Someone threw a package of stuff at me I didn’t need
On day 99 of crossing America barefoot I travelled from Ponce de Leon to Defuniak Springs FL...
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I woke up on a pile of dirt next to an abandoned air circulation machine.
The ground was wet from all the sweat the earth did while it was sleeping.
There wasn’t anything to eat so I poured some chia seeds in a bottle of water.
Whenever I don’t have anything to eat I like to drink a seed.
I began walking along a road where humans enjoy gathering until all the trees are gone.
A man walks into the woods and tells until the woods don’t know how to listen anymore.
Someone left a glove on the side of the road so I dragged it on the pavement then peed on it.
I sometimes wonder if anyone ever calls the cops because they saw me peeing.
A white car slowed down, honked, threw something out the window, and drove off. The driver was smiling and giving me a thumbs up. As I walked towards the discarded object I realized it was a package. Everything in the package was not really helpful. There were socks (which I obviously don’t wear), cheese crackers (which I don’t eat), and some religious words (which I don’t beleive). I thought about leaving the package but instead picked it up. I would at least carry it to a gas station or something where I could leave it for someone else.
A human sees a person in need but instead of asking what the person needs the human gives the person objects the human would enjoy if they were in need.
I entered the town of Argyle. There was a post office, a gas station, and a pay phone.
There was also a sign, some grass, and pebbles.
I left the package someone threw at me on an ice box and went in the gas station to buy a can of beans or something.
All the food in the gas station was mostly dead.
The two cans of beans I bought were expired. I also bought a jar of salsa. I think I’m going to stop buying cashews at gas stations because they also give me the feeling they’ve been rubbed in engine oil.
If you see me at a gas station I’m probably the one sipping on a jar of salsa.
When I began walking again I heard the official report that 2016 was the hottest year in recorded history.
We are honestly going to soon be living in the greatest mass extinction humanity has ever experienced.
As I was leaving Argyle a car pulled up next to me. It was one of the gas station employees. She said, “You forgot your package.” I tried to explain how someone gave it to me even though I didn’t need it and I was hoping someone would put the objects to good use. The gas station employee shrugged and said, “Okay I’ll throw it out.”
It’s difficult not to contribute to the end of the world when the world we were raised in was built on the notion that we would one day all contribute to it until it was all dead.
As I walked into the town of Defuniak Springs someone called to ask about the trip and I tried to ramble good but I think I just rambled.
It’s funny when someone asks what you’re thinking and you spew all your cluttered thoughts until you realize they probably only wanted the important stuff not every last drip in your thought ocean.
In the center of Defuniak Springs there was a confederate monument that basically said, “We’re number one.”
Cut out your own heart. Fill it with tar. Staple it to the nearest racist.
I went in a small independent supermarket and bought some cans and fruit wrapped in plastic. Up the road I found some picnic tables. I ate from the cans and plastic until it was almost dark.
Remove your tongue. Burn it in a tiny aluminum can fire. Sew the crispy tongue back inside your mouth. Staple every piece of garbage you create to your forehead as a reminder you’re alive in this historical moment of death.
A blue car parked near me kept flashing it’s lights. Eventually I walked over. They offered me a soda. I apologized and walked back to the picnic table.
Maybe I need to read a book about how to talk to people about real life without apologizing for talking about real life.
As I began walking in the dark three different people stopped to offer me shoes.
A memoir titled: every single shoe I found in america.
Behind a church near the train tracks someone had left a green carpet for me to sleep on.
What I ate on day 99: Black beans, oranges, bananas, dates, beets, salsa, canned potatoes, black eyed peas, turmeric powder, and chia seeds.
A poem
This little acorn / I know / walked up / to / a burning pile / of / garbage / and / was like / I’m tired / of / you / burning / your piles / of / garbage / everywhere / making my life / unable / to live / itself / so / why don’t you go / get burned / nowhere / okay / maybe / it’s time / you leave / and / discover / a new way / to party / i don’t know / my little / acorn brain / is / so tiny / I don’t got / none / of / the answers / honestly / i wish / you would / spend / the rest / of / your life / gluing corn / to / a urninal / alright / I’m going / to go / do magical potions / with / my friend / the blue shaded / polar bear / made / of / lava crystals / bye
If you're interested in my previous journey across America check out the book: I am a road.
