Friday, October 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
From the Hopewell Road...
Wednesday, October, 14th...2:18pm
Technology helps and technology gets cranky sometimes...I have been posting several times a day on the walk...and it was last night that I found out that for some reason my mini text message posts have not been going through...
The rain has just started...the first on the trip and it has been a cold day today. As we passed the local Waffle House, the waitresses came to the window and waved us in... 30+ walkers in the local Waffle House...coffee on Richard Shiels...thanks, Dick! I can't recreate everything but...I'll try to start posting pics this evening and tomorrow...
Wednesday, October, 14th...2:18pm
Technology helps and technology gets cranky sometimes...I have been posting several times a day on the walk...and it was last night that I found out that for some reason my mini text message posts have not been going through...
The rain has just started...the first on the trip and it has been a cold day today. As we passed the local Waffle House, the waitresses came to the window and waved us in... 30+ walkers in the local Waffle House...coffee on Richard Shiels...thanks, Dick! I can't recreate everything but...I'll try to start posting pics this evening and tomorrow...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, October, 12, 2009: Indigenous People’s Day (previously known as Columbus Day)
It is the morning of the 3rd day of the walk. It is amazing how strong and committed this community of practice is…last night everyone was exhausted…blistered feet…aches and pains in parts of the body that folks had forgotten. But, this morning after a good night’s rest everyone is re-energized. These days are long and so much packed into them. It is hard to even begin to recall the highlights, let alone every detail. The first day offered tremendous views of the landscape. Many of us talked about how we were glad to hear Brad Lepper’s talk on the day we began because few of us knew what an interesting place this location is on a geographical level. Walking where on each side were carved by different sorts of glacial activity and walking the landscape this is very noticeable…something that I’m sure we would miss by car.
Our first night was really cold and damp and no one slept very well. We awoke to a good frost. We were on the road by 10 am on Sunday. We begin each day with a group circle…we offer our prayers, songs, and strength to each other. On Sunday we were blessed to have the staffs of the Miami Valley Indian Council with us. They were used during our opening ceremonies. But, they were not able to walk, so yesterday morning the group went out and built a staff so the Walk with the Ancients now has its own staff! I’ll try to get pictures to post. So we had this for our opening circle on Sunday morning and it helps keep everyone strong.
On Saturday we had a program at the Masonic lodge in Kingston. The women of the Eastern Star made an awesome dinner—turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, and on and on. Thanks for the dinner. Afterwards we sang some songs and then Vinny Stanzione talked and showed us some film footage about pilgrimages in Guatemala. Its amazing to see/hear the similarities—the arduous journey, personal commitment, music, and offerings.
Last night we had dinner at the Lutheran Church in Amanda…another great meal! We were running late, very late. No matter how well we might try to plan things…a pilgrimage is outside of time and there is just no rushing it! We had a campfire back at our campsite at Cross Mounds and talked about the mounds, the milky way, and various interpretations. We finished the evening by singing around the campfire until around 11:30.
On of the greatest parts of the whole thing has been the way various communities have responded to us. Everyone has been really great. People stop us to ask what we are doing. Its wonderful.
It is the morning of the 3rd day of the walk. It is amazing how strong and committed this community of practice is…last night everyone was exhausted…blistered feet…aches and pains in parts of the body that folks had forgotten. But, this morning after a good night’s rest everyone is re-energized. These days are long and so much packed into them. It is hard to even begin to recall the highlights, let alone every detail. The first day offered tremendous views of the landscape. Many of us talked about how we were glad to hear Brad Lepper’s talk on the day we began because few of us knew what an interesting place this location is on a geographical level. Walking where on each side were carved by different sorts of glacial activity and walking the landscape this is very noticeable…something that I’m sure we would miss by car.
Our first night was really cold and damp and no one slept very well. We awoke to a good frost. We were on the road by 10 am on Sunday. We begin each day with a group circle…we offer our prayers, songs, and strength to each other. On Sunday we were blessed to have the staffs of the Miami Valley Indian Council with us. They were used during our opening ceremonies. But, they were not able to walk, so yesterday morning the group went out and built a staff so the Walk with the Ancients now has its own staff! I’ll try to get pictures to post. So we had this for our opening circle on Sunday morning and it helps keep everyone strong.
On Saturday we had a program at the Masonic lodge in Kingston. The women of the Eastern Star made an awesome dinner—turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, and on and on. Thanks for the dinner. Afterwards we sang some songs and then Vinny Stanzione talked and showed us some film footage about pilgrimages in Guatemala. Its amazing to see/hear the similarities—the arduous journey, personal commitment, music, and offerings.
Last night we had dinner at the Lutheran Church in Amanda…another great meal! We were running late, very late. No matter how well we might try to plan things…a pilgrimage is outside of time and there is just no rushing it! We had a campfire back at our campsite at Cross Mounds and talked about the mounds, the milky way, and various interpretations. We finished the evening by singing around the campfire until around 11:30.
On of the greatest parts of the whole thing has been the way various communities have responded to us. Everyone has been really great. People stop us to ask what we are doing. Its wonderful.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Anticipating the Walk with the Ancients
In a few days, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I begin the seven-day, seventy-mile journey—Walk with the Ancients. When this idea was first proposed over a year ago, I was very excited about the prospects. Why, as a 55 year old woman (not in the greatest physical condition), would I want to participate in what is sure to be, for me at least, a physically challenging and taxing undertaking? It isn’t related to some “great cause” (such as fighting cancer, diabetes, or domestic violence) like the proliferation of other American undertakings be they walks, runs, or bike rides. It isn’t motivated by a religious practice like pilgrimages such as the Hajj that Muslims undertake to Mecca or to sites of professed miracles as my friends in Mexico undertake.
What draws me to participate is a deeply felt connection to and awe for the Newark Earthworks.
There is something about the Newark Earthworks that seem to evoke that sense of connection for people from all walks of life and all sorts of ancestry. Be they Native peoples from all varieties of tribal affiliations, archaeologists trying to understand cultures of the past, international tourists drawn from faraway places, a variety of “new-age” practitioners, Mormons from Utah, or golfers—the Newark Earthworks call. This was true for the early citizens of Newark, who recognized the earthworks as something valuable and worth protecting, as well. I, for one, appreciate the foresight that prompted them to protect a significant portion of the earthwork complex for future generations.
I won’t be undertaking this journey alone, to date there are thirty people who have committed to participate, for the entire distance, in this walk—some I know, many I don’t. Many others have committed to walk part of the way. The diversity of participants reflects the diverse groups of people drawn to the earthworks and I’m sure that our individual motivations are as varied as well. There is however one point of commonality amongst us, each of us will be leaving our ordinary lives for a period of time to participate in an extraordinary activity. For the duration of the walk, we will become a community. Although we can’t anticipate everything that will happen on this walk, I have no doubt that it will be transformational on some level for all of the participants—whether walking the whole way or for a few hours.
I’d like to invite you to participate in some way on this walk. Maybe you can come to send us off at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park next Saturday at 10am, maybe you can walk a day or hour along the route, maybe you can attend one of our evening programs, maybe you can join us at Geller Park on Friday, October 16th at 3pm and walk the final 1.5 miles with us, maybe you can attend Newark Earthworks Day at the OSU-N campus on October 17th, or the open house at the Octagon at the 18th… in some way, I hope that you’ll share this experience with us!
You can follow the walkers by reading our daily blog at http://newark-earthworks.blotspot.com/ .
Information about all of this year’s Newark Earthworks Day activities and directions to each of the events can be found at www.newark.osu.edu –click on Newark Earthworks Day.
What draws me to participate is a deeply felt connection to and awe for the Newark Earthworks.
There is something about the Newark Earthworks that seem to evoke that sense of connection for people from all walks of life and all sorts of ancestry. Be they Native peoples from all varieties of tribal affiliations, archaeologists trying to understand cultures of the past, international tourists drawn from faraway places, a variety of “new-age” practitioners, Mormons from Utah, or golfers—the Newark Earthworks call. This was true for the early citizens of Newark, who recognized the earthworks as something valuable and worth protecting, as well. I, for one, appreciate the foresight that prompted them to protect a significant portion of the earthwork complex for future generations.
I won’t be undertaking this journey alone, to date there are thirty people who have committed to participate, for the entire distance, in this walk—some I know, many I don’t. Many others have committed to walk part of the way. The diversity of participants reflects the diverse groups of people drawn to the earthworks and I’m sure that our individual motivations are as varied as well. There is however one point of commonality amongst us, each of us will be leaving our ordinary lives for a period of time to participate in an extraordinary activity. For the duration of the walk, we will become a community. Although we can’t anticipate everything that will happen on this walk, I have no doubt that it will be transformational on some level for all of the participants—whether walking the whole way or for a few hours.
I’d like to invite you to participate in some way on this walk. Maybe you can come to send us off at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park next Saturday at 10am, maybe you can walk a day or hour along the route, maybe you can attend one of our evening programs, maybe you can join us at Geller Park on Friday, October 16th at 3pm and walk the final 1.5 miles with us, maybe you can attend Newark Earthworks Day at the OSU-N campus on October 17th, or the open house at the Octagon at the 18th… in some way, I hope that you’ll share this experience with us!
You can follow the walkers by reading our daily blog at http://newark-earthworks.blotspot.com/ .
Information about all of this year’s Newark Earthworks Day activities and directions to each of the events can be found at www.newark.osu.edu –click on Newark Earthworks Day.
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