Dear Friends,
Miriam Kashia, Ed Fallon, and Kathy Byrnes. Photo by Sarah Spain.
It’s the last day of the March! I’ve managed to walk 220 miles in 18 days without meeting a single drop of rain. More important, the hospitality has been exceptional, which I’m happy to say is typical for Iowa.
More important still, though I’ve had fewer conversations than I’d hoped (it’s harvest season), dozens of conversations have given me renewed hope for our democracy and our country.
My “worst” interaction of the March happened today on a swanky golf course in West Des Moines.
For much of today’s thirteen-mile trek, I follow the Great Western Trail. A short stretch runs through Willow Creek Golf Course.
I come to a stone bench where the trail crosses a golf-cart path. It’s an ideal spot for lunch, so I take off my shoes and pull a banana and some bread from my satchel.
After a while, two golf carts whiz past, passengers barely glancing in my direction. A third cart stops abruptly, and the driver looks at me disapprovingly. I have the impression that he takes me for a homeless person and is about to order me off the golf course (which he doesn’t have the authority to do). He carries a distinct air of privilege and wealth.
“What are you doing?,” he asks, with a tone of annoyance rather than curiosity.
“I’m on the tale-end of a 220-mile walk, and I’m taking a short break before I wrap up this puppy,” I reply.
His sideways glance and slight smirk suggest he thinks I’m lying. I continue, “I’m deeply concerned about our democracy. We’re sliding toward autocracy, and I wanna know if people I meet along the road and in the towns I visit agree with me.”
I pause. The guy stares at me, and says, “Look, the country’s fine. Everything‘s going in the right direction.”
“You don’t think President Trump is violating the Constitution?,” I ask. “Ignoring court rulings? Refusing to spend money appropriated by Congress? Blowing up boats in the Caribbean? None of that’s running foul of the Constitution?”
“No, none of that’s a problem,” he says matter-of-factly.
The man drives a short distance and parks his cart. As he’s walking over to tee off, he yells back at me, “Just so you know, Trump IS going to serve a third term. You can say you heard it here first.”
I yell back, “Well, that would DEFINITELY violate the Constitution.”
“No, it won’t, because they’re gonna CHANGE the Constitution,” he says.
“You’ve made my day,” I yell back to him.
He looks surprised. “You’ve made my day because you’re the first person in 220 miles who thinks the country is heading in the right direction. People wouldn’t believe me if I told them not a single person I met disagreed with me.”
He tees off, and maybe he’s teed off. I leisurely finish the last bites of my lunch, slip on my shoes, and head down the trail.
When I arrive at Waterworks Park, Kathy, Miriam, and Sarah are waiting for me. It’s wonderful to have walking companions for the final steps of this journey. At Lua Brewing, a handful of friends join us for food and drink. It’s a beautiful ending to an occasionally difficult but positive experience.
— Ed Fallon