Good Times and Good People in Michigan: October 16-20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Fighting Off a Cold
The cold that started as a sore throat and achy bones changed to a sniffly, runny nose. As I left Alpena the temperature was 32 degrees, which didn't help the runny nose either.
At a small diner called John Boy’s I had the best eggs, sausage and toast of the journey, as well as orange juice. The owner John Rambowski gave me my breakfast free of charge and a woman wrote a check for $50 to give to the Hospice of Michigan.
It was a glorious sunny day, but definitely cold.
I walked towards Long Lake. At a gas station in the little town of Lakewood I grabbed a cheese and ham sandwich and headed out.
To my left the silvery blue Long Lake shimmered between the autumn trees.
The day warmed into the 40's but a cold wind blew.
Two Cups of Coffee From Generous Strangers
A van pulled up beside me and a lady told me that her husband was from New Zealand and wanted to make me a cup of coffee. How could I refuse an offer like that?
She drove back down the road a hundred yards or so and I backtracked...this was strange as the mantra of the long distance walker is never look back...and certainly never walk back!
The lady drove off, but her husband, in a blue t shirt and jeans came out. He introduced himself as Doug King. He was a retired doctor, originally from New Zealand and looked much younger than his sixty years.
I went inside his house on the shore of Long Lake and had a strong coffee. We talked about Monty Python, England and New Zealand...and also the American predeliction for owning guns and shooting things. It was good to have a chat. Thanking Doug for the coffee I headed out.
Not much later a young woman stood by the roadside and offered me a huge coffee in a metal mug, along with a bag containing 2 apples, pickles, cheese dip and crackers. She wanted me to take the metal mug, but I said I'd drink the coffee there, rather than carry the mug. The coffee was piping hot. As I blew on it and tried to drink as fast as possible, we got talking about health insurance. The young woman was a student and couldn't afford dental insurance. She needed fillings for four cavities, but it would cost $200, so she was waiting until she could get the money together. To me this sounded crazy.
Once the coffee was done I wished the girl luck, thanked her and headed off.
Cyndi from Hospice of the Sunrise Shores Finds Me
As dark fell I was walking towards the end of Grand Lake. A van pulled to the side of the road and out climbed Cyndi Spens from the Hospice of the Sunrise Shore in Rogers City. With Cyndi was her teenage daughter. They drove me off to their house.
My stay with the Spens family was wonderful. Cyndi's husband Tim worked laying gas pipes, and had also worked cutting wood and in construction.
Tim had built most of their house. Tim was also a great cook. He made his own bread, made great blueberry pancakes and a wonderful chicken soup. He always had a great smile on his face and was constantly trying to feed me food. I had been steadily losing weight, but with Tim's fantastic food I could feel my waist starting to grow. It was good though. The warm family atmosphere in the Spens home was great, too.
They had two dogs: Moose (a young labrador) and an old mongrel called Daisy.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
On Saturday morning Cyndi dropped me back at the end of Grand Lake. I'd left most of my gear at Cyndi's house to lighten my load.
Walking Past Rogers City, MI to Huron Beach
As Cyndi made ready to drive off she felt bad, as it was about 27 degrees and she was leaving me to walk off into the middle of nowhere. She wished me luck and drove off.
The plan was that I would walk past Rogers City and try to reach a place called Huron Beach.
During the day Chris Peraino from the Hospice of Michigan in Detroit would drive up and meet me.
With frozen ice in the water by the roadside I walked with gloves and my baseball cap on.
That Someone Would Drive 4 1/2 hours to Wish Me Luck Amazed me
At around mid-day a familiar looking black truck pulled up by the roadside. Out climbed the tall figure of Chris Peraino.
In the truck was Chris' young son. The two of them had just driven for about 4 1/2 hours to come meet me. I climbed into Chris' truck and we drove a few miles to the McDonald’s at Rogers City.
Chris gave me a coin with the inscription: you make the difference. Chris' wife Sandy had been given the coin and wanted me to have it.
Once we had eaten Chris drove me back to the spot he had picked me up at. He had printed a certificate thanking me for doing the walk for hospice and we agreed that he would send it back to my home address.
Shaking hands with Chris and thanking him for all his help and encouragement, I watched as he got back in his truck and drove off down the road.
The Newlins Help Me Out
Past Rogers City and along a bike trail by Lake Huron the walk carried on.
As dark fell I saw a coyote slink across the road into the densely packed trees.
I had phoned my next contact, Connie Newlin, and hoped that she would arrive before it was totally dark.
It was around 7.30 pm as I walked by a scenic overlook. A silver van passed me, then turned and came back on the other side of the road by the road to the scenic overlook.
Inside the Vital Care van were Connie Newlin and her husband John. Connie was a hospice volunteer and helped at the Hospice House in Cheboygan. The Newlins drove me off from the cold middle of nowhere to a warm restaurant in Cheboygan.
I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. We talked as we ate, but I was having major problems with my runny nose.
Once dinner was done, Connie drove me to the Hospice House. Inside the atmosphere was calm and peaceful. I met a young man whose mother was being helped by Hospice House. We talked about my walk.
With the short tour of the Hospice House over, Connie and John drove me to a motel. The plan for the Sunday was that they would bring me breakfast, drop me back at the place they had picked me up and come out with a sandwich during the day. John also said he would walk with me from a bar called Thirsty's into Cheboygan.
As the Newlins left I blew my nose many times and crawled into bed feeling tired and achy.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I was soon asleep and morning came all too quickly. At 7 am Connie and John arrived with some Special K cereal and milk. I ate it quickly.
A WWI Story: John’s Dad, a POW in Germany
As I ate John told me about his dad. During the Second World War his Dad had been part of the D day landings. He had witnessed many of his friends die on the beaches. John's Dad had been captured by the Germans, after some shrapnel had injured his leg.
As the war came to an end John's dad had been kept as a prisoner of war for seven months. Under atrocious conditions the prisoners were shipped in rail cars, crammed together, with little or no food.
Back home in the U.S. notice was sent that John's father was missing in action and presumed dead.
Eventually, after seven months U.S. troops liberated the prisoners of war. By that time John's dad was so thin he could hold his two thumbs and index fingers around his waist.
Somehow he survived. John was glad that he had, in that John wouldn't have been around if his dad hadn't survived. Back in the U.S. John's dad ended up working with asbestos. He died from the effect of the asbestos on his lungs, but lived to an old age.
John was almost in tears as he told me about his dad. It was a moving story to hear.
Walking on a Sunny Day
There was not much time to think about the story though, as Connie and John drove me back to the previous night's pick up spot.
They wished me luck and said they would see me at 1 pm with a turkey sandwich.
I walked on another sunny day. I listened to my CD player and counted down the numbered driveways that led off into the woods on the shore of Lake Huron.
At 1 pm Connie turned up with my turkey sandwich. Connie and John had been to their church. After the service there had been a special lunch and the minister had told John to take food for Connie, John, me, and Connie's niece and her children.
I sat in the Vital Care van to eat my sandwich. John turned up with the 6 meals. I had a couple of brownies.
We took photos of me with John and Connie. John said he would meet me when I walked past their house.
Feeling good I passed through stands of maples with red and yellow leaves.
Walking with Company
John was waiting outside their house as I passed, with a bottle of water. He said he would walk with me for the last few miles, once I got beyond a bar called ThirstY's.
At a scenic overlook I could see Bois Blanc Island and way in the distance the 5 mile span of the Mackinac Bridge. The way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan lay ahead.
John joined me for the last four or five miles into Cheboygan.
He talked away about driving his car off the road into a ditch and nearly hitting a tree and also about his work making items from local hard wood. John had also been in the army. As we talked the miles flew by.
A dog that was too friendly for its own good walked into the road to try to follow us. Cars and trucks hooted and honked. Eventually the dog went back to its home.
Past the K-Mart and a disused crazy golf park with a giant dinosaur, we reached the cement factory, which was just about a mile or less from the Hospice House in Cheboygan.
A Wonderful Home Stay
Cyndi Spens arrived in her van. I thanked Connie and John for their help and the plan was that they would meet me again at the Hospice House on Monday afternoon.
Cyndi drove me over 40 miles back to her house. Tim had a wonderful chicken dinner waiting. After dinner, Cyndi washed my clothes. I got a shower and my cold was starting to get better.
Monday, October 19, 2009
A New Audience: Middle Schoolers
Monday morning dawned. Cyndi had made trays of cakes. We drove to her daughter’s school in Rogers City. There I talked to 6,7 and 8th graders about my walk and hospice.
It went well, even with a public address system that kept interrupting me with announcements. Cyndi's cakes went down well and there were questions as to where I got showers, where I did my laundry.
One girl wanted to know what was in my pack, so I took out my gear to show them. A local newspaper reporter was there and took photos and details of the story of the walk. A number of teachers said they would try to involve the kids in supporting the Hospice of the Sunrise Shore.
Visit to Hospice House in Cheboygan
At 2 pm I was due to meet hospice staff at the Hospice House in Cheboygan. Cyndi and I had lunch at a Burger King and at 1.30 pm I walked the last part of the walk from the cement factory up to the Hospice House. Inside the hospice staff were gathered. I told the stories and answered questions and everyone was happy. A number of people bought books and I signed them.
Eventually the reception was over. The hospice medical director, Klaus Hoeght drove me away to his house.
Staying with Klaus and Sabra
Klaus was in his eighties and puffed away on a pipe. He was quite a character. He had helped set up a hospice in Latvia and had worked as a doctor on a number of Native American reservations. On the Navajo Reservation he had been introduced to tribal elders. He told of how the Navajo showed great reverence to their elderly relatives. Klaus also told of how he had found a dead golden eagle. He took feathers from the bird and gave them to the Navajo people and they were pleased with that. Klaus' wife Sabra cooked a wonderful meal with squash. Sabra had been a operation room nurse and met Klaus in the hospital.
I stayed that night in a room in the basement of Klaus and Sabra's house.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
At around 7 am Klaus woke me by stamping on the wooden floor above the basement.
Breakfast of eggs and toast set me up for the day. I said goodbye to Sabra and Klaus drove me to the Hospice House.
There John and Connie were waiting for me. John was feeling too unwell to walk, but Connie would walk me out of Cheboygan.
“What Spiritual Things Happened to You on Your Walks?”
As we walked Connie wanted to know about spiritual events that had happened to me on the walk in 1988.
I told her about meeting up with Hank Tubbs by chance and that he had been an inspiration: taking each day as it came, making the most of it and doing what he could to help other people. I also told Connie about meeting a hospice patient called Lucia, who had dreamt she met God and that he told her that it was time for her to go. When I had met Lucia there was an incredible sense of peace around her. I also told Connie about seeing a toddler coming down some iron steps of a house in Stockton in California. The girl had then walked into the road. I had taken her hand and walked her back up the steps and back into her home. Inside her mother had been semi-conscious on a bed. The feeling that I had got was that I was supposed to be there to make sure the girl was not wandering in the street.
A Good Luck Talisman on Loan
All too soon Connie had to leave to carry out her work for hospice. John drove up to take her away. Before they left John gave me a handkerchief that his dad had given him. John told me he would get it back from me in Minot. A talisman of luck, I placed it into my pocket. I gave John and Connie hugs and off they went.
An easy 15 miles or so took me to Mackinaw City. I stopped to take pictures of the Mackinac Bridge, then walked to the Cedarbrook Village retirement center.
A Night in a Converted Pink Hotel
A big pink building it had been a Ramada Inn, but had been made into a retirement center.
As I walked in a young woman called Patti Frye was expecting me.
'Oooh we are looking forward to your talk tonight!' said Patti... ahh so I'm giving a talk thought I.
Dinner was around 5 pm. Most of the residents were in their rooms and only about 7 people gathered around a table to hear me talk. I told the stories of the journey and showed my copy of the book. The people smiled and chuckled and it went down well. A couple of people also wanted to get copies of the book.
So, that night I slept in a spacious suite in a converted pink Ramada Inn.
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