more than one company for ambulance service for the first time. Issues arose, such as if there were two companies and people had a choice, might they be influenced at, for instance a auto crash site. If a person asked a police officer which company he would recommend the officer might favor one company over the other. One Council member would like staggered terms for two ambulance companies, but if the contract were given it would be unfair to give a two year contract to one company and a four year contract to another. The other issue was grants for the restoration of a downtown building, $ 11,700 for interior and $ 13,125 for facade.

At the Council meeting a request to use the park for a state cross country tournament passed unanimously. They received a report on upcoming events Downtown. Then the issue of allowing liquor sales at the golf course came up and was voted down six to five. The feeling was if they wanted exemptions for various events they could contact the Mayor, who would contact the Police Chief. Two contracts were agreed to unanimously for $119,000 and $118,000 for the sewage and water plants.

The big issue that divided the Council was the issue of allowing the sale of alcohol at the golf course at 6 a.m. on Sundays. Each Council member voiced their opinion and concerns on the issue in either the Workshop or Council meeting. There seemed no animosity between them after the vote. It seems this contrasts with the situation at the national level.

Today was a good day. Although I only walked about eight miles I reached the Hampton Inn where we are staying in Jacksonville. I went to a city council meeting. Yes, another great day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Updates: Saturday, August 20

2011-09-05T11:04:00.001-07:00

A one old one room school house with two outhouses behind it on Illinois State Highway 104 east of Meredosia.

Walk: Saturday August 20, 2011

Today when I began walking on State Highway 104, the road went east for two miles then merged with U.S. Highway 67 and State Highway 100 and began running southeast. A highway road sign indicated I was on The Illinois RIver Road. To my left (east) was a forested bluff, to my right the flat plain I had been on since Chambersburg. After about a mile 100 branched off to the southwest and 104 started up a grade leaving the low flat land I had been on. Once at the top of the upgrade the land once again was essentially flat but at a slightly higher elevation. I crossed a bridge over Spring Run which was flowing although there wasn't much water running in the run. I passed soybean and corn fields. I came to this old school house, although no longer utilized as a school the building is being well maintained, as are the two outhouses behind it, barely visible in this photograph, somewhat hidden by the trees. Both the building and the outhouses seem to have been recently painted white. After about eight miles I came to Bethel, a community that seemed to be nothing more than a small cluster of houses and old house trailers. One was surrounded by antennas of various types and heights, it had been a C.B. shop. A mile beyond Bethel was Chapin a community of 1,000. The houses seemed well kept, although their business seems largely abandoned. I continued walking for about another mile when Carole picked me up.

It was hot today. The temperature was in the high 80s and low 90s. Compared to the temperatures I experienced in North Central and Eastern Missouri they are low, but still challenging. Humidity remains high, and there is no breeze so perspiration doesn't evaporate and it is easy to overheat. I had been alternating drinking a bottle of Gaterade or water every hour. About 2 p.m. I decided to shorten it to half an hour.

It seems that Americans love their nation. For example in the article I quoted a while ago by Warren Buffett "Stop Coddling the Super-RIch" he says; "I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them." These comments seem certainly in line with the majority of middle class, working class and even poor. They profess a deep love of the Unites States. I was raised to love our nation. As an anthropologist I attempt to resist "going native." Many anthropologists "go native." I have seen some who study Native Americans attending conferences resplendent in feathers. Those studying in other cultural areas such as Latin America and Israel can be equally guilty. They accept the fantasies, goals, beliefs and norms of the nation, or culture they are studying without question. Their ethnocentrism shifted to the culture they have come to identify while their work often shifts from analyticaI to uncritical acceptance. Persons studying their own cultures often reflect the biases of their era, and their own ideological commitments. So as Warren Buffett did, ever so briefly, in his article, I guess I should provide autobiographical information as well. Especially since I have been reading in my spare time (which is limited) Edward Carr's What Is History? He said:

Before you study the history, study the historian...Before you study the historian, study his historical

and social environment. The historian, being an individual, is also a product of history and of society;

and it is in this twofold light that the student of history must learn to regard him.

I understand Carr's position and as an historian he directed his comments to historians. It is equally true of anthropologists, anthropologists that have gone native should be willing to confess their loyalty. They have become mouthpieces for the world view, weltanschauung, they have come to accept. As I write these Updates and include autobiographical information I suspect the readers can get a sense of where I am coming from. Also as an anthropologist I was taught to look at the continuity of a society from top to bottom. Professor Carr said before studying history, study the historian. Anthropologists and those that propose various programs and causes should be honest with others. Many now hide behind anonymity while promoting their interpretation of history or society. For example, I have seen signs equating the Tea Party agenda with the Constitution. What is the historical competence of those who contend such a connection exists. It has been a long time since I took an upper division history class titled The Early American Republic at San Jose State Colllege ( now Unirversity) from Dr. Jackson Turner Main (although the last time I saw him in 2000, he looked me square in the eye and said, it's Jack!) but as I remember it, the Boston Tea Party of 1773 was supported by some of the merchants of Boston who weren't any more enthusiastic about the tax on tea than the majority of the citizenry of Massachusetts. In large measure the taxes the British imposed on the American colonies was to help them pay for the French and Indian War, a war that benefited America immensely in that it eliminated the French threat from Canada and their support of Indians against American settlers. It also extended colonial territory beyond the Appalachians to the Mississippi River. Americans used the cliche "no taxation without representation" as a cliche for not paying their fair share. About a third seemed to buy this and sided with the British, another third accepted this and supported independence, and the final third didn't care one way or the other. This I learned in an upper division United States History course. As I remember, the advantages the colonies gained from, and cost of, the French and Indian War was not tied to the British need for tax revenue in the Pre-Revolutionary War Period. Is the current Tea Party agenda based on a high school understanding of history? It seems the continuity between 1773's Tea Party and the current version is American's unwillingness to pay for what they want government to provide. There you have my take on the connection between the Tea party then and now. How did the people who are using the current Tea Party as a springboard to political success come to their understanding? How do those that wear Tea Party t-shirts come to accept this connection? What is the background of those that place Tea Party/Constitution signs on their lawns? What is the basis for their assumptions? Is it a desire to avoid taxes yet appearing to be patriotic? Of course the Tea Party's concern to reduce spending since we are no longer an affluent society is a point well taken. However, if that is their goal, then where are their proposals concerning where these cuts should be made? Again it appears they manifest a characteristic typical of Americans, a mistaken belief that all a person need do is criticize the government. They need to think through any proposal that might solve the problem. As Rev. Scott Grulke, put it, they are not "somebody."

I walked 14 miles today. It was again hot and humid, and I survived. I have now reached a point about a mile east of Chapin. Yes, another another good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Updates: Friday, August 19

2011-09-05T11:02:00.001-07:00

Bridge over the Illinois RIver at Meredosia, Illinois on State Highway 104. View looking west.

Walk: Friday 19, 2011

Today I began walking east at the Pike County 10 mile marker on State highway 104. The landscape was as it has been, gently rolling and forests alternated with corn and soybean fields. I passed two men examining corn in a field. They said to me it was a hot day to walk. In turn I asked them if they were inspecting the crop. There were markers in front of the corn they were examining, and they said it was experimental. They had peeled the husks back from about a dozen ears, and they looked good. I asked if the corn was drought resistant. The younger man said over the years corn has become increasingly drought resistant, but he felt a truly drought resistant variety was still about three years away. He also commented they had not had any significant rain in 40 days. The older man said he was 84 and said he used to ride his bicycle to high school in Chambersburg. After about four miles, I walked through Cambersburg and there was no high school there now. Later when I walked through Meredosia, I saw a school that said Chambersburg/Meredosia, the schools have been combined.

As I approached Chambersburg the highway descended and curved slightly to the north through a forested region. Then there was a road sign indicating I was in the town, although it did not mention the town's population. There was no commercial establishment, although it seemed there were some buildings that at one time had been commercial, and the houses I saw seemed to need some maintenance. There was an abandoned church, boarded up with broken windows and in decay.

East of Chambersburg the land flattened out to Meredosia, about six miles to the east. Corn and soybean fields dominated the landscape. There were no forests here. Along this section of the walk three people stopped to see if I was OK and in need of a ride. The last man was probably in his 40s and I told him what I was doing. About 15 minutes later he returned to say he realized it was his duty as a Christian to warn me about the bridge over the Illinois RIver ahead of me. The shoulder is very, visibility limited and traffic is fast. He said when he was a child he used to bicycle over it but wouldn't think of doing it now. He said he would take me across. I thanked him but said I thought I could do it, I would be extremely careful. He said he would pray for me and I thanked him.

The bridge is a cantilevered and truss bridge that was built about 1937. It arches like a rainbow high above the river to allow boats to pass under. It s a beautiful bridge, but not a pedestrian or bicycle friendly bridge. Fortunately for me one lane was closed and large brilliant orange cones were placed to block traffic from the closed lane. Fortunately for me the closed lane was 1) for traffic going west and 2) on the west slope to the apex of the arch and a bit beyond. Traffic lights had been installed at either end of the closed portion and traffic moving in both directions alternated. I approached the bridge and walked to a point where the shoulder narrowed, then waited for the light to turn green for traffic moving east. Then I walked to the area with the cones protecting me from traffic. Once protected by the cones I relaxed a bit and took some pictures of the river and the eight coal barges tied up on the west bank. Next I waited for the light to turn red for traffic going west and continued walking, knowing oncoming traffic would have to slow to stop. I couldn't get all the way off the bridge before the light turned and traffic was temporarily flowing in both directions. When traffic came my way, they could see me and I got as close as I could to the railing. Then I crossed the road when east bound traffic was stopped, then back to facing traffic. Thank God for fortuitous road work! I won't say I feared the bridge, especially after hearing Rev. McFarland's sermon in Hannibal, but I was apprehensive and knew I had to be extremely careful.

East of the bridge was a historical marker which gave a brief history of the town, founded in 1832. It began as a fur trading center and furs traded through Meredosia make their way to Russia and England. Keelboats were at one time common on the river. It also mentioned Meredosia was a center for button manufacturing, but the last pearl button factory closed in the immediate post World War II period. It was an interesting history for a small town.

I walked about a mile east of Meredosia when Carole picked me up. I walked about 10 miles today. It was a good day. I am certainly relieved to have crossed the bridge over the Illinois River. It was a good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Updates: Thursday, August 18

2011-09-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

Phil, a photographer for The Quincy Herald-Whig taking my picture on Illinois State Highway 104 east of Liberty.

Walk: Thursday, August 18, 2011

Yesterday I took the day off to attempt to catch up on my Daily Updates. About 10:30 a.m. I went to the office of The Quincy Herald-Whig to be interviewed by Matt Hopf. Some town's and small citiy's newspapers seem to be struggling. A weekly newspaper with a long history, The Shelbina Democrat, which dated back to 1868, ceased publication while I was in Shelbina. The Quincy Herald-Whig seems to be doing well based on the size of their building and staff. As I left the interview on the second floor, I walked down the stairway rather than take the elevator because the stairwell was covered with pictures covering the history of the paper. It traces its heritage back to 1835. A poster traced its heritage through time and a variety of mergers. The poster was interesting and well done.

With the downturn in the economy it is easy to see how people strapped for money would not renew subscriptions to local newspapers. When I was interviewed by the Davis, California Enterprise, I was asked to support local newspapers as I walked across the nation. It seems people who don't read local newspapers must depend on the ubiquitous national newspapers found in news stands and free in motel lobbies and glean whatever information from whatever television they may watch. National news on television can be watched 24 hours daily, local news, however, is much more limited, perhaps to half an hour. After the sports, weather and commercials there is little time for local news; which often seems devoted to crimes, automobile crashes, and human interest stories rather than items of more greater substance. At a "time of crisis" it would seem citizens of a democracy who are responsible for making significant decisions, albeit through their elected representatives, would need to be as well informed in depth as possible concerning the issues facing them both locally and nationally. The question is. Are the citizens willing to rise to the occasion? Do they really want to analyze what they, as well as the nation is doing? This brings to mind something I heard, as I remember it from John Zuchelli, the News Director for KCOY ( a television station in Santa Maria, California) about the late Hal Fishman, a long time local TV newscaster for Los Angeles television station KTLA. Hi news casts always featured a police car or cars chasing someone which frequently ended with a crash. He said this was not news, but if the car crashes were omitted people, didn't watch and the ratings went down. It may well be that if we trace it back, America's problems lie with the citizenry. In a democracy or republic, power rests with the citizenry. If a democratic society fails, the responsibility rests on its citizens. If their romanticization of the past precludes them from dealing realistically with the present, if their commitments to diverse causes and/or ideologies, moralistic fantasies, placing unwavering faith in a charismatic leader, or an attempt to manipulate the state for personal gain the ultimate blame rests with the citizens. I guess as an anthropologist I should study society from top to bottom. So if I have commented on the poor quality of America's present Congress and would be Presidential candidates, I should think about the citizenry as well.

After the interview I went to a coffee shop, Great Debates Books, where Carole was waiting for me. After that we did our laundry and Carole received a call from three friends she quilts with every Wednesday when we are home. We then went to The Pier for dinner where the food and view are great.

Today I started walking from the point I ended Tuesday, where Grindstone Creek flows under State Highway 104. Phil, a photographer for The Quincy Herald-Whig had ridden his motorcycle out and was waiting for me. Yesterday Matt Hopf said he would send a photographer to photograph me as I walked. Phil said he was experimenting with the photographic capabilities of his new cell phone. He took some pictures, the got on his motorcycle and disappeared over a rise, stopped and took some more pictures then, rode ahead again. It was rather pleasant to have him with me.

As Tuesday, the today alternated between forests and corn and soybean fields. The sky was overcast, and it looked like it could rain although it didn't. The temperature was probably in the 80s with humidity and no breeze. The streams passed were fairly well dried up, Some had water standing in water holes but weren't flowing. Others were flowing very slowly, and there was a lot of green slum on the surface, not the kinds of streams I would want to swim in. When I was ready to stop to drink a bottle of water, an Illinois State Police officer stopped to ask if I was OK. I said I was. He then asked me if I would like a bottle of cold water. I said I would never turn one down. He quickly reached behind his seat and handed me a bottle of Dasani water. A message came over his radio and I quickly thanked him. That bottle of water was the best water I have taste since I was a boy on our family farm. The water from our well in the summer was cool and tasted great. (In the winter it was unfit to drink.) I don't know if it was the Dasani or the near freezing temperature, but that bottle of water tasted really good.

Today I was able to walk 14 miles. Carole picked me up at the Pike County 10 mile marker. I believe I did pretty well. We packed the van and moved from Quincy to a motel in Jacksonville. We certainly enjoyed our stay in Quincy and will fondly remember it for its hospitality, restaurants and architecture. Loading and unloading the van and walking 14 miles, a very good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Tuesday, August 16

2011-09-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

A house on Maine Street in the East End Historic District, Quincy Illinois.

Walk: Tuesday August 16, 2011

Yesterday I took the day off to relax and get caught up on My Updates, I am getting closer on that score, but I don't know if I will ever accomplish it. This evening there was a Quincy City Council meeting. Jenny Hayden the City Clerk had told me about it and gave me an agenda, when I asked her some questions Friday. Tonight as I walked in she was the first person I saw, and she introduced me to the Mayor, John Strong. Mayor Strong gave me a Quincy City lapel pin and recognized me as a guest at the Council Meeting. I thought it an honor to be so recognized since my great grandfather, Coleman Talbot, left Quincy with his family in a wagon train headed for California. I never knew him although from what my mother told me about him I am led to believe he was an intelligent man with a sense of humor and likely would have appreciated it.

The CIty Council meeting was brief. Many of the issues were resolutions to waive sections of the city code relating to selling liquor outside licensed premises as well as noise levels for a variety of social and charitable events. All passed unanimously. Then came three recommendations from the Planning Commission and three more from the Traffic Commission. Then came five resolutions concerning accepting contracts for various goods and services. They too passed, although on one issue there were two dissenting votes. Then came some reports. One councilman asked how tax revenue was coming in since the council had to base the city budget on assumptions about anticipated tax revenue. The answer was that they were coming in a bit above that anticipated. The City Engineer was asked about the schedule or some road work near schools and about tree stumps that resulted from trees being blown down earlier in the year. He commented that in some cases as the trees toppled their roots ripped up chunks of sidewalk.

The meeting lasted a bit less than an hour. No one questioned any of the resolutions to temporarily waive noise or liquor ordinances, nor did they question the recommendations of the Traffic or Planning Commission. The members of the Council seemed to talk freely and informally before and after the meeting; they seemed to work well together. I am sure some of their meetings have more controversial issues to deal with. I am sure from the standpoint of the members, it is nice to occasionally have a relaxed meeting, such as this one appears to have been.

I told Mayor Stong it seemed Councils, Boards , Commissions, etc. at the local level seem to focus and work for the good of the community, whereas at the state and federal levels politics, personal ambition and ideology seem to dominate and the good of the state or nation becomes secondary. He had a knowing look on his face and commented he knew people at the state level. I didn't think it the time or place to ask for his take on the phenomena.

Today I continued walking east on State Highway 104. I started at a John Deere farm equipment dealership. After walking perhaps three miles, a man coming out of a side road stopped and asked me if I wanted a ride. We got talking, and he then said he was going to Barry for lunch and would buy lunch for me if I went with him. Barry is off my route so I thanked him for his generous offer, but declined. He said he couldn't walk with me and showed me his left leg which was a prothesis. A couple of miles further I came to Liberty, a town of about 600 people. There is a nice restaurant there, Mike's Place. They advertised their homemade pie, so I had a piece of pie, several cups of coffee and a couple of glasses of water. As I was leaving Liberty, a few drops of rain began falling, not enough to cause me to put my poncho on. The sky was overcast when I began walking today and remained so all day. I was not surprised some rain drops fell, actually I felt fortunate it didn't rain harder. It seemed I walked through the combination of corn and soybean fields, as I have since I have entered Illinois, except when walking through Quincy. Every once in awhile the road would pass through a forest which was always visually pleasant, then after maybe half a mile the corn and soybean fields would reemerge. I walked maybe six miles east of Liberty and ended at a point where there is some road construction in progress, and the road has been reduced to one way traffic.

As I walked today, I thought about the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates. How the concept of political "debate" has changed. It seems the first time I heard about a Presidential debate was the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election and their "debates" which of course weren't debates at all. It was just a series of questions on a variety of topics posed to the two candidates and to which they gave their opinions. It would be interesting if candidates today were to debate as Lincoln and Douglas did with one candidate taking the pro side and one the con on a single issue, in their case slavery and issues tangental to it, such as popular sovereignty and focus on that topic for a series of seven debates. Would Sarah Palin want to debate no new taxes with Warren Buffett? Would Ron Paul want to debate return to the gold standard with an economist like professor Dr. John Henry who I interviewed at the University of Missouri, Kansas City in June. Would Michele Bachmann, who signed a pledge to support "traditional marriage" want to debate that with someone, say a sociologist of the family? It is unlikely any candidate would be willing to do this, especially if they had to think on their feet without the help of speech writers. Would they be able to show the depth of analysis either Lincoln or Douglas showed? Such a series of debate might help the public become better informed on the issues facing the nation today and the likelihood of success of the various proposals said to be capable of solving our problems. A couple of things are clear. "Debates," as they have become to be known since 1960, have not improved the competency of the public to select quality candidates. Old style debates may or may not work either. Since it is clear what doesn't work, we might give it a try. Perhaps Quincy should invite Sarah Palin and Warren Buffett and give it a try. They might even tell them that they may then be asked to continue in six other cities.

OK, so I sometimes have weird ideas when I walk. I certainly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at the City Council meeting yesterday as well as the walk today. I was able to stop for pie and coffee at Mile's Place and still walked about 12 miles. Yes, it was another two great days!

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Sunday, August 14

2011-09-05T10:54:00.001-07:00

A climate controlled storage cave cut into the limestone of the bluff paralleling Ilinois State Highway 57 south of Quincy.

Walk: Sunday August 14, 2011

Today we hoped to get up and go to a church service that began at 9 a.m. We didn't so we went to the 11 a.m. service at Vermont Street United Methodist Church. Rev. Scott Grulke preached an interesting sermon on how everybody can become somebody, in a sense it seemed to relate to the sermons we heard recently. It related the idea of taking God with you, as developed in Rev. Jim Bilbro's sermon at the Shelbina Christian Church, and the overcoming of fears as developed by Rev. Helen McFarland Hannibal First United Methodist Church, in hers. He focused the the distinction between everyone and someone. The minister quoted a Quincy civic leader, now deceased, who said he used to say "Someone should do something about that. Then I realized that I am someone." Reflecting back on my career as a Cuesta College faculty member, as well as a resident of Los Osos, I heard the statement. I do recall numerous examples of "someone should do something about that." Usually that phrase meant the speaker had no intention of doing anything about it and likely would criticize anyone who attempted to do anything. After hearing Rev. Grulke's sermon, I believe I will know how to respond. If they deny they are capable, I could draw from Revs. Bilbro's and Rev. McFarland's sermons.

After church we returned to our motel briefly so I could change into walking clothes and put on sun screen. I walked out of the motel and headed east on Broadway. Auto dealerships and retail establishments related to auto maintenance seemed to dominate although there were some shopping malls and big box stores. Once I passed I-172 Broadway seemed quickly to pass from urban to rural. The few homes became fewer as I continued east. The country is gently rolling, easy walking. Traffic was light. The crops were as those I have seen since I entered Illinois; soybeans and corn. I was able to inspect some soybeans up close: Bean pods have formed on the plants. I took a picture of one of the plants, but it turned out badly.

It reminded me of an e-mail I received from Rev. Stan De Long regarding my comment that the fields planted to corn this year will be in soybeans next year. He said, "My family farmed in Iowa and the reason for the crop rotation is that soybeans are a legume which fixes nitrogen in the soil (takes from the air and puts in the ground). Corn then takes that nitrogen and uses it for its development." Stan jogged my memory on that one, I knew that and forgot to mention the logic behind the crop rotation. I appreciate the people receiving these Updates e-mailing me their comments.

Joanne Neft e-mailed me to suggest I should check out an article in the New York Times by Warren E. Buffett titled "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich," that provided a lot of food for thought today. Buffett self defines himself as a member of the "mega-rich." Buffett contends that tax rates for the "rich" were far higher in the past than they currently are. "In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion - a staggering $227.4 million on average - but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent." Buffett suggests the, Federal Government "leave rates for 99.7 percent of the taxpayers unchanged ...But for those making more than $1 million...I would raise rates immediately."

Buffett also refutes some cliches about taxing the rich:

I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone - not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 - shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what's happened since then.

It seems Buffett rejects some of the basic tenants of the Trickle Down Theory of economics that gained popularity in the 1980s and peaked in the first decade of this millennium. Americans used to worry about creeping socialism but the decade recently past appears to have been characterized as one of creeping plutocracy. Perhaps Buffett's article could be read as a warning; don't accept cliches without examining them carefully. It is of course America's debt, budget and economic problems can be immediately solved by taxing the mega-rich, but it does seem if America is going to attempt a reasonable solution it will have to be done on a broad scale and new taxes and tax increases will be part of the equation.

We heard a good sermon. I had a good walk. The temperature was in the 80s. Today was a great day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Saturday, August 13

2011-09-05T10:47:00.001-07:00

Monument in Washington Park, Quincy, Illinois located where the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate occured.

Walk: Saturday August 13, 2011

Yesterday I took the day off in another feeble attempt to relax and get caught up. In the afternoon Carole and I went to downtown Quincy in Great Debate Books, a combination bookstore/coffee shop. Carole then went to a quilt store, A to Z Quilting, which she judged to be a good store. While Carole was there, I walked about four block to City Hall and interviewed the City Clerk, Jenny Hayden, and her Deputy Laura Hirt. Quincy nickname is Gem City, a reference to it being a gem on the Mississippi RIver. This was due to its early prosperity and its many architectural gems built as factories, commercial buildings as well as family residences. Jenny agreed that in the recent economic downturn Quincy has been more fortunate than many other communities. It seems as I entered Quincy from the south there was light industry along State Highway 57, then as I walked east along State 104 there were malls of various sizes with a good selection of the chain fast food and sit down restaurants. Chain stores of gargantuan proportions; Staples, Walmart, Home Depot, J.C. Pennys, etc. etc. Jenny said it offered a good balance of light industry and retail business to the Quincy economy and the 2010 census indicated the population was up a tad. She said it was the small businesses that had been hardest hit. She estimated unemployment at eight or nine percent and perhaps it has declined a bit. Still Quincy has its fair share of poverty. Most she says is in northern Quincy, a section of the city I don't plan on walking through since I entered the city from the south and plan to leave it to the east. She said in that area most of the children receive free school lunches. She also commented the local food banks are now more frequently empty. (Is it likely the food banks will receive a federal bailout?) Jenny's observations seemed an interesting mix of good and bad.

Today I began walking north on 57. I passed light industry plants of a variety of sorts, chemical, cement, grain elevators, etc. At one point I passed a climate controlled storage company's facility which had tunneled horizontally into the limestone bluff to the east of the highway. Also along the road were some mobile home parks and an "adult" supermarket. I saw some tow boats tied up on the Quincy side of the Mississippi and some barges tied up on the Missouri side.

After walking up a sight rise, I came to a small park with the Villa Kathrine, one of the houses of the fin-de-siècle, built by a man who traveled extensively to resemble a Moroccan house, Villa Ben Ahben. It has a great view of the river and is now a visitor center. From there I walked to Washington Park. At its southwest corner is the Museum of Architecture & Design, located in a romanesque revival structure originally built to serve as a library. I got there at noon and it didn't open until one, so I called Carole to meet me for lunch at Thyme Square Cafe, a breakfast/lunch restaurant at the northeast corner of the Park. We had a very good lunch, Carole said she had the best ham and cheese sandwich she ever had. We then went to the museum which focused on the architecture of Quincy, but also included items and pictures from neighboring towns in the region. Carole quickly noted the professions of some of those who built these great residences, for example grocers, shoe store owners, bankers, etc. It would have been interesting to systematically check and record these professions. We both doubted someone who owned a grocery or shoe store today could afford to build such architecturally unique houses.

After leaving the museum, Carole and I explored Washington Park where the sixth Lincoln-Douglas Debate occurred. There is now a monument commemorating it, pictured above. After that I walked east on Maine Street and saw vacant commercial space. Then too there were tattoo parlors, pawn shops that also advertised they would buy gold-even silver, a thrift shop that seemed to specialize in clothing. A bit further east this mix of enterprise gave way to structures devoted to medicine, banks, church, etc. At 12th Street was a beautiful brick junior high school that reminded me of the high school I attended in Santa Rosa. Between 12th and 24th Streets were many of the great houses featured in the museum. The district containing these houses continues four blocks to the south between 12th and 24th as well, an area known as East End Historic District. At 24th I walked three blocks north to Broadway a.k.a. State Highway 104 and walked east to our motel. This was the section of town devoted to chain stores and restaurants of all shapes and sizes.

On a family note, when I returned to Los Osos for our granddaughter Amanda's graduation from Morro Bay High, I reread a copy of a paper my Uncle Parker Talbot, my mother's oldest brother, wrote about the family history on my mother's side. He said his grandfather, my great grandfather, Coleman Talbot, came to California from Quincy, where he had farmed, in 1848 to homesteaded land in Bennett Valley, near Santa Rosa. In 1850 he returned to Quincy for his wife, Drusilla, and their children. They left Quincy in a wagon train for California. Uncle Parker's remembrances indicated Drusilla was not overly enthusiastic about the difficulties of crossing the Plains, mountains and desert in a wagon with their children.

I walked about nine miles today. It was a great day, walking through Quincy, plenty of different scenery, nice restaurant in which to have lunch rather than snack out of my backpack as when I am in the country. I was able to see some very nice houses that have been well maintained as well as to see the town that my great grandfather left 161 years ago.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Thursday, August 11

2011-09-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

(no image available) Corn affected by the hot and dry spell on East 1000 Street south of Quincy, Illinois.

Walk: Thursday August 11

Yesterday I didn't walk but attempted to get a little more caught up on my Updates. After working in the motel room on my computer in the morning, in the afternoon we went to Java Jive to drink coffee and work on the computer. I had on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt my brother gave me. On the back it has my name. On the front It says "Walking America, Going Strong at 70" with a map of the U.S. with a green line crossing it. A man, Robert Sergent, came in and saw my name on it, and we must be related because his grandmother's maiden name was Fairbanks and he knew that all Fairbanks in the U.S. are somehow related. In theory we can all trace our ancestry back to a house built in 1636 in Dedham, Massachusetts. I told Robert I never traced myself all the way back to Dedham, the furtherest back I could go was my great grandfather who, as an orphan, came to California from Vermont. That was as far back as I could go, although my cousin Don Gass, a retired librarian, has traced our branch back to Dedham. Robert said he might have a family Bible with information on my great grandfather and our branch of the family in it, Robert had an appointment in 10 minutes so we didn't talk long.

For dinner Carole and I went to Fiddlestick and again saw Carole's cousin Nina and her husband Jerry there. We didn't see them until they were leaving and walked past our table. Today I started walking at Exit 1 on I-72 in Illinois and walked east a couple of hundred yards on the frontage road on the north side of I-72. I then walked north on 115 Road which eventually changed to East 1000 Street. The two roads combined were probably about five miles long. They were both gravel roads, and traffic was light. Two pickup trucks and two tractors passed me. There was no wind. As one of the pickups came toward me, I attempted to determine which way the trail of dust was blowing and thought I would stand off the road on the windward side to avoid the dust. Dust rose behind the truck, but there was no discernable direction to the cloud of dust. It just hovered behind the pickup.

As I began walking north on 115 I crossed Bird Slough. After passing the slough it seemed five miles of walking through corn and soybean fields. Some of the corn seemed badly damaged by the heat and lack of rain. Some of the ears were drooping, point down rather than upward, as can be seen in the above picture. Signs along 57 indicated I was walking the Great River Road. East 1000 Street ended when it met State Highway 57. I continued north on 57. Highway 57 runs at the base of bluffs to the east. It seems to run along the slope of the bluffs. To the west the land is flat, a flood plain of the Mississippi River. Because the road is a bit elevated, as compared to East 1000, I was able to look down on the corn and soybean fields to the west rather than walk through them. On the east the view was the forested bluffs.

I passed through Marblehead. The sign indicting I reached Marblehead said it was the sister city of Marblehead, Massachusetts. The town seemed merely a cluster of residences. There was a large rectangular two story brick building with a fading sign painted on its south facing wall indicating at one time it was a grocery store. Now it is abandoned. Trees and vegetation growing around it soften its appearance. Carole picked me up at at 4 p.m. just north of a trailer park, I am probably three or four miles south of Quincy.

A week or so ago Joanne Neft, who lives in Auburn, California e- mailed me to suggest I read an article that appeared in the July/ August Atlantic by Mickey Edwards concerning Congress. Edwards identified himself as a former member, who served 16 years in Congress. He seemed to support my impressionistic observation that in Congress politics is more important than the good of the nation. He put it this way: "When Democrat Nancy Pelosi became speaker of the House...she said her priority was to ...elect more Democrats...the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said his goal was to ...prevent the Democratic president's reelection. With the economy in recession, our government leaders' first thoughts have been of party advantage."

His observations of Congress' problems were interesting especially about the extent to which committee appointments are controlled by the senior members of the party in power. Beyond this how their selection for positions on various committees is determined by the younger party member's perceived loyalty to the party line and ideological commitments. This control in turn determines the bills the various committees will consider as well as the various amendments to the bills. He commented on this by saying it reminded him of "the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta H.M/S. Pinafore, in which Sir Joseph, a former member of Parliament who had been appointed Lord Admiral of the Queen's Navy, recalls how he achieved such great success: 'I always voted at my party's call," he sings, 'and I never thought of thinking for myself.'" That quote reminded me of one Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the House during my youth, made on his deathbed in Texas when asked about how to be successful in politics he replied, "If you want to get along, go along." His article seemed to indicate the United States Congress is has developed a structure to help it fulfill what it now sees as its primary mission as defined by both Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell. What can be done about it?

As I walked, I thought about the two solutions Edwards proposed. Preventing gerrymandering congressional districts and open primary elections. I certainly agree that gerrymandering is only logical if it is viewed from the perspective of politics. It certainly isn't, if viewed from faith in democracy. Open primary elections seem to have become a popular solution. However, it puts a lot of faith in the voting public; the same voting public that has willingly elected poor leaders.

As I write this, it seems that serious contenders to oppose President Obama in 2012 are members of Congress with little experience. It seems too, they were nowhere to be seen during the recent budget crisis Congress created. If they had leadership potential where were their inspired proposals? Were they heard addressing their Congressional colleagues about dealing with the need for dealing with the issue calmly and as unemotionally as possible? By their silence they played it politically safe and in essence told the American public they have no leadership potential. Interestingly they criticize President Obama whose background was identical to theirs. Edward's article certainly provided a great deal to think about. I am glad Joanne put me on to it.

When Carole picked me up today I was north of Marblehead, perhaps about three or four miles south of Quincy. It was a good day,my first full day of walking in Illinois. The temperature has dropped into the 80s so it was comfortable walking, I would have liked wider shoulders on 57, but traffic wasn't bad. I did 13 miles, it was a great day!

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Tuesday August 9

2011-08-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Mississippi River as seen looking south from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge Hannibal,Missouri.

Walk: Tuesday August 9, 2011

Today we decided I should test the theory if bicyclists can use the shoulder of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge on Interstate 72, so can pedestrians. To take advantage of the signs and wide shoulder we drove across the River to the first exit on the Illinois side and I walked the river from east to west. I essentially began in a corn field and as the approach rose it passed over a levee with railroad tracks running along the top of them. Next came a series of sloughs mixed with riparian forest. When I finally reached the River I could see islands, like Shuck, Pearl and perhaps Tower to the south. Given the density of the growth of the riparian forest it is easy to imagine how Huckleberry Finn, et. al. could hide on these islands. To the north paralleling the Mark Twain Bridge is a railroad bridge. It would have been nice to be able to cross the road and look up river, but with four lanes of interstate traffic I felt I had better head the signs and stay on the shoulder. Traffic seemed light and no faster than the traffic I experienced walking east from Shelbina on U.S. 36. On the Hannibal side of the river there was a slight bluff and just over the crest the exit at which bicyclists were allowed to enter the interstate and which I, as a pedestrian walking facing traffic, exited. I then walked south on Mark Twain Blvd. to our motel. I only walked about three miles today but since I crossed the Mississippi River successfully we considered it a great achievement! I can figure out how best to reach Quincy rather than how to walk north to Canton on the Missouri side. Since Susan Wiesner phoned the Quincy Chamber of Commerce and found out for me I couldn't walk across either of the two bridges at Quincy I was pretty well resigned to walking north to Canton and taking the ferry across.

To celebrate my victory over the mighty Mississippi we walked to Java Jive, a coffee shop on Main Street where we relaxed and I worked on my Updates. As I walked over the Mississippi and through the Mark Twain District of Hannibal I thought about some comments I heard from elementary school teachers about their students reading Huckleberry Finn. Some told me they were not allowed to recommend the book because of Twain's use of the word "nigger." Again it seems Americans have a desire to recast history to reflect the ideological commitments of the present. The word nigger seemingly was routinely used to refer people today would called Afro-Americans. When I was a child I was taught not to use the word nigger, that it was a term that by that, although once commonly used had become derogative term. I suppose thee are a couple of takes on this. If history is sanitized by not allowing students to read literature in which the word nigger is used, students could then ask, well then what was the civil rights movement all about? Times change as does appropriate terms. I first learned to call Afro-Americans Negroes. It was then the respectful term and was used during that period of our history. For example, when Tom Potter walked with me in Kansas City we went through the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Later colored and to be the respectful word, and was used in the NAACP. This in turn was followed by Black in the late 1960s and 1970s, reflecting a period of Black pride and now Afro-American. Which denotes place of origin as do say Italian-Americans, rather than skin color. History is complex and is layered, perhaps as the strata of archaeological sites. To understand it and learn from it it must be dealt with, the good with the bad. If literature can be rearranged to suit present ideologues one would suppose that soon we can expect Moby Dick to be rewritten to in such a way as Captain Ahab's mission was not to kill Moby Dick, but to tag him so the movements of albino male sperm whales could be better understood. People who believe the art of the past should should conform to the ideology of the present should support the 2001 decision of the Taliban to destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.

Getting over the Mississippi River alone made today a great day. I am out of Missouri. I had a very great time in Missouri, starting with Tom Potter walking with me through Kansas City, seeing Carole cousins, and being tested mightily by the heat. I will miss, but always remember the time I spent walking through Missouri.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Monday, August 8

2011-08-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

First United Methodist Church, Hannibal, Missouri.

Walk: August 8, 2011

I took the last couple of days off to get a bit caught up on my e-mailing. I make some progress in that direction but didn't completely achieve my objective. On Saturday we went to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. People walk from place to place starting with the Museum Interpretive Center. It dealt with Mark Twain's as a youth living in Hannibal. There was a time line showing his literary works, but there seemed little on him during that time in his life when he was a riverboat pilot, and the development of his literary career in Virginia City, much less his life in Connecticut. Still it was interesting, it did a good job with what it did. There was a great deal of information about Sam Clemen's childhood friends who found their way into books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Their names were changed, but locals all knew who Mark Twain was referring to. We went through the house Huckleberry Finn grew up in, two rooms and a ceiling so low I had to duck when I passed under the beams supporting it. There was also the Becky Thacher House and the building where Sam's father exercised his authority as Justice of the Peace as well well as other sites. It was interesting, the Interpretive Center was probably the most informative. I remember reading an article in the Smithsonian years ago ( sometime in the 1980s?) it is difficult to sort fact from fantasy in Hannibal. I suspect it still holds true today.

For dinner we went to Fiddlesticks, a restaurant on the west side of Hannibal. As we were finishing our meal Carole's twin cousins, Ina and Nina came by our table, they too had dinner there although we did not see them. The food at Fiddlesticks was good.

Sunday we went to First United Methodist Church, (UMC) Hannibal. During the "Welcoming" people sitting around us found out I was walking across the nation, as did their minister, Rev. Helen McFarland. During the "Sharing of Joys and Concerns" she asked me to come forward and briefly explain what I was doing. Her sermon seemed very appropriate given events of the past week: "What Do You Fear?" She sited a "Peanuts" comic strip in which Charlie Brown asks Lucy to identify his fear, after identifying some that don't fit Charlie's situation she said "panphobia, the fear of everything." Charlie said, "that's it." Rev. McFarland's message is Christians have to fight their fears. She the fear of the disciples they couldn’t feed 5,000 people with fives loafs of bread and two fish, and how like this is to the fear of many churches that they fear they don’t have enough money so, frozen by fear they don’t do anything. Rev. McFarland also pointed out that "fear not" occurs frequently in the Bible. I suppose the secular equivalent of this would be President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." On the other side of the Atlantic it seems it was the same problem Prime Minister Winston Churchill was attempting to combat during World War II. The sermon was good and certainly had implications beyond the strictly theological .

After the service we talked with Rev. McFarland for some time. She made some interesting observations on church congregations and the community. One was the congregation of First Church when she arrived felt they were friendly, yet she said only one person greeted her as she appeared to preach her first sermon. They were friendly with each other, but did not extend that friendship to persons appearing in church for the first time. She now pushes hospitality. She said she wants the congregation to be hospitable to visitors. It seems to have worked, Carole and I were treated hospitably. From now on I believe I will view hospitality ≻ friendly. First Church is an old intercity church, neighborhoods to the south and west are poor . Rev. McFarland said 97% of the students that attend the elementary school serving that neighborhood qualify for free lunches, one of the highest rates in the nation.

Today I began walking east from State Highway U on U.S. Highway 36. At the junction of 36 and U.S. Highway 24 I left 36 and took State Highway MM into Hannibal. I had 13 miles to go today to reach our motel and the weather was threatening; rain and thunder storms were predicted. I kept moving right along, although I did stop at a Hardee's when I reached Hannibal. Approaching Hannibal from the west I saw some nice new houses. When I entered town ( Hannibal is a city of 17,000 -18,000) I saw houses that at one time were modest but nice. Now many are in need of repair and often miscellaneous items of a variety of sorts were strewn on the porches or lawns. This was the area of poverty Rev. McFarland described yesterday. The thing that was pretty well maintained were the lawns, they were cut. I passed some beautiful old buildings that may have been religious facilities, hotels, etc. One large brick building with ornamental brick inlay was vacant and for sale. In a more favorable setting several uses for it could be imagined, but located as it was in an residential area characterized by poverty few uses for it come to mind. Broadway made a slight turn to my left and from that point ran directly east to the Mississippi River, at that point it also changed from residential to commercial. Now businesses, public buildings and churches dominated the street. Much of the commercial space was vacant.

I had intended to meet Carole at Java Jive, a coffee shop, on Main Street, but it was getting late and phoned Carole to say I would walk directly to the motel. I showered and we again drove to Fiddlesticks for dinner. As we drove north on Mark Twain Blvd. I noticed a sign telling bicyclists they could 1) Cross the Mississippi River on the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge, even if it was an interstate and a freeway, provided they stay on the shoulder and 2) they had to exit I-72 at the first exit on the Illinois side. I believe pedestrians have the same rights as bicyclists. I think tomorrow I will attempt to walk the bridge.

Today, as have been the last couple of days, was a good one. I do wish I was a bit more caught up, but I am having a good time. I heard a great sermon Sunday and today was able to walk 13 miles today. I also as get a hint as to how I can cross the Mississippi River.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Friday August 5

2011-08-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Gene and Pat Hatcher at their home in Shelbina, Missouri.

Walk: Friday August 5, 2011

Today began as a difficult day. We had to say good by to Gene and
Pat. Both are extremely gracious hosts They went way beyond the
ordinary in organizing dinners with other of Carole's cousins,
inviting us and hosting us at their family reunion at the Lake of the
Ozarks, preparing meals and taking us out to dinner. They were
helpful in many ways and from what I have heard from people like Neil
Reynoalds, Gene is helpful to others as well. Staying with them
allowed us to get better acquainted.

It seemed we were fairly organized in terms of getting the van
packed, it was the good bys that were difficult. Carole dropped me
off at the junction of State Highway K and U.S. 36. I continued east
until I reached Monroe City then took U.S. 36 Business through it.
Gene had said likely the only place to stop for a bite to eat and
drink would be Hardee's at the east end of town, it was there as Gene
said it would be. There may have been some restaurants on South Main
Street which ran south of U.S. 36 Business, but I wasn't certain, so I
stayed on 36 Business. I remembered Jonas RIchardson's advice,
"always take a sure thing." Jonas lives in Los Osos and does garden
work. We have known him since the 1970s. In 1977 Jonas, his brother
Dave, I and a few others went backpacking in the Colorado Rockies. I
believe it was while on that trip Jonas gave this advice. Walking I
am less inclined to muck around looking for things than I would be
were I driving. By the time I reached Hardee's my shirt was ringing
wet with perspiration, the counter girl noticed and asked me about
it. She was amazed to discover I was walking across the nation and
had reached Monroe City from California. She told the other employees
and I think about half the people in the restaurant came to know what
I was doing. All day it was overcast and when I left Hardee's a few
drops of rain started falling, the rain never amounted to much and I
it wasn't necessary to put on my poncho. It seemed once I got east of
Monroe City traffic picked up. Truck traffic remained about the same
but a lot more automobiles came toward me heading west. I still
wouldn't say traffic was heavy, I was just a bit surprised. Carole
picked me when I reached State Highway U at 4 p.m.

I have a high school classmate who forwards me various of the kind of
canned e-mails that end with dire warnings for those that don't
forward them; in grown toe nails, long sentences, with no chance of
parole, in Purgatory, etc. Often they reflect a nostalgia for the
past, which is usually the Post World War II Period of the late 1940s
and 1950s. Boys didn't wear earrings, no Co-ed dorms, gay meant fancy
free, no phones in cars, bathing suits were more modest, skirts were
below the knees, etc., etc.

As I walked I reflected on the popularity of such e-mails and the
extent to which, although the senders of the e-mails are now in their
70s, they view the Immediate Post World War II Period from the
perspective of a child. It appears their understanding of the past
has not improved as they have matured physically, but rather has
become simplified, idealized and romanticized. I don't believe I have
ever read such an e-mail taking on President Truman for recognizing
Israel and the subsequent foreign aid they have received from the
United States as well as the hated directed at the U.S. by other
Middle Eastern nations due to our continued support of Israel.
Several key members of Truman's Administration resigned over that
decision. None of these e-mails deal with the fear bordering on
paranoia of communism generated by Senator Joseph McCarthy, which make
it difficult to deal with communists nations other then seeing them as
the enemy. This led to an extremely costly Cold War. It may well be
that the U.S. behaved reasonably with the Marshall Plan to rebuild the
nations that were our allies during World War II (minus communist
nations) and even those nations we defeated. However, decisions to
pour aid into dysfunctional Third World nations, naively believing
they would become democratic and capitalistic, to save them from
communism only fattened the wallets of clientistic dictators to the
point their wallets could no longer take it and they were forced to
open Swiss bank accounts. Senator McCarthy may also have gone a long
way in advancing fear as a political tool. Welfare programs designed
during the Great Depression were continued although during the Post
War Period, although conditions during the prosperity of the Period
were radically different than those of the 1930s. Weaknesses of
Social Security, which survived the New Deal, could have been addressed.

It does seem many people are in a state of denial concerning the
past. Perhaps it is because they were children then and didn't grasp
what was going on beyond fashion and proper boy-girl relations. It
does appear the Immediate Post War Period shaped us in many ways,
children growing up during the period enjoyed their youth. The
television series "Happy Days" memorialized the Period. I grew up
then and enjoyed it. Even then I was aware, perhaps vaguely and
somewhat naively, of larger issues. The action and inaction of our
political leaders then did set the stage for many of our nation's
problems today. Of course It does no good, as "leaders" (to use the
term loosely) of both major political parties are want to do, to
quibble over blame. The question is what do we do about it? It might
also be fruitful to analyze decisions our nation has made, or failed
to make, the ways in which they were both functional and dysfunctional
best to make better decisions in the future.

I would rate this a good day. It was sad to say good by to Gene and
Pat, but still I walked nine miles today. It certainly was a better
day for me than the stock market.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Thursday August 4

2011-08-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

The North Fork of the Salt River, a lazy river, flowing under U.S. Highway 36 east of Shelbina, Missouri.

Walk: Thursday August 4, 2011

This morning I left Gene and Pat's house about 8 a.m. with the understanding Carole would pick me up at 2 p.m. I walked north on 6th Street, a nice residential street. Since it was still early the shadows cast by the trees were still long and crossed the street giving the neighborhood a serene look. After about four blocks I came to a grain elevator and then crossed the railroad tracks. Just beyond the tracks I turned east on U.S. 36 Business and the neighborhood looked a lot poorer, some women were already waiting out side a building in which food for low income families was distributed. It was obvious I was on the other side of the tracks. Business 36 soon rejoined U.S. 36, a four lane divided highway with wide shoulders. Traffic was fast but not heavy, it seemed there were a lot of large trucks of the 18 wheel variety.

As I walked I passed a couple of barns with sheet metal roofs that had part of their roof pealed back by the winds that hit the area. As I was walking today it was difficult for people to stop and offer me rides, since traffic going in my direction was on the other side of a divided highway and traffic approaching me was coming pretty fast. The only one to stop was Eric Armbrust, a young man, likely in this late teens or early 20s from Minnesota. He said was going to Kansas City with money for a family who needed assistance. As we talked he said he always thought of walking across the nation. I suggested he could when he retires. After he left I thought I should have added it would be interesting to see how it would have changed by the time he retires.

The crops I pass alternate between soybeans and corn. Gene told me that farmers tend to alternate the two crops so the fields I see planted to corn next year will most likely be planted to beans.

The two towns I walked through, Lakenan and Hunnewell, were small and the highway skirted both to the north. Gene had told me there would be no opportunity to stop in either for a milkshake, so I lived on water and Gatorade out of my backpack. With the light traffic and lack of towns there was a lot of time for thinking today. Television news was filled with the fall of stock prices in the wake of Congresses budget brinkmanship earlier this week. It seem Congress attempted to raise American's fear of both the Federal Government and economy to a higher level. As regards the stock market Congress seems to have succeeded beyond their widest expectations. I can remember reading comments by both successful investors and economist that the stock market is driven as much by social psychology as by economics. I also recall reading in uncertain times bad news will be seized on and magnified, beyond its likely strictly economic implications, by the market, and conversely good news will similarly be magnified. It seems the motto of the current may be: Congress plays and the public pays. In keeping with television's concept of good and ethical news coverage leaders of both major political parties were shown this morning making sententious, puerile statements justifying their actions while simultaneously blaming the other party. Apparently this is an effort to convene the public that this is just politics as usual and President Franklin D. Roosevelt was wrong when he said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. That fear is now the in thing.

Thinking a bit about reforming the system, although it would be like untying the gordian knot without the help of the sword, what about requiring members of Congress to abstain from voting on an issue if they accepted campaign funds from the supporters or opponents of the issue? Accepting campaign contributions from corporations, special interest groups of all ilks, etc. and voting on their issues would constitute a conflict of interests. Not voting in of conflict of interest occurs in various organizations. For example; when I was Chariman of Board of the Southwestern Anthropological Association (SWAA) the husband of one of the Board members was the organization's Web Master. When a motion was being voted on regarding the Web Master's compensation his wife always abstained from voting, seeing it as a conflict of interest. If such was the case with Congress it may well be that the only thing many members of Congress could vote on would be whether to put the young or old Elvis on a commemorative stamp.

Carole picked me up east of Hunnewell at the junction of U.S. Highway 36 and State Highway K. I was able to walk 13 miles today. We returned to Gene and Pat's. Pat prepared another great dinner, which included fruit salad, chicken enchiladas, sweet corn on the cob. Tomorrow Carole and I will move to a motel in Hannibal. It was difficult to think this is the last evening we will share with Gene and Pat, until we meet again. We let the meal settle, until about the fifth inning of the Saint Louis Cardinals game we were watching on television, then Gene drove us to Shelbyville for ice cream. There is a little mobile ice cream parlor parked next to Willey's Family Restaurant. Seating is on benches on the sidewalk. It was a relaxing way to end the day.

I was able to walk 13 miles today, met Eric, had a great meal and dessert in Shelbyville. Another good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Wednesday, August 3

2011-08-15T07:25:00.001-07:00

A house in need of restoration in Shelbina on Missouri State Highway 15.

Walk: Wednesday August 3, 2011

Carole dropped me off at Willey's Family Restaurant and I walked south on Missouri State Highway 15 to Shelbina. It was another hot day, but there is only eight miles between Shelbyville and Shelbina. I crossed the Salt RIver and reflected perhaps a bit more on it than some of the other rivers I have crossed, including the Salt while walking on State Highway 156. There seems to be quite a bit of water in them but it is difficult to look at them and descern the direction of their flow. I have heard songs with lines like, "the lazy river." When viewing most of the rivers in California the direction of flow is obvious as they flow from the Coast Range or the Sierra Nevada. In the future when I hear lines in songs about "lazy rivers" I will have a new appreciation of them, and likely it will bring back memories of this walk.

After about six miles I met Neil Reynolds . Neil was mowing the grass in front of his house as I walked by, and stopped his work to talk with me. It was time for me to drink a bottle of water so I drank as we talked. When I told him we were staying with Gene Hatcher he immediately began singing Gene's praise. Gene is a pharmacist and for years owned the drug store in Shelbina. Neil said he always appreciated Gene because if a family member needed medicine he could call Gene at home even on a Sunday and Gene would go to his drug store and get it. Neil is now a retired farmer. He said when he got through mowing the grass he would shower and he and his wife would drive to Shelbina for lunch; he went on to say they always have lunch in Shelbina. When I reached Shelbina and Martha's Restaurant he and his wife were just leaving. When I left Shelbyville I knew it was eight miles to Shelbina and by estimating my speed, or lack there of , I figured when I reached Neil's I had about three to go. Neil made me feel better when he said from his front gate, where we were standing, it was two miles to Shelbina.

Gene now works part time for the pharmacy located in the C & R Supermarket in Shelbina. He talked about the problems even pharmacies such as C & R are having competing with mail order pharmacies, supported as they are by insurance companies. Gene mentioned one that would allow a patient to purchase the first two orders of a prescription from a local pharmacy and after that they must use a mail order company. They tell th ecustomer they can save money using the mail order pharmacy ( the carrot ) and If they don't the insurance will pay nothing the stick). Gene contends the insurance companies pressure pharmaceutical manufactures to sell to the mail order companies at rock bottom prices.

Growing up I frequently heard of big companies getting a break on price by buying in bulk. The argument went the supplier didn't have to fill a lot of small orders, just one big order so they could pass on some of the savings to the big buyer. There may still be some advantage to filling one big order, but the question is the magnitude of the savings to supplying the mail order companies out of all proportion to price differential? If it is some regulation by the Federal Government would seem to be in order. Regulation of relationships between people and groups of various sorts, including corporations, is a legitimate function of government. The socialist would say the government should acquire the health insurance industry. It would seem better to separate the ownership and regulatory functions. Since 1980 it seems regulation is falsely associate with socialism rather than a legitimate and necessary function of government. Likely this spurious analogy was developed and propagated political and ideological reasons. It seems that America since 1980 is drifting away from democracy, not so much toward socialism, but toward plutocracy. Does anyone want to bet how many mail order pharmacies will do as Gene, did and go and get medicine a customer needs on a Sunday?

A younger generation of anthropologists might want to explore the relationship between the concentration of wealth the and demise of local business, and its social implications.

When I reached Shelbina I called Carole and she met me at Martha's Restaurant for lunch. I was hoping to get a bit caught up on my Updates, but when I walked from the restaurant to Gene and Pat's I found Carole had locked herself out and Gene and Pat had taken Pat's sister to Columbia for a dentist appointment. We relaxed on the back porch, I wrote some notes and took a nap. When Gene and Pat returned I showered and we went to Martha's for dinner, after that Gene had a church Board meeting.

It was a good day. I walked nine miles on a hot day, met Neil as well as some others, such as one of Gene's high school classmates who stopped to offer me a ride. After walking, although it was not what we anticipated, it was nice to just sit and relax in the shade of Gene and Pat's patio.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Tuesday August 2

2011-08-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

The house in Shelbyville, Missouri where Carole's paternal grandparents lived.

Walk: Tuesday August 2, 2011

Today was very hot but I had it under control, I started early and we agreed Carole would pick me up at 2 p.m. I only had to walk about half a mile to reach Bethel. There is a cafe in Bethel, The Bethel Colony Restaurant where I stopped. (Bethel was founded as a German Christian utopian community in 1844 Dr. Wilhelm Keil, a Prussian who migrated to the U.S. and became a preacher. It disbanded after Keil's death in 1879. The 1840s seem to have been an era for utopian colonies in the United States.) The only other customer in the restaurant was Jerry Kaser. Jerry is outgoing and as I drank coffee, water and ate a side of hash browns we struck up a friendly conversation . Jerry said despite its history the thing Bethel is famous for is a museum featuring English handsaws made before 1870. I asked him where the museum was, he said his house, it was his collection. He had one saw in his pickup truck which he showed and explained to me. After I finished eating, drinking and relaxing I got in his pickup and he drove to his house, took me to his basement and showed me the collection. The saws were well displayed and identified. I am not sure a professional museum curator could have done better. Handsaws have now been replaced by power saws. Jerry does restoration work and is in the process of restoring a drug store in Bethel. In his work he uses power saws. As a child I remember when handsaws were cutting edge technology. Jerry showed me a couple of saws that had been broken and the owners salvaged them. One was a stubby little saw with a blade about half the length one would expect. I told him it reminded me of Clovis spear points I had seen. Usually Clovis points are about six to eight inches long, a few are only about half that length. It seems the owner may have thrown the spear and the tip broke off, he then got to work with his knapping kit and resharpened the point. (Clovis points appeared about 13,500 years ago toward the end of the Pleistocene in North America.) Jerry has a good collection and is rightfully proud of it.

When I left Jerry's I walked back to Highway 15 and continued south I passed the drugstore that Jerry was helping restore. Apparently it will be opened only a few day a week. Jerry said a house across the street from the drug store had been purchased and would be restored, It was one of many two story brick houses characteristic of Bethel. The brick houses were built by the Colony with bricks produced by the Colony. The two story houses give Bethel a unique charm. South of Bethel I crossed North River and further south the Mesner Branch of North RIver. I think I am a sucker for creeks and rivers. It seems I always take a picture of them; the riparian vegetation, the slowly flowing water never fail to impress me.

About half way between Bethel and Shelbyville I came to North Shelby School, a K-12 school. My father-in -law, Dick Hatcher would have attended it if he was going to high school today. When he was growing up, in the early 1930s, he went to a high school in Shelbyville. Gene said when he went to high school in the early 1950s he went to Shelbina High School. If he were going to school now he would attend South Shelby High School, a school located between Clarence and Shelbina. Both Clearence and Shelbina have elementary schools and South Shelby is a combined junior and senior high school. Gene said likely the two elementary schools will close within a decade and South Shelby will also become a K-12 school. In another decade Gene felt the south and north schools will likely be combined. It seems many of the newer schools I have seen since Eastern Colorado are not located in towns, but seemingly in the middle of nowhere between towns. Local pride seems to be a factor in the location process. Everyone has to drive or ride a bus to school. I frequently hear pleas for people to ride bicycles or children to walk to school to both save gasoline and reduce obesity. Locating schools between towns makes these goals difficult or impossible. Locating the school in one community and bussing the students from the other likely would make better economic, but less political sense.

When I reached Shelbyville I went by the house where Carole's grandparents on her father's side lived at the southeast corner of East First Street and North Jefferson. Gene and Pat took us by it and commented that the current owners have restored it to better condition than when Carole's grandmother left it. I then went to the Court House Square in Shelbyville and had a BLT sandwich, lemonade and water at Willey's Family restaurant. Carole picked me up at 1 p.m. She phoned me but I didn't answer in time. Since I have been perspiring so much I am keeping my cell phone in my backpack to keep it dry, when it rings I have to take off my backpack, unzip the pocket and attempt to answer it before it stops ringing. Today I attempted to return Carole's call but apparently she was still in the process of leaving me a message and didn't get my message. Because of the heat she was worried and drove to Shelbyville only to find me safe and sound ( to borrow an expression from MoDOT) in Willey's. I had planned to walk another hour but it was hot; weather reports said it was the hottest day so far this year. Since I had rehydrated myself at Willey's I believe I could easily have walked another hour, but since Carole was already here I decided to knock off early.

As I walked I gave some thought to the sermon I heard Sunday by Rev. Jim Bilbro at Shelbina First Christian Church. His sermon focused on the Joseph of the multi-colored rainbow cloak. Rev. Bilbro said throughout all the difficulties Joseph experienced he didn't forget his dream and kept God with him. It was thought provoking, although I guess I look at sermons not only as a Christian but also as an anthropologists. I have heard the phenomenon referred to differently, such as the expression "keep the faith." It also seems close to the point made in the Crosby, Stills and Nash song, "Teach Your Children Well," in the line "when you're on the road you need a code you can live by." Rev. Bilbro framed the concept theologically, but truths often transcend ownership. Interesting a truth expressed theologically, can also be expressed as a common idiom and in contemporary music, although the song is now likely over 40 years old.

This evening Gene barbecued steaks and Pat prepared the rest of the meal. We have been eating a lot of sweet corn and it is very good! All of the meals we have had at Gene and Pats have been very good and much appreciated!

Today I beat the heat, met Jerry and had a good time in Bethel, was able to walk past Carole's paternal grandparents old house and wound up the day with a very good meal. It does't get much better.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Monday August 1

2011-08-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

A 1935 that had been restored and then fallen into disrepair beside Missouri State Highway 15 in Plevna.

Walk: Monday August 1, 2011

I did not walk Saturday or Sunday. We are staying with Gene Hatcher, Carole's cousin, and his wife Pat. Gene planned a series of trips and opportunities for us to meet Caole's relatives. It was a relaxing and eventful two days. Saturday we slept late and caught up a bit on our sleep, we then had breakfast at Martha's Restaurant in Shelbina. Gene and Pat then took us to Rutledge to an Amish general store. Carole had been in some Amish stores, but this was the first one I visited. It had a wide variety of items: Fabrics, Amish clothing, books, bulk food as well as a great many more items. It was interesting and the prices seemed reasonable, although Carole said they were higher than those in other Amish stores she has visited. The Rutelege Amish store is well known in the area. When we stayed at the Southfork Motel in Bloomfield, Iowa Linda told Carole about it. After that we drove to Heartland a residential community for children and youth who are "troubled, needy and despirat for help." Heartland operates schools a K-12 as well as a Christian College. They also operate a variety of enterprises. We first visited their dairy which milks 3,000 cows a couple of times daily in a modern carousel facility. When I was growing up I heard of carousel dairies, but had not seen one in operation. I am certain this one is much more sophisticated than those I heard of in the early 1950s. The long hair at the end of the cow's tails had been cut so their utters can be more easily washed, saniticized and the suction cups of the milking machine put on their tits. I always liked the hair that forms a tassel at the end of cow's tails so although cutting them off is obviously more efficient aesthetically the cows appeared deficient. Heartland seems to blend full time permanent employees with the youth resident in the community. In addition to the dairy, they had a goat dairy, cheese making facility, as well as a variety of other enterprises. Among them two restaurants; the Rock an informal cafe type facility and a more formal Steak House.

At day's end we went to the Rock and were joined for dinner by Carole's Aunt Orinda. We had not seen her since the mid 1990s. She is elderly and she readily admits her memory is not what it used to be, for example she doesn't remember seeing us in the 1990s. She came to the realization she can still walk, see, hear and talk so she focuses on the qualities she has retained. John, who I met briefly Thursday was there as was his brother Jim and sister Jackie. I had not met Jim and Jackie. Carole had not seen John and Jim since 1959 and had never seen Jackie. Her husband and three children were there too. Gene's twin sisters Ina and Nina were there. We ate a leisurely meal, talked, relaxed and got acquainted. Carole and I were thankful Gene set this up for us.

Sunday Carole and I went to church with Gene and Pat. They are members of the Shelbina Christian Church. We then drove north to Heartland and this time ate at the Steak House. They had an excellent Sunday buffet brunch. Charles Sharp, who established Heartland circulated among the customers. Gene knows him and introduced us. Charlie made his money founding Ozark National LIfe Insurance Company. He said he was 67 when he began developing Heartland, now he is 83.

Today I began walking about a mile and a half north of Plevna. State Highways 156 and 15 merged two miles west of Novelty and separated about half a mile north of Plevna, I followed 15 south. Plevna has no commercial establishments, although some structures look like service stations of the 1920s and 1930s. A brick building with a collapsing awning shading the front may have once been a cafe. In front of an abandoned house were some interesting metal sculptures made from various metal objects originally intended for other purposes. The Grim Reaper is riding a steed, the body of which may once have been a water tank. Some of the whimsical figures lay horizontal, nearly hidden by the grass growing around them. One such is to the left of the left front tire of the car in the above picture. It looked to me that at one time the 1935 Ford in the picture had been restored, but now it too has been abandoned to the elements. The interior is rusted the keys are in the ignition. When I walked with my classmate Tom Potter he commented on the 1950s Mercury he has restored. Although he now owns it, but it he said it eventually will pass to someone else who will maintain it. He said people who are committed to restored automobiles see themselves as temporary custodians of their vehicles, eventually passing the torch to someone else. It seemed this vehicle is waiting for someone to pick up the torch. Gene said the person who lived in the house was locally famous for his metal sculpture such as dinosaurs. Gene also commented now only elderly people live in Plevna.

It was a hot day and I was ringing wet with perspiration when Carole picked me up. Still I walked about 10 miles and ended about half a mile north of Bethel. I showered and Pat made another great dinner for us. After dinner we went to the Christian Church to hear a concert by the Good Twins who do concerts to raise money for various Christian causes. All the money raised goes to whatever cause the concert is being performed for, the Twins get nothing. However, you can also contribute to the Twins and it is those donations that allow them to perform their various concerts. In this case it was for the Show-Me Christian Youth Home, with a mission similar to Heartland. Only one of the Twins performed, the other was with his wife in San Louis where she was undergoing surgery for colon cancer. The Twin who did appear did a good job. The music was lively and the jokes funny. For me it was a relaxing end to the day.

When I attended the SACC (Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges) we took a tour of Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. (Technically I am not sure this is correct, I believe Boys Town has its own identity as a community.) I was impressed with Boys Town. It would be interesting to study church sponsored residential communities for youths experiencing difficulties in their lives. I wish I had time to ask some serious questions at Heartland and of the representative from Show-Me who attended the Twins concert.

Carole and I had a great weekend reconnecting with her cousins on her father's side of the family, and seeing the area. Today's walk was interesting, I made 10 miles and it was hot!

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Friday July 29

2011-08-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

The Novelty Cemetery, Missouri.

Walk: Friday July 29, 2011

Today we left the motel in Kirksville. Carole dropped me off at the junction of Missouri State Highways 156 and B. From there I walked three miles east to Novelty where I stopped at the Cafe. The establishment had no name other than "Cafe". The tables in the cafe were set up to seat about a dozen people. One was pretty well occupied with locals chatting and enjoying each other's company. I sat at one with another fellow. The cafe didn't have milkshakes so I ordered a cola. The waitress said Coke or Pepsi? I said just reach in and grab one. I couldn't help but remember the year when I exchanged jobs and lived in Honolulu. In Hawai'ian pidgin when you don't care you say "da kine" . It seem a handy expression and in conversations between us Carole and I still use it.

When I left the Cafe and little rain fell, but not enough nor long enough to cause me to put on my poncho. I soon reached the cemetery. I got a picture of the sign, but not the cemetery itself. Shortly before Carole picked me up at 3:30 I passed a ranch that had a small yellow biplane. When I began my teaching career at Yuba City High School, 1962-1966, these were the new crop dusters coming to replace the old Stearmans, now they too seem to have been replaced, at least here, by a newer technology. When Carole picked me up she drove onto a gravel road and as she attempted to drive forward the wheels spun. A farmer was mowing grass between his corn field and the road and stopped. He said he had seen me in the Cafe and walking as he returned to his ranch. We talked briefly and he advised Carole to back down the road a bit and then drive out. The problem was Carole had stopped when the gravel road sloped steeply up to the highway. It worked.

We then drove to Gene and Pat Hatcher's in Shelbina, where we will stay while I walk in the area. Because of the heat and humidity my shirt and the upper half of my trousers were drenched with perspiration so I showered before sitting on their furniture. Pat prepared dinner. Their daughter Karen and son-in-law Paul were there too. It was nice to see them, Paul is pretty animated and the conversation was relaxed and lively, the food was great! After eating in restaurants a home cooked meat is a real treat.

For the last few days the newspapers as well as the television news has been filled with the Federal Government's budget situation. Congress has not passed a budget and deadline is rapidly approaching. Alexis deTocqueville noted the poor quality of our leaders and members of the House of Representatives in Democracy in America Vol. I written in 1835. It does not seem that the situation has improved over the intervening 176 years. With a century and three quarters nothing has improved as concerning our ability as a nation to nurture or select leaders capable of working together to resolve our nation's problems. It seems the members of Congress seem to be putting their party, personal and ideological commitments ahead of the good of the nation. When I taught Contemporary World Cultures I used the following definition of corruption. Unfortunately I don't have the source. “Behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role (elective of appointive) because of private commitment regarding ( personal, close family, clique, wealth or status ); or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of influence” The source dealt with Mexico and consequently included "close family" and "clique." If the definition were defined with specific reference to the United States, might not "cause" and "ideology" be included within the parenthesis? Congress seems to be playing the 1950s game of chicken ( two cars driving directly toward each other with the one who first swerves to avoid a collision being declared; Chicken) on a national scale. During the Cold War the United States did not appreciate Soviet brinkmanship, now we seem to have adopted it as a good politics.

Jeannie Ashby, one of my former students and a retired elementary school teacher, e-mailed me the following: "Bill have you thought about running for a political office. We need people that think and have seen what you seem to have seen." It is flattering, but I doubt I would be electable. The voters seem determined to elect people that contend they have the solutions to all our problems. Despite all I have read, heard and seen I don't have the answers or the answers people want to hear. I would have to be elected on the basis of what I know and a willingness to work for the good of the citizens of the political unit to which I was elected; county, state of federal. Again if I was younger and looking for a topic to study studying the actions of the members of Congress anthropologically would be profitable, focusing on both the ideal and real. The ideal being what the various members of Congress say they are doing, the real being what are they really doing and the consequences of those actions. How act could be considered functional as well as dysfunctional. For example how voting for a piece of legislation might further the career of a member of Congress, but be detrimental to the nation and/or its citizens.

For me it was a very good day. I was able to walk 9½, and Pat cooked us a home cooked meal. It was a good day for me. For the nation it may well have been a questionable day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Thursday, July 28

2011-08-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

A marker letting motorists know the dept of water on Missouri State Highway E east of Millard.

Walk: Thursday July 28, 2011

Today I began walking east on State Highway E. After about 100 yards the road diped to a low spot. A sign warns that it may flood and to help motorists gage the water's depth they placed a marker, pictured above. I did experience any difficulty with water and continued east to Wilson. There was a sign notifying notifying people they had reached Wilson. The sign looked like signs throughout Missouri indicating a town had been reached. Some say 'city limits," some give the population; this sign like just said "Wilson." Wilson consists of one house and a small cemetery. I know some people who read these Updates try to follow my route. Wilson is not mentioned on any map, even the detailed DeLorme Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer. Road E ended there and I turned south on Wilson Town Lane, a gravel road and followed it to its end at Cambridge Lane. I turned west on Cambridge for about 30 yards then south on Mercury Avenue. Both Cambridge and Mercury are also gravel roads.

I walked about another 30 yards south on Mercury when a man in a pickup truck with a teenage boy stopped and asked if I was OK, we had a cordial conversation and I explained what I was doing. I noticed a shotgun between the two men in the pickup and asked what they were hunting. They said they had it because someone had told them I was walking and they thought I might be trouble so they were prepared. I guess I should be glad they weren't of the shoot first ask questions later persuasion.

Along both Wilson were some abandoned farm houses that were likely very nice homes in their day and now are in a state of decay. Mercury Avenue ended at Missouri State Highway 156 where I turned east. On 156 I came across a cluster of abandoned ranch buildings and a recently bulldozed field. Since there were outbuildings but no ranch house it seemed the bulldozed field was where the farm house once stood. Larry Stevenson told me many abandoned farmhouses have been bulldozed and this seemed likely to have been the case here. It was now noon and as I walked it seemed about half the time the heat was intense, then a cooling breeze sprang up, only to be followed by another period of intense heat with no breeze. This pattern seemed to alternate the rest of the until Carole picked me up at 3 p.m.

About 15 minutes before Carole picked me up a car stopped and the driver asked if I was walking from California. I wondered how does he know that? It turned out it was one of Carole's cousins, John Bode, his wife Pat and his mother, Carole's Aunt Orinda. He had heard from Carole's cousin Gene Hatcher, who is organizing a family get together this weekend, that I was walking in the area. I had never met John, and the last time Carole saw him was in 1959. It was a great chance encounter, Orinda who is elderly seemed happy to see me. When Carole picked me up it was 99 ℉ when I started it was 83 ℉.

Since traffic was light to nonexistent today there was a lot of time for thinking. Some time ago Tom Potter sent me an e-mail that said in part:

As I travel around, mostly by car) I see that there are many towns in stages of decay like Cincinnati, Iowa.
This is spreading more rapidly as our once prosperous country slips into decline. Oh, the rich are still rich,
but the middle class is hurting badly and that is our backbone. Even in Los Angeles which used to be
economically strong, there are vast numbers of unoccupied homes and commercial buildings and every one
involves a plan by someone to build a functioning business or a family treasure. Due to our inability to deal
effectively with the need for a mid-spectrum compromise at every level of government we and especially our
children will have a far harder time achieving life fulfillment. They will get by, of course, but the small failures,
repeated thousands of times in every state mean less and less for the middle class. The aging and the infirm
will feel it most, but jobs and educational opportunity will suffer in the long run.

I have seen the same thing it seems evident in both rural as urban areas. This was one reason that Tuesday after lunch in Kirksville I went to the Adair County Court House and talked with Sandy Collop, the County Clerk. Compared to many of the towns I have walked through recently Kirksville seems reasonably prosperous. Sandy's commented before the 1970s Kirksville bloomed and after that has experienced slow decline. She sees a two class system employees of Truman State University and A.T. Still University employees forming an upper class and retail and factory employees forming a lower class. She specifically mentioned Walmart, which has a super store in Kirksville, employees as falling into the lower tier. She said Kirksville has no middle class. Truman state and A.T. Still are both successful universities. Gene Hatcher who told me Truman State is considered one of the 10 best values for students seeking a university education in the nation. Steve Yoneda, who retired as the trainer for California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, e-mailed the following about A.T. Still. "KCOM (Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, not a radio station) is fairly well known in the athletic training/sports medicine world. They started a campus in the greater Phoenix area that is now known as the Arizona School of Health Sciences under the umbrella of A.T. Still University." Seemingly the success of these two universities has not carried over to a prosperous town. Trickle down economics doesn't appear to work. Sandy went on to say over 50% of school children qualify for the school lunch program. People are cutting back on insurance (her husband is an insurance agent). He has a number of friends who are dentists and their business has also declined. (Perhaps that explains why Carole was able to get work done on her tooth so quickly Friday. The dentist told her he would have to work her into his schedule, but when she arrived he said he had had three cancelations, so it would be no problem.) Sandy concluded by saying she has friends who have been out of work for months.

A young anthropologist might want to study the effect of the recent economic change on rural communities. This appears to be a new phenomenon in the Midwest; this is not the decline due shifting from a more labor intensive to a more capital intensive agriculture after World War II that I observed in Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas.

I received a comment on the last Update from Rev. Warren Napier, who commented: "You raise important questions about the Possibility Alliance goals, etc. I do think what they're doing can provide at least some sense of what it's like to live very differently than most of our society is used to these days, but the idealism doesn't last forever when it's up against the hard labor that most also aren't used to." I think Rev. Napier hit the nail on the head.

It was able to get in 15 miles today and John Bode provided a surprised ending. Yes, another great day!

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Monday, July 25

2011-08-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Adair County Courthouse, Kirksville, Missouri.

Walk: Monday July, 25, 2011

After the cooler weather yesterday I was hoping it would be cooler again today, no such luck. The temperatures returned to the mid 90s to about 104 ℉. I walked through Kirksville on U.S. Highway 63 Business. After a couple of miles I reached the Courthouse Square and called Carole who met me for coffee and a bite to eat at Washington Street Java Co. across the street from the Adair County Court House. After leaving the coffee shop I walked around the Court House. At leach corner was a historical marker. One discussed the building of the Court House, a Romanesque structure topped with a statue of the Goddess of Justice, although the Goddess is not visible in the above picture. On another corner was an account of the Battle of Kirksville; a 1862 Civil War Battle during which Union troops dislodged Confederates who occupied Kirksville. It said this battle secured Northeast Missouri for the Union. The statue in this picture is of A.T. Still, the man who developed osteopathic medicine in Kirksville. There is still a university that A.T. Still founded in Kirksville teaching osteopathic medicine. To the right of the statue is a small bill borad with a bar graph showing how many people have flown from the Kirksville airport to Saint Louis International Airport. The billboard says MoDOT maintains the local airport and will continue to do so if a minimum number of people use it. It looked like use was going up and the airport is safe.

After leaving Court House Square I continued south on 63 Business which ran through the campus of Truman State University a beautiful campus of brick buildings. It was about mid afternoon and summer so there was not much activity, a few students. About a mile further 63 Business rejoined 63 and after about another mile I passed highway construction that was completing a bypass of Highway 63 to the east. Yesterday I passed similar construction at the north end of town. Then I was in the country once more, about four more miles I entered Millard, a town of about 111. Carole picked me up at the junction of 63 and State Highway KK. In all I only walked eight miles today.

Seeing the Court House reminded me on an e-mail I recently received from Tom Potter which said in part:

Your description of the Davis County Court House reminds me of the old Sonoma County Court House that used
to sit with such majesty on Fourth St. in Santa Rosa. I always loved that old building and hated to see it dismantled.
It was a link to the past for me and at least partially functional as a Court House.

In the opposite direction, they made a very wise decission to save the exterior of Santa Rosa High School. It just
makes my return to our fifty year reunion even more meaningful.

Tom makes a good point on the way old buildings serve as links to the past. I did serve two terms, one as President, on the Board of the California Mission Studies Association (CMSA). California's Missions are links to the past but because they were built of adobe bricks, difficult to preserve. Many in fact have been rebuilt of cement, but some adobe structures still stand. Mission San Miguel, one of the adobe structures, was badly damaged in the 2003 San Simeon earthquake. Some opposed spending public funds to restore it because it is still a parish church. It was however restored and reopened in 2009. Religion was, of course, the primary function of the missions; still the social and economic life of California, as well as the interaction of the Spanish and California Indians during the Spanish Period was centered around the missions. California Indians provided the labor to build them as well as make them economically successful. Although rarely studied from this perspective valuable lessons can be learned from mission history. For example; the problems arising from privatization in the absence of regulation, as occurred during the Mexican Period (1824-1848) .

Years ago I remember reading an article in a Smithsonian concerning Prague's reconstruction after World War II. The first thing they rebuilt, according to the article was something that might be considered impractical; the Opera House. It seems does seem in many ways monumental architecture can unite people, even people lacking much, as a symbol of their unity. It seems the Roman Catholic Church has long realized this Sonoma County's old Court House was one of about a dozen buildings in Santa Rosa made from stone quarried from what is now Anadel State Park. The two best and most assessable to the public were the Court House and the Santa Rosa City Library. Both have been torn down. At least the library was replaced with an architectural attractive building.

Santa Rosa High School's (SRHS) campus was beautiful, I agree with Tom that it was nice it was saved, although it had to be retrofitted to conform to more stringent California earthquake standards in the late 1960s early 1970s. Many architecturally significant California high schools were dismantled rather than retrofitted during that period. SRHS's campus was built in the 1920s and fortunately has been maintained. Although Tom didn't mention it, not only has the exterior been remains intact, but the interior has been improved and looks a great deal better than when we graduated in 1955. SRHS has been fortunate that the community agreed it should be saved. In the 1980s the SRHS Foundation formed and has done a great deal to help maintain the school and its programs.

It is always nice to be able to stop at a coffee shop after walking a couple of miles and have coffee and a bite to eat, it is especially nice when Carole is able to join me, as she did today. Yes, it was hot and out of respect for the heat I stopped walking at 2 p.m. It was another good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Sunday July 24

2011-07-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

A pond covered with green duck weed on U.S. Highway 63 south of Greentop, Missouri.

Walk: Sunday July 24, 2011

Today We attended the 8:15 a.m. service of First United Methodist Church, Kirksville. They have a 10:45 service but by attending the earlier service I could get walking sooner. Rev. Richard Northcutt preached a thought provoking sermon on the topic of grace. It focused on Christ's relationship with Peter at the time of the crucifixion. Peter advised Christ to avoid crucifixion and Christ replied "get behind me Satan." Rev. Northcutt pointed out that Peter was both idealistic and realistic. He knew Christ could perform miracles and the world was in need of healing, which Christ was capable of. If Christ was crucified who would be around to fill that role? Rev. Nothcutt also discussed Christ's prediction that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crowed, which, as it turned out, he did. When he as Christ predicted did Peter felt like a failure. However, when Christ rose from the dead and told his disciples to gather he said be sure and tell Peter. Rev. Northcutt concluded it was grace that saved Peter from his sense of failure. Rev. Northcutt went on to say some believe Peter went on to dictate the gospel of Mark and Peter was eventually crucified upside down in Rome. Rev Nothcutt focused on grace rather than good deeds works, which many Americans seem to think have led to our success as a nation. Other nation's deeds are seen as not been standing up to ours so they are not been similarly blessed; a view that he thinks have led Americans to have developed a superiority complex. Rev. Northcutt concluded this is unwarranted, the land at the cross is level. This view, he said, reminded him of his daughter when she was a child saying, "what do I get for being good?" It was a good, thought provoking sermon.

Rev. Northcutt also did a nice job with his announcement of birthdays and anniversaries. Since the church has two services many of those recognized were not in attendance so he told the congregation if they saw these people this week to congratulate them. After the service we had coffee and talked to some members of the congregation.

When I began walking at the junction of State Highway A and U.S. Highway 63, 11 north of our motel. It was overcast, the temperature was in the mid 80s which was 10 to 20 degrees cooler than it has been. I walked south for perhaps a bit more when I saw a foggy haze on the road ahead. I checked the sky to see if I could see rain falling, and didn't see any. Cars approaching me had their windshield wipers on so I decided to put on my poncho. I didn't even get it out of its carrying bag when a rain squall hit. The raindrops were big. The squall soon passed. However I could hear thunder and occasionally see lightening bolts hit the ground to the north, behind me. After about an hour the thunder and lightening stopped. It like to think I can walk faster than lightening, but a better explanation would be the storm broke up while it was still north of me. I passed the cluster of houses that form the community of Sublette. The land seems to have again flattened out, the shoulders were wide, it was basically easy walking. The corn has now formed ears. One family stopped to offer me a ride.

It was interesting to run the sermon I heard and its implications through my mind as I walked. Edward Hallett Carr in his book What is History? made the point that God is often invoked as a wild card (Carr used the word "joker," since jokers are often the wild card) in analyzing history. For example why was capitalism successful in 1776? Answer: The invisible hand. Why was the U.S. able to expand in the 19th century? Answer: Manifest destiny. Likely it equally applies to the Puritans who explained their success by the stewardship of God's wealth concept. God rewarded those who he favored by bestowing his wealth on them, hence they became stewards of his wealth.

When I walked into the motel Carole said I had walked 11 miles, she had checked it against the van's odometer. I was surprised it was that far. Heard a thought provoking sermon, and walked 11 miles. I certainly will not complain about the rain, since the temperature dropped. It was a good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Saturday July 23

2011-07-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

Howard Whitlow (left), Vern and Samantha Tillett at a grocery store/restaurant in Queen City, Missouri.

Walk: Saturday July 23, 2011

Yesterday Carole went to the dentist and got a temporary cap on her chipped tooth as well as work on the tooth next to it. Carole felt the dentist was very competent.

I began walking where I ended Thursday; after about three miles reached Queen City. Again it was hot with temperatures up to about 104 ℉. At the north end of Queen City, a town of between 700 and 800, was a food market and convenience store/gas station. The convenience store advertised pizza, etc. so I went in for a place to sit, relax and get something to drink. They had no tables, but said the food store next door did, so I went next door. Sure enough they did and everyone was taken, although not every place was occupied. As soon as I walked in Howard Whitlow invited me to sit with him and Vern Tillett. I ordered a milkshake and drank four glasses of water. Howard told the waitress I was walking across the nation and she took good care of me. As we talked Vern's wife Samantha came and a bit latter Vern excused himself saying there was an auction he looked forward to attending. No sooner did he leave then he was replaced at the table by Bruce Collins. Vern and Samantha moved to the area five years ago to raise horses. Vern said Howard was the first person to greet him, Howard was also the first one to greet me. Howard said Vern really did not like to be called a "horse trader" and so I didn't call address him as such. Howard said for the past 20 years his health has not been good, he said he had some heart trouble and mini strokes. He looked good, spoke clearly and seemed alert; he certainly is friendly and sociable.

After Queen City the next town was Greentop. It was hot when I reached it and time for a Gatorade. I came to a little park and sat under the shard of a gazebo. I then resumed walking and came to Bailey's Grill. There I got a cup of coffee and a BLT sandwich and of course a couple of glasses of ice water. It was nice to be able to relax a bit in an air conditioned restaurant. I then walked a little south of Greentop to State Highway A where Carole picked me up. For dinner we drove about three miles west of Kirksville to Thousand Hills Dining Lodge in Thousand Hills State Park. The restaurant overlooks the lake, both the food and the view were excellent.

When we visited Larry Stevenson both he and Donna commented on the way in which wild animals have increased in number in Iowa during their lifetime. Thy both agreed when they were growing up there were very few deer and raccoons, whereas now both species are so numerous as to be considered pests. I would say, although I don't systematically record it, raccoons are the most frequent road kill I see. The increase in raccoons may be due to the decline of the more or less self sufficient family farm. If a family farm had a household flock of chickens for both eggs and meat, raccoons would have posed a major problem and likely were trapped and shot. Now with family farms producing only and or at most perhaps three crops and purchasing their food they have no reason to kill raccoons.

Since I left Denver and begin walking across the Plains I have seen a number of abandoned farm houses, Larry said it is only the tip of the iceberg, that many have already been bulldozed by the larger farmers who bought the property to increase the size of their fields. He said cisterns and wells have often been covered by the bulldozing, but not filled. Occasionally they break through which can cause problems.

I reflected a bit on Larry's comments on large ranchers herding cattle in Montana with airplanes directing ATVs. It reminded me of the cattle drive I saw on May 31, 2010 on U.S. Highway 6 north of Lynndyl, Utah as well as a conversation I had at the Hatcher Family Reunion when I was told of a fellow who lived in Eastern Missouri that wanted to be a cowboy. He wore cowboy boots, a large belt buckle and rode horses. He went to Wyoming and got a job as a cowboy only to discover the cowboys he was working with were wearing tennis shoes and riding ATVs. Interesting he did not consider his new colleagues "real cowboys". He felt he a more authentic cowboy than they, he quit and returned to Missouri. It kind of reminded me of the developers of the pledge supporting the "traditional family". In this case we have a man with a romanticized view of cowboys. One likely influenced more by rodeo cowboys than cowboys working cattle on ranches. Even as a boy growing up on a farm with beef cattle in the late 1940s and 1950s it was obvious no cattle ranchers attempted to ride bulls, jump off horses to grab a steer's horns and wrestle it to the ground. Sometimes we did lasso an animal, however if we could have afforded one we probable would have used a squeeze shoot. It is interesting how romantic images of the past seem to have a greater grip on Americans than reality. This the self styled "real cowboy" shared with the members of the think tank that developed the pledge. Yet the past as they envision it is romanticized; it never was. Tradition is one thing, often healthy as it links the past to the present and projects it foreword to the future. Traditionalism makes the past into an ideology, often romanticizing the past and in the process twisting it into something that never was. Alexis de'Tocqueville commented America lacked good historians we now have many good historians, however the question may be are we teaching students relevant history?

I walked about 10 miles and found sufficient shade, fellowship and refreshment. Carole seems to have her dental problem under control, although we will have to drive back to Kirksville on Monday August second for her to get a permanent cap on her tooth. It was a hot, but a good day.

Bill and Carole

Bill's Daily Update: Thursday July 21

2011-07-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Davis County Court House, Bloomfield, Iowa.

Walk: Thursday July 21, 2011

Today we moved from the Southfork motel in Bloomfield, Iowa to one in Kirksville, Missouri. I accidently packed my camera in my suitcase so I wasn't able to take any pictures today. The picture I am using I took Tuesday when I walked through Bloomfield. It shows the scaffolding of the restoration work on the Davis County Courthouse.

Carole left me off and I continued walking south on U.S. Highway 36. After about four miles I reached Lancaster. As I entered town I saw a MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) facility I stopped and asked if they knew if there was a bridge I could walk over Mississippi River on. They didn't know, I am still too far away. I was invited to use the restroom and drink cold water from their drinking fountain; it was hot today, again temperatures around 104± 3 ℉, so availed myself of the opportunity to drink cold water. When I get closer to the river I think I will call the Missouri Highway Patrol.

A bit further south there was a small roadside park with a historical marker indicating Lancaster was named for Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Across from the park was Buddy's Place a restaurant/bar that, judging from the logos on their t-shirts, was named for a dog. Since they didn't have milkshakes I had a cola and a large glass of water. When I got there Buddy's was pretty full seemingly with locals eating lunch; families with children, senior citizens as well as working men and women. It was a friendly place, Since they didn't have milkshakes I had a cola and a glass of ice water. Smoking was allowed; a few were smoking as they relaxed and ate, the restaurant though did not smell of smoke. After leaving Buddy's I walked about another mile or so and discovered a convenience store/service station. I knew the next town, Queen City was another eight miles to the south and this would be my last chance for cool refreshment today. They had milkshakes, so I had one with a large glass of water. (Glass? It was a plastic cup; should I have said I had a plastic of water?) Carole picked me up about three miles north of Queen City.

In Kirksville Carole found a dentist she feels is competent . He evaluated the situation and she has an appointment at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow for him to do the work. I think I will take the day off and go with her and perhaps get a bit caught up.

I received the following e-mail from one of my high school classmates, Tom Potter. Tom flew to Kansas City to walk with me for three days in the Kansas City, Missouri area, although we spent more time in Kansas City's great museums than walking. We did have a great time together.

As I travel around, mostly by car) I see that there are many towns in stages of decay like Cincinnati, Iowa.
This is spreading more rapidly as our once prosperous country slips into decline. Oh, the rich are still rich,
but the middle class is hurting badly and that is our backbone. Even in Los Angeles which used to be
economically strong, there are vast numbers of unoccupied homes and commercial buildings and every one
involves a plan by someone to build a functioning business or a family treasure. Due to our inability to deal
effectively with the need for a mid-spectrum compromise at every level of government we and especially our
children will have a far harder time achieving life fulfillment. They will get by, of course, but the small failures,
repeated thousands of times in every state mean less and less for the middle class. The aging and the infirm
will feel it most, but jobs and educational opportunity will suffer in the long run.

Tom, seems to make a couple of good points. When the nation was developing it seems the middle class as well as the upper class that prospered. With the union movement of the late 1800s and first half of the 20th the working class also benefitted. Now it seems the middle and working classes have suffered and it shows in housing, clothing and behavior. Since the Reagan street people seem more numerous in urban areas, although I have not seen any in the rural areas. Rural poverty is easier on people than urban poverty, since there are more opportunities to grow or raise some food and perhaps supplement their diet with some hunting and fishing. It certainly seems members of the middle class in rural areas are adjusting as nouveau pauvre better than those in urban areas. American's adjustments to this new reality again might serve as a interesting research topic for a younger anthropologist than I.

Carole found a good dentist. I was able to find a variety of sources of shade and refreshment on a very hot day. However it meant I only walked about nine miles today. It was a great day.

Bill and Carole