Date: 2008-04-01
To: Amicalola Falls, GA
Miles today: 0.0

IT'S NOT THE DESTINATION, IT'S THE JOURNEY"...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢ I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." 'The Road Not Taken' ROBERT FROST (Lawrence MA native)UPDATED 07/22/2008...Starting late in creating a journal page. I Started on the trail April 2, 2008. I've met so many great people along the way including Stickman, Shalako, Slurpee and Storyteller to name a few that I started with and with whom I am still in touch. I've grown and changed along the way in ways that I did not anticipate. My journey has provided not what I wanted or anticipated but exactly what I needed. I began the Appalachian Trail as somewhat of a protest. My friends on the trail did not allow me to remain with such a large chip on my shoulder. Instead, this has become a very spiritual and enlightening 'walk in the woods'.First and foremost, I am a father who loves his four children with all his heart. I have dedicated my adult life to them. Given the strong family values with which I was brought up, I never expected to ever not be fully involved with my children¢s lives. I have always seen myself as a teacher, provider and protector. I am now divorced as of November '07 and I've decided to dedicate my hike to Katahdin to changing Family Court Laws that oppress fathers. My experience with the biased court system was an absolute shock to my very being. My intention is to eliminate unfair practices used by feminist lawyers in employing the 'silver bullet technique' (for more detail go online to: http://www.familyrightsassociation.com/bin/THINKING/Silver_bullet.htm ). This legal ploy allows women to file a restraining order, and domestic violence petition while filing divorce papers without any proof of wrongdoing. What this does is give exclusive use and access of the home and assets to the wife/mother and takes custody of the children away from the husband/father. I have thus decided to exercise civil disobedience in the hopes of bringing the injustices inflicted on fathers to light and stem the tide of the destruction of the American family. In rendering the final divorce order, the judge in my case noted ¢The kids all love their Dad and want to spend time with him¢¦¢. Even still he ordered that she be awarded primary custody which left me with 2 days of every 14, hardly enough time to keep me adequately involved in my children¢s upbringing. As a father, am I any less of a parent and not deserving of as much time with my children? Why have we allowed the courts, and by extension our government, to make such subjective, biased and far-reaching decisions in our lives? I would like to support any legislation that makes the process more fair and equitable. I would propose that any restraining order or DVP require both parties vacate the primary residence unless mutually agreed otherwise and award shared custody of the children unless mutually agreed otherwise. The Guardian Ad Litem process is extremely flawed and feminist buzz terms such as "in the best interest of the children" and women/mothers as "primary nurturers" must be exposed as cheap ploys, tricks and tools. To rectify the inequities and reduce domestic violence, I would propose the following as changes to MA and NH family law.1.)If either party of a relationship files a restraining order, neither party should have exclusive access to the common home unless mutually agreed otherwise. In true cases of domestic violence women generally flee for a shelter. What most people are not aware is that a national study showed that women commit domestic violence toward their male partners almost as much as the reverse and most incidences go unreported. Here, neither party is awarded an initial advantage and both are required to seek alternate accommodations until a court hearing or mediation.2.)Custody of children should, by default, be shared unless mutually agreed otherwise.3.)All assets should, by default, be split fifty-fifty unless mutually agreed otherwise.Anyone interested in helping the cause should contact their legislators or one of the following organizations. Please use the above outlined terms in your correspondence.1) National Congress for Fathers and Children...NH [NCFCNH.org]2) Fathers and Families...MA [fathersandfamilies.org]3) Fathers for Justice...NH [FATHERS-4-JUSTICE.org]Dah Wah He