shelter for the night

Got a phone call from Jed about an hour ago. He was just outside a town called Bryantsville, in Kentucky. He thinks (hopes) he is out of the snarling dog country. He told me he'd never seen anything like the country he had just run through. It seems the more "stuff" people had piled outside their houses, the more pit bulls they had to guard it. Since Jed isn't someone who attaches too much importance to "stuff", I think he was wondering why the need for guard dogs when no one would want the things being guarded. Of course in life there are always more questions than answers anyway. Who can know what motivates others? I've never figured people out, and at this stage in my life I no longer want to. At any rate, Jed is out of Appalachia rural mountain areas. He is now traveling across farmland. A lot easier on the legs, and a welcome break from the daily encounters with man's best friend. Bet Jed will never want to own a pit bull, what do you think?

Anyway, he called, and that has made my evening this Sunday very nice. I usually kind of dread Sundays because I realize that the next day I have to go back to work. Today, the phone call and his post on Facebook made me smile again, and realize that what I do on a daily basis is such a drop in the bucket compared to what he is doing, that I begin to feel guilty about even thinking blah thoughts about my tomorrows.

The post this morning was "what do we do today Jed?" "same thing we do every day Pinky, try to hoof it for 25 to 30 more miles."

The phone call was more informative. Weather conditions are horrible. Flooding, a glitch in the road. (there had been a landslide that took out part of it.) and relentless pounding rain. His shoes are soaked, his clothes and socks are soaked through. If you are a runner, you know wet shoes and socks are the enemy of a runner. Wet feet will, in short order, tear slabs of flesh off the feet, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. The temps are about 60 during the day, and I figure pretty cool at night. Last night, he was going to go a few more miles, and had just passed through a tiny town, when he heard the sirens go off for a tornado warning. He sped up and found a bridge. He ran down into the ravine, and tucked in under the bridge to wait out the storm. He decided it was wiser to remain in place, so he just slept there for the night. Probably wasn't the driest spot, but safer than out in the open. Tonight he had gone about 25 miles, and came across a barn. On investigation, he found it to be dry and filled with tobacco. A good warm, dry tobacco barn....sounded like a good place to spend the night. That's where he called from. He was going to get his sleeping bag out and put his clothes out to dry as best as they would. The plan is to try for a town that has a laundry somewhere so he can dry the wet pairs of socks, the shoes, and wet clothes. He's ordered another pair of shoes, and they have been shipped to a town that's about 2-3 days from where he is now. By the time he gets there, they will be at the post office waiting for him. Dry shoes will be a treat! You can't get much more than 500 miles or so out of a pair of running shoes, when it is time to replace them. Every time I know he is getting a delivery at a post office, I want it to have homemade cookies in it.....I just can't give up the mom in me.
In a few weeks, he will cross the border into Missouri, and there will be so many of us who are going to take a couple days and either go see him, or run with him for a few miles. The only thing I wish is that more people knew about this run. He is giving up so much for this cause of raising money for cancer research, and I can't help but think that if they knew,more people would go the his website and donate. I am doing my best to get the word out, but should you read this blog for some reason, please tell others about it, that they might consider helping him raise money for this great foundation.
I know this is a rough year for families. I have been worried about my own job, and I'm not getting any younger, but I have decided that to give is indeed more blessed than to receive, and I feel that when I give to help others, God will help me, so I can continue to render this assistance. I have often prayed for ministering angels to stay close to my loved ones, to watch over them, and to help them. I also think that sometimes we can be those "earth angels". We can be our Savior's hands here on earth to help those around us. I want to be a pair of those hands.

God Bless you and your families, and God Bless you Jed, for this heroic effort.
I love you more than I can ever say. mom