After five years and thousands of miles, the greatest lesson of walking across America may be how much one person can accomplish with the help of others.
You Never Know What Will Happen
It definitely seems like the movie "Groundhog Day," sometimes.
Over five years, there have been more unexpected moments than I could possibly include.
During Tropical Storm Ida in North Carolina, my phone became too wet and stopped working completely. I could easily have been completely stranded without the help of a very kind woman working at Arby's in Charlotte.
At several McDonald's, groups of senior citizens at different locations became so interested in the walk that they reached into their pockets and donated a few dollars to the cause.
On another day, I was bitten by one dog from a pack of seven. David came to my rescue. I don't remember the dogs contributing anything to health equity.
One night in Indiana, I had to sleep on a bench in the gazebo of a church. Police officers stopped, checked on me, and later returned with blankets and water.
In Chicago, naturopathic doctors went out of their way to welcome and support me. And in a city of three million people, while planning on meeting my sister near a brewery, all of a sudden, I hear a voice in the distance:
"Dr. Godby, thank you so much for doing this walk."
I had no idea that I would be running into an ND who had just heard the day before that I was walking through town.
Those kinds of things happened quite frequently.
As the saying goes, what are the odds?
There have been hotel rooms donated, meals prepared, coolers filled, clothes washed, routes checked, rides offered, stories published, prayers shared, and doors opened.
There was also the night in Kentucky that I slept outside on a church pew that bordered Daniel Boone National Forest. I didn't know that until I left the next morning, happier that the minister's warning about being in bear country did not yield any bears.
I slept well—between periodic checks to see whether a bear had decided to join the walk.
More Than One Person Walking
When I started this journey five years ago, I hoped we could raise awareness about health equity.
What I didn't expect was the overwhelming generosity of people along the way.
There is a line in the movie Gandhi that has always made me smile. Gandhi remarks that his friends often remind him how much it costs them to keep him in poverty.
Over these past five years, I've come to appreciate exactly what he meant.
From the outside, it may look like one person simply walking across America.
In reality, it takes an extraordinary number of people—and a surprising amount of work and resources—to keep a walker walking.
Someone is driving the support vehicle.
Someone is finding the next hotel.
Someone is buying groceries and filling the cooler.
Someone is making sandwiches.
Someone is calling the media.
Someone is organizing an event.
Someone is opening a home.
Someone is preparing dinner.
Someone is walking beside me for a few miles.
Someone is offering a bottle of cold water.
Someone is praying.
Someone is making a donation.
Every mile has been carried by hundreds of people.
I've simply had the privilege of putting one foot in front of the other.
The Final 760 Miles
As we prepare for this final 760-mile journey from Bozeman to Seattle, I would like to invite you to become part of the story.
If the walk is coming through your community, come walk with us. It doesn't have to be 25 miles. An hour or two would be wonderful.
Perhaps you could host a meal, offer a place to stay, invite a few friends over for a conversation about health equity, organize a small gathering, or help introduce the walk to your local media.
And if you live too far away to join us in person, you can still help carry the walk.
Sharing our story, telling others about the final journey, or making a donation can help provide the food, lodging, fuel, permits, outreach, and countless daily necessities required to reach Seattle.
Every Gift Matters
One of the beautiful things I have learned during the past five years is that people do not all contribute in the same way.
Some give time.
Some give encouragement.
Some give hospitality.
Some give resources.
Every gift matters because every gift moves the walk forward.
If you'd like to become part of this story, we'd be honored to have you join us.
Learn more, follow the journey, or join us along the route:
To support the final 760 miles:
WalkUSAforHealthEquity.org/donate/
Come Walk With Us
And if you happen to see two walkers wearing reflective vests somewhere between Bozeman and Seattle, please don't just wave as you drive by.
Stop for a few minutes.
Say hello.
Walk with us.
Ask why we're walking.
Share your story.
Those conversations have always been the real destination.
Because Walk USA for Health Equity has never really been about one person walking across America.
It has always been about ordinary people deciding to do one small thing to help someone else.
A meal.
A bed.
A ride.
A story.
A prayer.
A donation.
A few miles together.
Every act of kindness has carried this walk forward.
People often ask me what it's really like walking across America.
The answer is simple.
COME JOIN US AND FIND OUT!
You never really walk alone.