Date: 2007-12-28
To: Memory Lane
Miles today: 0.0

About a month before I finished, Geezer (AT 2001) left a message on my journal that I would think about some phase of my hike every day of my life. It is so true. In fact, if I¢m not careful I could become very boring, because if I¢m not careful, the trail could work its way into every conversation I have, because the slightest phrase may trigger a whole set of fond or miserable memories. (ok, I¢ll admit it¢¦¢¦ even the miseries are pleasant to remember now).   Anyway today seems a particularly poignant case in point. I was cleaning a bookcase in my house and noticed I had a Walt Whitman book that I had never really paid attention to before, a poetry collection called Leaves of Grass. It reminded me of hiking through a zoo in New York. We hiked past a statue of Walt Whitman, and Peach stopped to have her picture taken holding his hand. This thought made me want to read at least something out of the book. As chance would have it, I opened the book to a poem entitled ¢Song of the Open Road¢. When I finished reading the poem, I sensed that ¢the open road¢ may have been a symbol for ¢an adventurous and free life¢. But it also described the overall feelings of being on the trail with incredible sharpness. 3 stanzas in particular were startlingly on-target, and worth adding to my journal:1st stanza:Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.Henceforth I ask not good-fortune ¢ I myself am good-fortune;Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,Strong and content, I travel the open road.The earth-that is sufficient;I do not want the constellations any nearer;I know they are very well where they are;I know they suffice for those who belong to them.5th stanza:From this hour, freedom!From this hour I ordain myself loosed of limits and imaginary lines,Going where I list-my own master, total and absoluteListening to others, and considering well what they say.Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.I inhale great draughts of air;The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine.I am larger than I thoughtI did not know I held so much goodness.All seems beautiful to me;I can repeat to men and women, You have done such good to me, I would do the same to you.I will recruit for myself and you as I goI will scatter myself among men and women as I goI will toss the new gladness and roughness among them;Whoever denies me, it shall not trouble meWhoever accepts me, he or she shall be blessed and shall bless me.9th StanzaAllons! Whoever you are, come travel with me!Traveling with me, you find what never tiresThe earth never tires;The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first-Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first;Be not discouraged-keep on-there are divine things, well envelop¢d;I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.Allons! We must not stop here!However sweet these laid-up stores-however convenient this dwelling, we cannot remain here;However shelter¢d this port and however calm these waters, we must not anchor here;However welcome the hospitality that surrounds us, we are permitted to receive it but a little while.