Dispatches from the road: amazing grace

 Dispatches from the road: amazing grace

Dispatches from the road by Bill Poindexter

Amazing Grace 

May 11th 2022, Yorktown Virginia. Had a great rest day yesterday will leave here in the afternoon and make my way to Williamsburg I will take a train to Martha’s Vineyard at 5:42 AM on Thursday morning tomorrow, to Providence Rhode Island, I arrive at 5:30 PM will stay with a Warmshowers host. In a historic building in the downtown area, and then Friday morning I will make my way to New Bedford Massachusetts where I will catch a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard in the afternoon and hopefully will be at my primary destination -the Mermaid Farm and creamery on Friday afternoon. I’m excited and sad that my cycling journey has/is coming to an end but happy that I’m getting ready to start a new beginning to learn how to grow and make food, as, at age 58 -you are never too old to start new things. Also I plan to increase my writing career as well this summer. Starting with a daily diary as I’ve mentioned before ‘diary of a novice cheese maker’.

I am sitting on the deck of the Riverview house which is part of Grace episcopal church that’s been around since the 1600s here in Yorktown Virginia they have a ministry for traveling cyclists and this is an Extraordinary place. Yorktown and the church itself as extraordinary grace truly holds up to its name grace in its unconditional giving to wayward travelers, pilgrims as it were -seeking many different types of destinations – physical,mental, and spiritual. YorkTown, as I was told yesterday by a shopkeeper,  is really the birthplace of America. It’s a place where the American Revolutions last major battle -the battle of Yorktown solidified the United States of America being born. It’s important for us as American citizens not to forget all the sacrifices made by the regular people of that time the farmers the shopkeepers the men and the women the African-Americans the French allies we had the extraordinary efforts of people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Nelson who’s grave is actually just stay a few yards away from where I am right now in the graveyard of the Grace Episcopal Church. I went and walked the battlefield yesterday,afoot, and  the Park service guy said I should take a car but obviously I don’t have a car and I didn’t wanna get on my bicycle so I walked not all of it but most of it and imagined the sacrifices made during that time in September and October 1781. “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal“ obviously men and women and everybody. In pursuit of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to talk about American expansion from the east to the west and Kansas City was really the gateway to the west as people made their way over the Oregon Trail the California trail the Santa Fe trail and multiple military trails to the west and the hardships in the drive that it took to get there and we seem to live in a society now and our government is equally wrong by assuming that we and them are entitled to everything we have. It’s important to remember that everything was earned by regular people in this country people who sacrifice their lives in the American revolution in the war of 1812 the Civil War and not to mention World War I World War II but this country was really founded on the basics of what was needed not what was wanted now we live in a want society bigger houses bigger cars more money blah blah blah. And a lack of general integrity and morals is lacking in our society. What I found and I found this on all my other journeys to is that crossing America from Kansas City to Yorktown and going through a lot of small towns and talking to a lot of people the most people just want the basics in life which is food shelter clothing decent education good health and a decent job with a decent wage. Even though with that there are still people that want something for nothing and we can’t have that everything you have needs to be earned in that earning needs to be respected work it’s self is a noble thing everybody needs to work. There are too many unhealthy people in this country that need to get healthy and that means they need to walk they need to bicycle they need to move they need to exercise I think  technology and social media is good from a communication standpoint but it doesn’t mean you need to sit in your house by yourself looking at the Internet or TV all day long no get out and walk and bicycle : move move move move. I personally think our governments been compromised both the Democrats and the Republicans I think there’s a general lack of integrity and people have been subjected to being very focused on making money and greed. I think this country has lost some morals and the young people many young people in this country have lost the ability to be held accountable (that’s the fault of adults) and responsible and young people need to be held accountable and need to become responsible. Accountable and responsible. He -Marquis de Lafayette was a general at 20 years old. People used to run plantations/ farm’s up here in the 1700s who were in their 20s. I don’t have any answers I’m not gonna claim to, I do but I do know one thing -I do know the difference between right and wrong and that’s something that we need to instill and the adults and the young people of this country. And of the world. But I’m just gonna speak for America because I’m an American and I’m damn proud of it. War has no place in this world right now. War is just stupid. We need to find leaders in this country that are just basically good people that only want to do what’s right for the country and don’t have alternate agendas to become wealthy or wealthier. There’s a storm that’s coming I know you can feel it. And that storm is change and it’s inevitable. I do believe spirituality will be a big part of that change for the positive -the church in the Middle Ages was created as a sanctuary in a haven for people and surrounding hamlets and villages the steeple of a church was created so people could see from the countryside where that haven that sanctuary was where they could go for safety food shelter to meet other people in their community to obtain clothing to trade and barter goods possibly to find work education in a general place of good mental and physical health. As I’ve crossed the country I’ve seen churches being created from nothing and building some of those staples and steeples. Someone asked me recently if I believed in God, and I said honestly I’m not sure but I do know that I feel better when He is around.

The universe is a big place I don’t have any answers I’m just an observer. But again I do know the difference between right and wrong I constantly self check myself and understand all my faults. Here where we had the birth of our country in Yorktown and all those sacrifices made we cannot forget of what it took to get to where we are now. And we need to get that passion back in America that base back. 150+ years ago when people used to travel the countryside there were very few hotels or bed-and-breakfast is there were only people in their homes and what you did when you traveled was you travel till it started getting dark you made your way to a town or to the nearest home and you knocked on the door and you asked for a place where you could bed for the night and if there was any food available sometimes you paid sometimes you did not sometimes people just opened up their homes with the Grace well with the Grace. That type of grace happened to me many times on this trip where I had to seek shelter at the end of the day and I assure you that humanity is alive and well. Let us all remember that. The Grace.

Peace and love from the road, Bill