The first I knew of Monument Valley was while watching the 1994 release of the movie “Forrest Gump”
I knew the day would come that I would take the picture below. It became a dream to get there.
U.S.Highway 163 in southeast Utah
In the movie, Mr. Gump would end his 3 year, 2 month, 14 day and 16 hour run, at this spot.
to keep going, Keep Going
I’m sharing this information because it may help.
Awareness – knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. . . . . .
In a phone call last night my friend asked: “Did you ever concern yourself with the number of “Likes” – “Comments” and/or “Shares?” Certainly, that was extremely important. Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and Instagram were put to constant use. Three different Fan Pages were used at one time or another on Facebook. I posted concerning every aspect I could think of. Media was important because of the numbers they reach. Meetings with public figures were important because of their reach as individuals and the media’s willingness to cover such meetings. Meetings with caregivers allowed sharing of information that may help. The meet and greets were advertised in advance and each brought out caregivers. All of these actions raised my level of awareness, so my effectiveness increased as time went by. Ego may have helped or hurt. I sensed I became a little self righteous at times, and may still be. I will work on that. Public announcement of my donations were meant to inspire others to do likewise. I was out of my comfort zone much of the time, sometimes because of the stress in the doing, and at other times the stress from wondering if I was doing the best I could. Any information I shared was designed to raise the awareness level of the listener. That took some assuming. What they said back, often raised mine. The load of it can become heavy, but that’s part of any job right? The failures with this campaign were indeed mine, and the successes were ours. Looking back at the failures, I noticed I failed to ask for advice, but on the successes I did. Team concept huh? It works, although I didn’t use it sometimes. I was made aware, during this five years of the kindness of strangers and old friends alike. I know this, their was no shortage of help. . . . I noticed a quality I have engraved in my soul, and that is the ability to persist and most of the time, I persisted while doing something worthwhile. . . . . . That’s a lot of typing and a lot of words right there. I hope it brings awareness to someone and helps. Typing it has helped me. Prayer was a mainstay during the five years, it always has been, but became even more so. . . . . . I know this, I need to go fishing, but no water is near, so I will watch a movie about fishing instead . .
Posted in Across The Land
He passed last year. He was homeless off and on for a long time. I heard he even spent some in jail.
When I first met him he played baseball, basketball and ran track. His grades were good, and he was popular. What happened?
Vietnam happened. I was never able to find out exactly what occured, but something did. I saw him when he left and when he came home. Believe me, the difference was stark, and I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t seek him out. Just tonight I thought of him again and wanted to say these words. Maybe my thoughts tonight will get his attention and he will know I at least thought of him and put this in my blog.
I was in the Navy during the time Ronnie was in the Army. Over 34,000 members of the United States Army died in Vietnam. The United States Navy lost 2550 sailors. Ronnie died twice.
Posted in Across The Land
If a traveler from a distant system came upon an automobile wreck here, would he think this?
A bag came out of the steering wheel and caused this car to wreck.
Posted in Across The Land
It started raining that special kind of rain. They both knew it was the end. It always was, whenever this occured, and they knew it was coming. One accepted the timing, gave thanks and never complained. The other tore up the shop in fear or anger, and the cleanup would be arduous. Long after they were gone, both were remembered.
Posted in Across The Land
but no one seemed to appreciate it. The poet turned in his notice last year. Awards had became commonplace, but he never measured up in the eyes of his family. They wanted him to plow, plant, water and harvest. He wanted to create. They miss his creations. He once told a friend “a great fisherman is just flesh and bones at a hunting camp”
I appreciate his work after the fact. I met him once and thought him odd. I would love to have been a person that recognized him and showed appreciation. I hope he felt it somewhere.
Posted in Across The Land
“People tell you the world looks a certain way. Parents tell you how to think. Schools tell you how to think. TV. Religion. And then at a certain point, if you’re lucky, you realize you can make up your own mind. Nobody sets the rules but you. You can design your own life.” Carrie-Anne Moss
Some closure is needed. Some things need to be final. The numbers no longer matter to me, but recording what has occurred does. The final tally will be purposely low. These numbers will remain as put down on this day, August 12th, 2017. The mission was to raise awareness concerning alzheimer’s disease.
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The Epic Journey is over as of today, August 12th, 2017. My personal Facebook page will become just that. My blog will be used to write what I feel inspired to record. Twitter will be used in the same manner as the blog and will not automatically post into Facebook. The Across the Land page will remain operational and used sparingly.
The failures on the Epic Journey were mine, but the successes were ours.
I would never begin to thank anyone by name for fear of forgetting someone. I will say “Thank You” to everyone that helped.
My favorite Bible verse for the Journey was . . . “I can do all things through Christ, whom strengthens me.” Phillipians 4:13
My favorite quote for the Journey was . . . When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me‘ Erma Bombeck
My “Epic Journey” is over.
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“The beautiful Journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” Steve Maraboli
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P.S. entered 11:28 am on August 13th, 2017
Sometimes we start an Epic Journey for one reason, but God has other plans.
This Journey was to tell caregivers that people care. It was to tell them of a way to reach out for help, and that they are not alone. It was to tell whomever would listen, a little bit about having alzheimer’s or of being a caregiver. It was to tell folks in our senior residence facilities thanks. It was to remind folks that lawmakers hold the purse strings that contain money for research. It was to express thanks to folks that helped send these messages. It was about thanking God for life.
Posted in Across The Land, epic journey, inspiration, milestones, quotes
Tagged Across The Land, epic journey, Jack Fussell
He saw the Alzheimer’s Association signs on the car and asked if we could chat. Of course we could. He went on to explain that he lost his grandpa and now grandma was fading. She had said many times she hoped to avoid the disease that took her husband away from the life he so loved. That didn’t happen, she has alzheimer’s and it saddened my new friend to think of that. He knows what to expect, but says that doesn’t help lessen the ache he feels. His grandma had always been strong and now . . . . .
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in America. No cure. We need $2 billion a year for research, to find a cure.
Posted in Across The Land
