Days 308-310 – 3/27-29/12 – New Developments (much content)

Middleville to Grafton; Distance = 10 Miles; People Met =

With less than two months to go, lots of things are happening all at once.  I write this from the home of Gwen Jones and Ted McMahon.  Gwen, like Mike Hinckley back in Denver, is a close backpacking friend of ours who came to West Virginia where her family’s roots lie.  She references her grandfather’s day where people knew “Which side are you on?” as in Pete Seeger’s song.  Now, thanks in large part to think tanks and mass media, blue collar folks are confused about which side they are on.  She now teaches teachers in special education at Fairmont State University.  Hubby Ted works at the National Energy Technology Lab.

Gwen and Ted

I’ve remarked on occasion that our journey is amazing because we experience new people daily in the context of community and kindness.  Yet we always say goodbye, not really knowing if we will see someone again.  The beauty of staying with Gwen is we know we will see her again.  We don’t live in the same community but the kinship type bond is so strong, as it often is with long distance backpackers, we know we will be in contact and perhaps even be there for each other in the future.

New friends and new kindness remains what this journey is primarily about and we had an extraordinary encounter in that regards as well.  Gary Auerbach was perusing Google News recently when he came across the story WBOY 12 did.  That would be this story here:

Gary lives near the North Bend Rail Trail in Salem and saw a potential CouchSurfing opportunity.  Gary is part of that organization where people offer places to stay for travelers.  He has been the guest of others many time and seeks to host travelers in return.  A big reason for his use of CouchSurfing is traveling to schools around the country as a “playcologist,” a plays-ster, juggler, dancer and world Frisbee champion who encourages kids to get out and play more.

We were already set in terms of lodging but Gary wanted to meet us anyways.  We met at McAteers in Fairmont for lunch, a favorite place of Gwen’s near where she works.   Also joining us was Matt, the head of an outdoor adventure program at Fairmont State University, the audience for my presentation after lunch.  Gary came into the restaurant bearing gifts, including a Frisbee and some whirly-gig thingees that we proceeded to play with in the restaurant.  Before we left the restaurant Duane McAteer gave us some of their T-shirts as well.

Cindy, Gary, Gwen and Matt at McAteer

Gwen and Matt were eager to meet Gary as well.  The two head up an ultimate Frisbee program at FSU and figured that Gary might be just the man to help infuse their endeavor with more excitement and fun; one fruitful encounter leading to another.

The presentation for the outdoor adventure program was well attended and went very well, similar to our first college gig of the journey at Colorado Mesa University.  Two students, Matt Snyder and Eliza Huff, hung around and chatted afterwards.  They have family near our route in Maryland that we might connect with in some way.  Gary came to the presentation as well and afterwards invited us to speak the following morning for fourth graders at Watson Elementary School in West Virginia, where his wife Wendy was school counselor.

I gave a second talk late afternoon to an honors leadership class instructed by professor Robert Baker.  They were finishing up a film on Machiavelli when I arrived and I used that as a starting point for how we have been misinformed since the Enlightenment about our natural sociability.  I really feel so comfortable with my subject matter of community and kindness at this point that I can go anywhere with it.

Like presenting to fourth graders a second time in the space of a week.  Watson Elementary was, in fact, focusing on kindness in their curriculum.  “KINDNESS” was spelled out on one of their walls in big letters, with acts of kindness written on the letters.  You know I was bound to use this as a photo opportunity.

After the presentation Gary took us to Pokey Dot, a fifties style diner with a specialty in home baked pies.  We conversed about hiking and play, with similar concerns for how little kids are outdoors these days.  Capping this extraordinary encounter off was our awareness of a mutual acquaintance, a “small world” sort of thing.  Warren Doyle is a prominent figure, and unforgettable character, in both our world of Appalachian Trail hiking and Gary’s world of good fun contra dancing.  When you place it all together, this was perhaps the most serendipitous encounter with an individual on this journey since Carlos de la Fuente in California.

Fine conversations at the Pokey Dot Diner

On our final evening in downtown Morgantown we encountered a rally of sorts.  Third graders from St. Francis School were asking people in the streets to “Lend a leg.”  For what, you might ask?  Take a listen:

Other significant events happened during our stay here at Morgantown.  Our daughter Serena has struggled to meet her education costs at the Hartt School of Music since we’ve been gone.  She has been responsible and diligent in pursuing scholarships and work while a student, but we provided some support for room and board that was cut by more than half on this journey.  Meanwhile her costs have been increasing, an appalling situation across the country leading to graduates being one of the new demographics of often being food challenged.  Serena wrote an essay for a scholarship that requires votes.  Would you consider going to this site and voting for her essay?

The final eventful situation that has developed here is that our support person Ky needs to return home right away to keep her dog company in his final days with cancer.  We will see her again — she is not about to miss the amazing finish to the American Discovery Trail — but in the meantime I won’t have access to my computer at town stops.  I’ll post when I can at public libraries but there will be no photos for awhile.  I always can add photos later.

Other Photo

Ayla at the Black Bear Restaurant

Gwen's dog has a bad habit