The Culture of Walking: A Few Snippets From the Blog of Garth Poorman

Journal Entry, May 24, 2010: Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $2.78, 178 pennies, 2 nickels, 4 dimes, 2 quarters; Ground Scores = 5.

Journal Entry, May 27, 2010: Weight – 172.2 lbs; Coinage = $2.05, 65 pennies, 5 nickels, 9 dimes, 1 quarter; Glass bottles = 5; Ground Scores = 4.

Journal Entry, May 28, 2010: Weight = 171.6 lbs; Coinage = $2.87, 62 pennies, 4 nickels, 7 dimes, 5 quarters; Glass bottles = 7; Best coinage find = 3 quarters in a newspaper vendor, a “super find.”

Feature Entry: The Culture of Walking: A Few Snippets From the Blog of Garth Poorman

Garth Poorman, (pictured above) at age 36 decided to walk 18 miles a day from West Hebron, NY to New Orleans, LA. He left August 29th, 2009 and arrived in New Orleans January 5th, 2010. His blog aptly named “poor man walking” was so named because he spent each night on the road as a guest of either strangers or slightly known friends of his family. What follows are a few of his comments. His blog address is http://www.poormanwalking.com/

** Follow your bliss!

** August 31 My first full day of walking had everything I was hoping for in this journey. It had amazing natural beauty, time for reflection…

** Because of you this trip was a rich tapestry of fun, learning, adventure and, most of all, the shared experience of human kindness.

** He (Forrest Church) challenged me to give myself the Present of Presence.

** Have Fun. Be Honest. Enjoy People.

** 3 pair of Therlos socks

** It is hard to not crack a smile in a sun shower.

** 18 miles a day. leave at 8am and walk for two hours straight. The first hour of that I walk in silence. I love the mornings - the crispness of the air, the sounds of the birds, my little corner of the world awakening - and I always find it invigorating to start the day just appreciating it all.

** At 9am I put on my headphones and fire up a podcast. Usually, its the Sports Guy Bill Simmons.

** After two hours, I always break. I find a bench or a stoop or a spot in the shade and I rest for 20-30 minutes. I take off my shoes and socks and wipe off the perspiration.

** I enjoy the morning. I endure the afternoon.

** It is a little scary to think of how heavily I rely on Google.

** [S]omething I feel is essential about the human spirit. (What he listens to on Ipod, reports about in his blog, or motivates his thinking while on the road)

Hope you enjoyed the excerpts. Happy Memorial Day.

The MoneyWalker