may18
day 9
22 miles
230 total
i stopped at the new york border today
4 miles short of where I was supposed to get,
but the endless days of zero hours of rest was wearing me down.
it was a relief to eat and have a few minutes to breathe!
i took another shortcut.
the shortcuts have been the most fun.
this morning i had used my walking stick as a dog stick for the first time.
it worked like a charm.
first I pointed it at him,
which has discouraged previous dogs,
but this one made a rush at me anyway.
apparently he could not see the stick end on very well.
poking it in his chest like a jousting lance
brought him to an abrupt halt.
so he tried to go around,
and I poked him in the side hard.
that knocked him back,
and his less interest in getting to me diminished considerably.
so I was ready when the detour took us thru neighborhoods,
and I heard a large-dog bark from one of the yards.
I looked to see a sure enough large dog charging down the hill towards me.
I shifted my stick to defense mode,
and waited.
the dog ran to a clump of weeds at the edge of the yard,
reached in
came up with a ball in his mouth
and stood there wagging his tail and looking at me expectantly;
“come take my ball…I dare you.”
“throw it across the yard….I double dare you!”
how could I not laugh?
today eliza hamm and adam schalit helped me thru the day.
if this run is not anything,
it is not a solo effort.
laz