What I've Learned (so far) Apologies to Esquire...

WHAT I’VE LEARNED (so far)
The south is very very flat.
And hot. Except after a storm, and then a cold front seems to come through and lasts for two days. Like clockwork. Al Roker, take note.
There are way more good people than bad. But I knew that. The experiences Ive had and the folks Ive met just reinforce it every single day.
Education is the single most valuable tool that we are given access to as Americans. That some of us do not choose to use that tool wisely is a tragedy. Also, there are many whose situations growing up kept them from getting that education, and that is also a tragedy. I see people every day, here in the south, who are bright, friendly and hardworking, wiping tables at McDonalds, or in gas stations, because they just didn’t get the proper schooling.
The cops here in the south have gotten a bad rap. From me to them, I say, “Sorry guys, I believed the crap I was told.” I know there are some bad ones and lets be truthful, if I was black, I might be singing a different song, but from my standpoint, the police I have met have all been courteous and genuinely concerned for my well being and safety, as well as just doing their jobs in a professional manner. When I ran into a faux cop in Walnut Grove, Alabama, I was so relieved to find out that he was not a real cop. That would have changed what I am writing now, maybe.
I’ve now gotten to see two things I had always wanted to see, and on foot, the best way!! I walked across the Mississippi River, and Ive walked through the Ozark Mountains. I can honestly say that when I think of the Hudson River back home in New York, the word “majestic” comes to mind. When I think of the Mississippi, the words, “wild and untamed” are what I think of. I am glad I saw the Mississippi, but the Hudson River is just so much more beautiful as it winds its way down through the valley, past storm Kinh and Bear Mountain. And the sun setting on the Hudson River, and the Sloop Clearwater, as I sailed on it a few times…..ahhhh the nostalgia.
The Catskill Mountains, on the other hand….cant hold a candle to the Ozarks in some ways, and yet they are so similar. Sizewise, they are the same to my eyes, but there is too much development in the Catskills. Sometimes being so close to New York City is a negative, not a positive, when there is money to be made out of them thar hills…..
I saw a house for sale yesterday in the Ozarks. Stone house, 91 acres, barns, four ponds, taxes---after homestead exemption--$240 bucks a year. Asking price for this lovely place? 210K. Unbelievable.
As you get away from “civilization” the air is cleaner, smells better and blows freer. I stood on top of an Ozark Mountain road, near an opening where I could see all around me nothing but fields and lakes and grass, and I was eating a bologna sandwich. It was one of those special moments where the world felt like it was made just for me. And the smell of my sandwich was annoying.
Whatever your faith, or religious beliefs, it isn’t a higher power that is going to feed you, or allow you to sleep in their manger, or allow you to set up your tent on their property.. It is people. We are all in this together. It doesn’t matter if there is a god/God or not, because as long as we take care of each other, and be good to each other, and try our best to love each other, the world will be a bearable place. John Lennon, anathema to some religious folk, said “Imagine there’s no heaven” which immediately sent some people out decrying his message. They forget that a few lines later, he said, “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” Now, THAT is biblical in my world.
Sometimes, a tiny bible found on the side of the road in the bible belt is just a tiny bible that someone tossed away on the side of the road I the bible belt.
Cookie Monster is an ideal road companion. Never complains about anything and never, ever has to stop to use the restroom. And never asks “Are we there yet????”
This has been the experience of a lifetime, and its only a fourth of the way over. Damn.