Dear Friends,

Walking 13 miles along Highway 92 from Winterset to Greenfield provides challenges I haven’t dealt with for years. While not exactly packed with traffic, there’s a constant enough flow that I’ve got to remain hyper-focused. The extended concentration adds its own level of fatigue to legs still sore from yesterday’s 17-mile hike.

Much of the traffic is big stuff, too, given that the harvest is in full swing. The combines move slowly and aren’t a concern. But the semis, loaded with corn and beans, barrel along at 55-60 miles per hour.

There’s no paved shoulder, so I walk mostly on gravel, much of it loose, and most of it slightly sloped. I would have opted for gravel roads over Hwy 92, even if it involved a few extra miles, but there’s no practical route available.

About halfway through the day’s walk, a woman in front of a small house along the highway calls out to me, “Would you like something cold to drink?”

“Would I ever!,” I reply. She hands me an icy bottle of something-or-other and offers me a rusty old chair in the shade. I gladly accept both as she continues her yard work. I pop off my shoes, check my phone, and enjoy the only comfortable break of the day.

The woman and I don’t get a chance to talk much. She’s got her hands full with yard cleanup. As I’m preparing to leave I explain why I’m walking and ask her how she feels about the state of our nation.

I wish I could remember more clearly what she said, but the woman definitely shared my concern about where our nation is heading. She wishes people would treat each other more kindly, and offers that President Trump does not present a positive role model.

That may be the understatement of the century.

— Ed Fallon