When my Long Ride was drawing to an end and there was a discussion happening around writing a memoir concerning my recent adventures, an Uncle (who, to be clear, had never written a book himself) told me one of the basic rules of writing: “Never start a sentence with the word I.” There was much trying. There was much struggle. Eventually yours truly met somebody who had actually written a book who pointed out that the aforementioned rule was for old school journalism, that since I was writing a memoir, which was about My Life and My Experiences, I was supposed to be writing in first person. Different rules applied.

I’m giving up. I’m reframing. I’m doing the very best I can. I’m crawling where I meant to fly. I’m bumping into my own limits. I’m the recipient of so much grace, so much mercy. I’m grateful. I’m making progress. I’m learning. I’m exhausted. I’m failing. I’m in awe. I’m the weak link. I’m the decider. I’m overwhelmed. I’m doing this! Every time I try to explain why I named my little covered wagon The Mustard Seed I break down in tears. I can’t explain why I’m crying. There’s a word in Nez Perce that simultaneously means brave and terrified. Ciikowis. I’m Ciikowis. I’m not dead yet.

I’ve lived a lot of places in my life and visited a lot more. Most of them say “if you don’t like the weather in Texas (for example) just wait a minute” – Ohio beats them all. At this stage I’m dashing down the road between the rain storms and grateful for the shelter offered as I wait for them to pass. Does that make me a weather wimp or bespeak the wisdom garnered with age? Nights are colder than anticipated. The solar panels are needing regular augmentation via extension cord. The trees are greening, the flowers are blooming, but this is still definitely Spring, not Summer. I’m so ready for summer. I’m trying to be grateful for every season, for every moment in every day. Sometimes I manage to do that in real time.

Larry Hall found a place for me to tuck in across the street from his family compound at a house that’s “sale pending” – a sweet little pasture for the ponies, a shed roof barn with an extension cord for me. It was a great choice since he has Blue Heelers who might have opinions about Thick and the ponies – and because I do better with a bit of privacy and solitude in between the peopling. He hauled water over in gallon jugs, arranged a bunch of interviews in both directions (local newspapers and Neighbors willing to answer my questions) and he was gracious when I declined his offer of a tour of local attractions. He called some wagon experts to investigate a strange sound emerging from under the front (originally I thought it was one of the ponies wheezing – very concerning!) Thanks to Dean and Clayton, a jack and a grinder, that’s all taken care of and here comes the wind and rain. Again, again – as persistent as Thick chasing the ball and bringing it back – again, again.

5 great interviews and we’re on the road again, invited to Tower Hill Farm by Hunter Creech and his wife, Emily Hartley. They were in town when I arrived but we found our way into the indoor arena and the ponies were gentlemen while I unhitched them – we’re making progress! Hay and water and a salt block, other horses to visit with through a gate, the wagon aimed towards the door in anticipation of morning. Another interview in beach chairs in the arena and I tucked in early. Asleep by 9. In the morning the ponies came by for a visit – this is the first time we’ve been in the same space overnight and it was lovely. I gave them each a treat and Thick ate breakfast while I enjoyed my morning mug of Joe’y. John the farrier showed up to hold the ponies while I hitched them to the wagon. When I went to catch Franklin, he turned his rump to me – which isn’t like him – but he didn’t run away or fuss, and soon enough we were out the door and away – our first 15 mile day.

Early in the day, I saw a semi parked on the side of the road facing us, idling, waiting for something, I could see him there for at least 10 minutes. Just as we were passing the cab, the driver released the air brakes (loud sound!) and then pulled out towards us. Theodore was Not Impressed and we wound up careening off into the grass on the side of the road. Thankfully, the verge was relatively flat in that location (so often it’s a steep embankment or gully) and we were back on the road within a few feet – but dang! That felt unfriendly. For the rest of the day, Theodore was scared of anything bigger than a pick-up truck and Franklin the Dragon was lagging, low energy – we did a lot of walking and it took us almost 5 hours to get to the family compound of Jamie and Aunt Deb.

This is the third time in 4 stops I’ve stayed with a family who had multiple houses along a road, generations and extended family living in proximity. I don’t remember this from my Long Ride and I’m curious to see if it’s an Ohio thing, a rural thing, a statistical anomaly, suddenly more common? The ponies are in an arena, the Mustard Seed is in the barn, and I’m upstairs in Aunt Debbie’s house, my own bedroom and bathroom, horse decor throughout, a place to get out of the cold. Blessings! The 4H club was having a meeting at Jamie’s house and she brought them over to meet me and the ponies, so that was a fun treat as well. I’m invited to stay over a few days, rest, wait out another rain storm, and on Friday morning, Mel (also from 4H) is going to give me some pointers on fine tuning the harness fit, swapping the ponies back to their original sides in hopes that will help Theodore be braver.

This is the first time I’ve had WiFi in a week or so and as I was uploading the 6 interviews from last week I made a distressing discovery. Somehow they’d recorded video, but the audio was missing. Ugh. I spent a whole day trying to find a way to recover the audio, fix my mistake, but no. I’m gutted. Every interview is precious, but a few of those were real gems and I’m still struggling with what to do. I can’t go back – hopefully at some point we can re-do them on Riverside (a way to do interviews remotely.) Yesterday I did 3 interviews here, today I’ll do 2 more – I’ve learned from my mistake and understand what happened – but it was super disappointing to lose that many due to operator error with the tech.

You might notice that Thick and the Mustard Seed are in a horse trailer in the above photo. That’s because I drove South instead of West (so I could meet the Jamie and the 4H kids) and my next planned stop is now quite a ways NW. I’ve decided that there are no rules this time, this is a “choose my own adventure” and I’m just going to do what makes sense in the moment. So I’m going to get dropped off one day’s drive from my next destination and get there before the next rain storm. Harnessing up wet ponies is a recipe for sores, wet roads are slippery, I’m trying to stay healthy living mostly outside – and why make life harder than I need to? The exhaustion is real. My life is no longer linear. The heart of this journey is the connections I’m making with people, the “Who is my Neighbor?” interviews I’m doing along the way, the conversations and insights, life in slow motion, Franklin and Theodore, Thick and Sea, finding our way as we go.

Speaking of finding my way – I’m still trying to figure out social media – where to share which parts of this Journey, when cross-posting helps and when it’s just noise. I’m very open to suggestions and ideas in this realm. I’d love to know where you’re seeing things, what’s coming through, what you’d like more or less of. Feedback Please! One thing I know I want to do is find a way to share more of the Neighbor interviews, because that’s the heart of what I’m doing out here and it’s a chance for you to meet some of the people who have taken me in and are making the adventure what it is. Debra Edgell is the heart of this family compound, Cardington, Ohio born and raised. She welcomed me into her home and took the time to sit down with me and answer the 25 questions. So – I’d like you to meet Aunt Debbie!

And here’s an example of her artwork – discovered on the back of the bathroom door!