Day 99 – 0 miles – 1,292 total

Slept in a little bit and then got started on some computer work. I had a long list of things that I needed to do since we didn’t have internet service for a few days. I am in the process of planning for D.C. as well. We are hoping that we will be able to do something big there. I was making calls and emails and then something came over me.

I started typing out a facebook post that I have been needing to make for quite a while now. I posted that I am gay and had a long post to go with it. It has been a long time coming. I tried really hard not to be gay but it only hurt people and myself trying to be someone else. I knew before I started this walk that I was ready to make this announcement and it has taken me until now until I was able to find the courage to get it out. I hesitated for a brief moment and asked myself “do I really want to do this?”. I clicked the dang post button and that was that. One less thing to worry about.

Thankfully, the support was overwhelming. I had a few snotty responses from people on messenger but it wasn’t anything that offended me. Just things that they had issues with that were stupid and out of my control anyways. The rest of the feedback was extremely positive and I am glad that I got it out there so I can just move on. I am sure my heart will feel lighter once I am able to process it all. In the meantime, I still have a huge mission to take care of first.

I got to where the computer work was done so we went out to run some errands. We went to Dick’s to take that crappy cart back. Then went to an Office store, a pet store, wal-mart, laundry, etc. Getting it all done.

Then we got a call from the welder who I had contacted earlier saying that he was heading over to his shop and if we wanted to come by he would take a look at the cart. We definitely wanted to come by.

We drove over and had no clue what to expect or how much it was going to cost. The guy was nice and had a really cool shop. You could make anything in there. He said that he could definitely fix Dan and gave Stick’s cart a look over too. His needed some reinforcements and a handle bar lift so we figured we would do it since we were here. Floyd, the welder, got right to work.

We were talking to him as he was going back and forth across the shop to get different tools. We told him what we were doing and he told us that he is a retired fireman and knew all about drug overdoses. He was fascinated at the stories of kindness that we experienced along the way.

He called his wife and young children over to come meet us and let it be an opportunity to educate them about the dangers of drugs. Amazing. We talked to his family while he worked on the carts. They showed us around the farm and we got to see the animals that they had. Chickens, ducks, a pig, cows, donkeys, a pony, goats, and more. It was fun. They were awesome. I asked a few questions about the animals because I want to have them at Freedom to Grow.

Our carts were better than they were before we started this walk. We asked how much and Floyd replied, “not a dime.” He wanted to show his support for our cause. Amazing. He also gave us hats and tshirts. I can’t describe the feeling of gratitude that we had. This was a huge help to us. We said goodbye and loaded up the carts and headed back to the hotel.

We got there and took Domino out and about 10 minutes later got a phone call. It was Floyd asking us if he could take us out to dinner. We were honored. We headed to the nicest steak restaurant in town and sat down with his amazing family and shared a meal. The steak was great but the company was better. I really miss my family and it was great to spend time with theirs.

When it was over and they left, Stick and I were speechless. We both couldn’t believe that all this just happened. Life is good.

We got back to the hotel and that was it for me. I think Stick stayed up and watched some baseball but I was down for the count.