Should I stay (the course) or Should I go?

This is hard. Really hard.
I have serious injuries to both feet. My small toe on my right foot is one large blister, both feet have massive blisters on the area behind the middle toes, and every step feels like I am walking on red hot nails. And yet I continue.
The past two days were a challenge though, and have made me think about whether or not to continue. The pain notwithstanding, last night an incident left me shaken very badly and I am pondering whether to call it quits. After a very long day, with about 21 backroad miles behind me, a man let me use his outlet to charge my phone while we talked on his porch. He told me that everyone knew all about me already, and as I was thinking that is a good thing, he continued to inform me that all of the old ladies on that stretch of road were widows and were all afraid of me---a stranger pushing a cart in that neck of the woods was not a daily occurrence---and while I seemed like a nice guy, he felt I should know that. He even took a card from me and said he would make a donation to WhyHunger. I thanked him and headed up the road. It was about 8:30, and dark.
A mile later, a local sheriff’s deputy pulled up behind me in the dark, and asked for ID. I gave it to him and he told me that he had received 3 calls from the local old ladies all expressing concern about my presence. He offered to drive me the 15 miles to Swainsboro, just to get me out of there, but I demurred, since the purpose of walking across the country is to WALK. He also told me not to tent in plain sight since the young kids on meth would mess with me. He suggested a lot about 3 miles up the road as a safe enough place to set up my tent.
What happened next made me wish I had taken the ride.
I went another half mile or so and soon noticed a bright light shining on me from behind, very narrow in focus, and very bright. I turned and saw it several hundred feet behind me, obviously a flashlight of some sort. It went off. I sped up as much as my injured feet would allow me to. Several minutes later the light reappeared, and when I turned around to see where it was it was almost on top of me. I said “Just walking through” in a loud voice and got no response. As I said, it was dark. Very dark, and the perigee full moon had not yet risen. The light went off, and I sped up more, almost running. The light came on again but further back and it faded in the distance as I ran.
I decided to not use the lot that the cop had referred me to—paranoia had made me think it was a set up. I found an old cotton field, up a hill, and camped there for the night, out of sight, and was treated to a beautiful moon and a cool, peaceful breeze.
In about 5 days I will be passing through Jackson, Georgia, where I live, I will take a couple of days to heal and regroup, and maybe re-route my trip, avoiding the really rural areas like Metter, Georgia, where the above took place. A bucket list adventure like this isn’t supposed to be what makes me kick that bucket. It is supposed to be fun. It has been fun, even with the pain, but when my life or safety is at risk, it is time to reflect. Think about a calm, blue ocean…...and relax.
As I said, this is very very hard but I am sure I will see it through. If I do make the decision to stop, I know a lot of you will be let down, so it is for you that I write this, as a window to what is and has been. I also know that other places in this country are not this way, so if I hang in there, I’m sure it will be worth it. A few days to re-calibrate and rest at home will let me know. In the meantime I hope you all enjoy not only my blog posts but all the hundreds of photos I post on my facebook page. Even the great roadkill…..