It is FINISHED!!!

I am thinking that I will follow this post in a couple days......with additional thoughts and feelings, and perhaps a picture or two if your camera is co-operating again.
I have been thinking about this day for a long time. I am numb with happiness and my mind of course is kind of boggled. It's not that I am having a blank moment,.... it's that I have so many thoughts and feelings rocketing around in my head, I can't sort them into a reasonable train of thought. There is so much I want to say, but lacking the skill with words that Uncle Norm has, I often wonder if you will be able to get anything at all out of these words. They have really after all, been written for you. Perhaps all you have to glean from it is that I love and respect you. I am proud of you. You are everything and more than I hoped you would be. You have put yourself through the fire. In a small way, mentally, I have gone with you all the way. I was with you each and every night as I knelt in prayer asking our Father in Heaven for your safety and happiness. I know that you remained safe, though you suffered many pains and injuries. I think that you may have endured much lonliness and were tried to the max. You never gave up. I hope that will be the thought you will carry with you forever more. I hope just the knowledge of who you are and what you did will carry you through the future with the deep conviction that come what may.....you will always have what it takes to do what ever you need to do.
I pray also that you will know how many people have been uplifted by your courage and determination. You have been an inspiration to me. I love you bunny.

Forgot to tell my blog how you notified me today that your journey was completed.......two words.........

the beach!!!!!

BARNEY the BUFFALO

I would have put this in the correct time line, but since you just posted it recently, I am going to just tuck it in here before the conclusion of this blog. This picture is titled Barney the Buffalo. I laughed when I saw this. It's both funny and sad at the same time to me. This majestic fellow is just strolling along the highway

as though it's perfectly natural to be following you along as you make your way through Yellowstone. I can tell you Jed, that this guy is my most favorite character that you have met along the way on this journey of yours. The sadness is that he has become a tourist attraction, and I hope, (but wonder) if those who see him look at the beautiful creature that he is or if they just think he is there for their entertainment. I like to think of him without seeing all the people gawking out their windows at him.

Still, I am glad he prevails even with all the fluff around him. Kudos Barney!

YaTaHey!

My heart bursts with pride

You my son, have done what boggles the mind.....

Hey Jed, what did you do over your summer vacation? I know you worked insane amounts of hours to save money for something really big! I know you spent literally thousands of dollars of your hard earned money to do something really big over your summer vacation. I mean heck, taking a half year off work, spending all that money,.....you must have done something really fantastic, must have had a real blast!! Did you see the sights, or travel? Did you stay in exotic places, eat exotic foods, drink exotic wines? I mean, you must have really had a time!!!

Yes, you spent a lot of money... saw some sights. Heck, roads fell out from under you as flood waters rushed in. Got to see a tornado arriving in a town while trying to stay in one piece under a bridge. Got to sleep and run for days at a time in driving rainstorms with 45-50 mph winds to slap you along the way.....had 4 star accommodations in abandoned houses and barns. Got to see lots of critters, some not so friendly as they protected their junkyard territories. Felt the full fury of mother Nature as she shoved one torrential downpour after another in your face to get you to quit and go home. Then there was the blistering heat and convection oven wind of Kansas in mid summer. It hadn't been that hot for that long without let up in many a year. Exotic wines? Does rancid water from a ditch, drunk in a moment of desperation count? I would guess that one of the most miserable highlights was the seemingly endless stretches of lonely highways in Kansas with no one to know of your pain, your thirst, to encourage you to go on when it hurt to walk anymore. I think the Kansas/Colorado border is where your ankle finally ripped apart with all the extra weight of the water that had to be carried to fend off the delerium of temperatures that melted the bottoms of your shoes.
I was happy when you again reached the mountains of Colorado that gave you relief from the wretched heat, and at least gave you beautiful scenery to look at. I marveled when I knew you were traveling through the rugged territory in Wyoming, then Montana and Idaho, and finally into Oregon. What did you do for your summer vacation? You overcame everything that was thrown at you, and you did it with honor and courage. I know you wanted to be able to pass your goal of obtaining money to benefit the Jimmy V foundation for cancer research, but you did something more for those who are battling right now.....research will take time, but you have shown those who fight the battle of a lifetime right now, that you can prevail....even when the odds are all against you..even when others say you can't. If I can do anything in my life, I hope I can tell your story so many others can know the meaning of your slogan.........."taking the I can't out of the English Language....one step at a time."

I know you have a few more days left before you reach the Pacific Ocean....5 maybe, but talking to you tonight I am so happy. You told me you would make the town of Sisters, Oregon today and would be meeting up with someone you worked with....a special girl that you have grown to care for. That was such exciting news. After a little time together, you will continue your journey to the ocean as she continues her journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. I surely wish the time you can spend together is filled with happiness and joy as you share your experiences of these past months.

I feel the fire back in your voice as you realize how close you are to that day, very soon now, when you will place your well traveled feet into the ocean surf of the Pacific, 4,268+ miles from where you began.

You are incredible Jed, a man among men.

Almost there!

I can hardly believe that you have gone so far! I haven't posted anything on this blog for a while, and it seems like you have been rocketing along. While I am piddling my days away, you are still moving, and I sense that seeing the finish line so close, you have become infused with a new fire. Before I ramble too long, I want to put in a statement that Buffy wrote to all your followers. I am going to copy/paste it here if I can:

Here's what she had to say, and I cannot think of a better way to say it......
Hi and a big thank you to all the members of Jed's group! Thanks for the generous financial contributions many of you have made but most of all for the ongoing moral support, prayers, advice and good karma! Jed is halfway through Oregon and will likely finish within 2-3 days. Many of you may already be aware but he sustained a significant ankle injury as he neared the Colorado border. We picked him up and brought him to Missouri where we were blessed to have two wonderful physicians donate their time and expertise. Due to the injury the only way he could finsih was by bicycle. He really wrestled with that and made several attempts to push past the injury but in the end realized that doing so could cause permanent problems. Not too good when you make your living climbing mountains! I personally feel that running 2,500 miles and then biking close to another 2,000 in 5 months is nothing to be ashamed of - and that all of you who donated will be blessed in your willingness to help support cures for cancer. Thank you again, all of you and we'll let you know when he crosses the FINISH LINE!

news

it was good to hear your voice tonight Jed. I was thinking about you and wondering how you were. I got the message that you had two flat tires, and a slashed sidewall. I was afraid you might be forced to walk pushing your bike and carrying your gear, and I was pretty sure that would be extremely painful and damaging to your injured ankle. When you called, I could not bring myself to ask if you had to do that. At least you were in a town, and found a bike shop where you could purchase a new tire. I saw a post on facebook that someone had suggested you get Kevlar reinforced tires, and knew that you had started out already with them. Wyoming must have been a beast on those tires. I don't know anything about these kinds of things, but I have been told those are the best tires you could have had, so it was a big deal they went on you. I guess you can only prepare so much, and then life is just a crap shoot after that. Your voice sounded very good though, so I was much heartened by that. I also checked your fundraiser page, and saw that you got a few more donations. I hope you leave the page up a while after you reach the ocean. I believe we could just keep on keeping on with it for a spell. Maybe those who couldn't before might be able to help out sometime in the future.
I will continue to keep a blog for you till you finish this journey, but perhaps I will go on now and then, and continue your story. You know Jed, it's not just about this run, but about how you live your life, and how you inspire others to do better, and to never give up.

I think it was well said........

Jed Brown.... taking the "I can't" out of the English Language...
one step at a time.

I'm proud to be your mother. I love you Jed.

on the road again

Well, it's been a while hasn't it? I sent an e-mail to those friends who routinely ask about you to update things, but I just haven't had much time to update the blog. I guess it's about time I do that. Your leg healed as much as it was going to, and I know you finally decided to go on in spite of the pain. In truth, healing really is going to take a lot longer than either of us wants, but I know that even with the tremendous heat we have endured this summer, that a sudden storm can blow in at mountain elevations in the fall, so I am glad that you are on your way. Of course, I know that you are pretty qualified to deal with adverse weather and cold. I know that many times at work, you were out in the woods for days at a time with double digit temperatures below zero. I think that is in your genes. Our people were from many generations of those who thrived in cold climates, and you fit right in with that. I also know you love the mountains. That is hard to explain to some, but I know of that love. Missouri has been strange to live in. I've been here so long now, more than anywhere else in my adult life, and yet I always get the feeling that it should be soon time to go home. When I go to Uncle Rynd's house, it feels so easy....as though I am home, yet I am not. Wonder if I will ever be at home here? Wonder where you will end up living, or will you always be a wanderer? Hard to say. For now, home is where Roger is, so that is where I will be. If there is a time when I do not have him, it's hard to say where I would go.

I imagine you as you look up at the sky and those rugged mountains, with the great pines, and wish I had been young enough to accompany you on some of your trips. It's good when you don't have to travel alone. I see these things through your eyes, and am grateful that you are able to do this thing that calls you.

I remember once Papa telling me something when we were in the woods together. I found some forget-me-nots, and wanted him to see how pretty they were. I picked one and brought it to him. He told me to look at it and find all the pretty things I could. I described to him what I saw. He then said "look at it the first time for you, then look at it again for me....and find more...."

I remember one day after he had been gone for a couple years, I was driving west on 92 hwy into Kearney. I capped a little rise, and the sky exploded in front of my eyes into the most beautiful sunset I had seen in some time. I could hear his voice saying....."look at it again for me".......

I had to pull off the road as it was hard to focus through tears, but I looked and saw such beauty,.....then I looked again and saw so so much more. I think that is a good thing Jed. It doesn't have to be for me, but when you see the beauty that I know you are seeing, look at it once for you........then look again, and find more,...... for you for someone special in your life, or just to thank God for making it all. Be grateful for the beauty and wonder of the earth.

Life Goals

This was made by the unicyclist that carried Jed's pack for a while. He also spent some time with Jed, and did this "interview" with him. Jed as you will see, has a way of being easy and making jokes about nearly everything. I got a laugh anyway Jed. 

Well, in a book you can't watch the video that goes with this blog, so here's a picture of Sky, the unicyclist that carried Jed's pack for a number of miles to give Jed a break.  Thanks kiddo!