Lanett, AL: The Buddy System

Miles since last blog: 31.7

Route

First off, thanks Econo Lodge of Lanett, you rock for donating a room for the night.

High point of the day: Receiving a phone call from "Buddy," my pal on the survival course I took this Summer. He sounds like he's doing really well and gave me a great compliment. For those of you who don't know, this school was a huge deal for me and really helped me get some peace and a better grip on what I was doing with my life. Buddy was a big part of that along with the rest of the crew there.

In particular though, I think of Buddy when I am having a bad day. During the first few days of the course Buddy got sick but just kept going, I think he would have kept going until it killed him but we stopped and rested. Now he was tough and that may have been good or bad, but what I always think of him for is his incredible willpower and determination. If I have even a fraction of this I can finish this walk. I admire this and his personal life, a wife he loves and has loved since High School if I remember correctly, something I hope to find someday but find hard to imagine right now.

Thanks for the call Buddy, you're always there when I need you.

Low point of the day: About 30 minutes later, after I crossed the Georgia-Alabama border, when Free told me he probably wasn't coming back after he leaves at the beginning of December. This makes my life a lot harder as well as lonelier and I will miss my new Buddy.