Two weeks away...and I'm nervous.

Two weeks from today I will set off on the biggest endeavor of my life. They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. What about a three thousand mile trip? Same step, longer strides?
My friend Holly Christiana suggested that I write about my expectations for my walk across the US. It is a good suggestion, and one that I have been thinking about. Most people that I tell the story to seem to fall into one of two camps: the “Jim is crazy” camp versus the “Jim is gonna have a blast: go for it dude!” camp. Fortunately, most seem to be in the latter, which is gratifying, and does make me feel like it is something I can accomplish without too much trauma.
I had envisioned myself as the lone wolf, the solitary traveller wending my way westward as the pounds and miles burned away, and by the time I immersed my tired frame in the Pacific Ocean, I would be numb to all my troubles and just completely and supremely satisfied that I had achieved something that few have ever done. And maybe that will be what happens four months from now. But as I write this it is really becoming a Goliath for this David to tackle. I know I will succeed, and I know it will be glorious. I know I’ll raise a lot of money for WhyHunger and I know I will lose the rest of the weight I want to lose. I know that when I am done, and get back, I will be disoriented and will need some time to adjust. I will take that time, use it wisely, nurture that which needs nurturing in my life, and eventually move on.
Last year I watched, several times, a particularly depressing and powerful documentary called “The Bridge” which is about the Golden Gate Bridge, and the roughly two dozen people who jump to their deaths from it each year. The film-makers set up cameras and actually caught many of the jumpers falling to their deaths. The morality of the whole scenario notwithstanding, the movie stays with you, and it has become one of my big dreams to walk across that bridge, and to see what those poor people saw in their last minutes alive. One guy in particular, a tall, longhaired man in a leather jacket and shades, paced back and forth for what seemed like hours before finally climbing up on the railing and allowing himself to fall backwards gracefully…
But I’m not gonna jump. Hell no. I’m walking across the country as a personal mission, as a charitable mission for WhyHunger, and as a hell of an adventure. I hope those of you reading this will like it, as I relate it to you, and will tell your friends about the crazy guy walking across the country for charity and donate. The website is www.whyhunger.org and if you decide to donate a few bucks, or a lot of bucks, please mention my name in the box so WhyHunger knows that my walk is being effective.