The Blind Man Society

To start, this blog entry in NO WAY pertains to Howler Monkeys. I just love that phrase for a blog title so much that I had to throw it in this post…

I sat down and thought about it today, and I’ve walked 150 miles (at least) in the last two weeks.  My latest walk around town, brought me through wild dogs, questionable traffic and crazy neighborhoods with colorful pedestrians. 

It all started when I found out I had an appointment I had to keep over 20 miles away.  As it is 105 degrees here or hotter during the day, I decided to leave at nine o’clock at night and walk through the night to be there at open 6am the next morning.  I packed my backpack, a couple water bottles and grabbed my berimbau to use as a hiking stick. 

I set off.  Passing through familiar neighborhoods, I was comfortable and taking my time.  I thought to myself, what the hell.  I have the entire night to walk.  SO, I stopped at resting places, patios, and fields across from urban commerce, until it all fell away and I was out in the fields.

I heard the barking, before I ever saw the dogs and they seemed to come out of nowhere.  They closed in around me, and I rotated my walking stick around me so that none could advance and get a clear shot at me.  All I could do, was not make eye contact, show no fear, and keep walking slowly ahead with no sudden moves.  It was nerve-wracking to say the least considering that I had six around me barking their heads off, and if I slipped up, I could have been hamburger.

Eventually, they fell away.  My pulse returned to normal, and two miles later, I saw the police.  One car was sitting there waiting in the drive of a gated community.  He had his lights on and was watching me.  I watched too, and continued walking towards him.  No doubt, someone had placed a call that I was out with a staff, looking questionable and raiding store ashtrays at two o’clock in the morning, as I was passing through a very wealthy neighborhood.  Thankfully, nothing ended up happening as I walked in front of him, though he did turn his lights off so I wasn’t blinded by the light as I walked by, then flipped them back on after I had passed.

I walked on.  I was heading east, and stopped in a strip mall parking lot to sit down with my pack.  I took out my water bottles, drained them, and then got up and kept walking.  I was wearing my knee sleeve and ankle sleeve, and tried to take breaks where I could.  When I got tired, I sat.  When I got hungry, I ate.  And, when I got thirsty, I drank.  Otherwise, the stillness of the night was wonderful.

At that time of morning, you become awfully observant, I learned, and I saw things in a very different way, as I passed them on foot.  Store fronts I had never seen, a seemingly secret parking lot for beer trucks, and apartment and condo complexes I never knew existed.  There were coffee shops everywhere.  I had no money, so as I previously said, I was raiding ashtrays for partially smoked cigarettes. 

I learned that CVS pharmacy, and restaurants and bars all have smoking receptacles with removeable tops, and it was a smorgasbord.  I packed two cigarette cases full of partially smoked cigarettes, and the song “Ain’t no stopping us now” was in my head the whole damn way.

I also learned that with a large walking stick and backpack with a cabaca off the back, you have to keep a comfortable distance from people and businesses.  In looking back on it, I think that’s why I saw so many police – at that time of night, people get nervous.  It was kind of like the walking, early morning version of Easy Rider the movie.

I flipped open my zippo lighter, lit a cigarette and closed it with a mechanical clang, then continued on my way. 

I made the appointment spot by 6am, with an hour to spare.  By the end, it was 28 miles I had walked that night.  And, while my feet were sore, I beat the heat and it was so cool being in the mid to high seventies, that I just didn’t care.  I kept remembering the Appalachian trail, and the rule of thumb that hikers walk 20 miles a day on average.  When I felt strangely arrogant, I remembered that they do 20 miles a day for 6 months every day, and up to a year.  When I felt bad, I remembered that most people would flop over dead from exhaustion carrying a twenty-pound pack for twenty-eight miles on foot.

In the end, I made the appointment with the full intention of getting a ride home.  But, OH NO, that was not meant to be.  My ride, was strangely evasive that morning, and, I had to walk 28 miles back after a six hour break with no food.

After I flipped my lid at this news, I realized, that I had until night fall to make it home.  I had all the time in the world.  And, under those circumstances it really doesn’t matter how long it takes. 

On the way home, I thought a lot.  Mainly, about Jenny.  And, Forrest. And, I thought about the coffee shop. First you hated those lines for beverages. Then you got used to the shop. Enough time passed, you came to depend on it…

To fast forward, I like walking in the middle of the night, except for wild dogs much better than during the day.  It’s like crossing a desert here in 105 degree heat (in the shade) and as I saw the sun come up, I kept remembering the movie Lawrence of Arabia, and with the man walking who got left behind in the Great Nefud desert.  Lawrence went back for him.  My ride, did not come back for me. 😊

In conclusion, there is day walking, and there is night walking.  Each has it’s own challenges.  I like night the best, and hope that one day, most of you have the chance to walk that far to think and experience your own adventures!

It’s been awhile, so I also wanted to thank you – the reader – who has supported both me and the site, as well as the contributing writers along this journey. We have come a long way from the days when the site looked like they were testing missles on it, and will be branching out soon with new links, new material, new writers and writings, and the sky is the limit!

If you have interest in becoming a contributing writer on this site, please feel free to write me an email at: jonathanwagner801@gmail.com. Thank you to ALL of you for your continued support!