Wisdom Taught Naturally

cross posted from round circle

As I mentioned in an earlier post, The Longest Walk started in San Francisco. We quickly moved away from the urban clutter of the bay and traveled south through the central valley from Sacramento, CA. Our route closely followed US Highway 99. The towns all had a common thread, agriculture. Each area known for one specialized crop. Walnuts, almonds, grapes, olives, melons.

We wanted to get to Bakersfield as we knew our route would turn east at that point, towards Arizona and New Mexico, heading us to our ultimate goal of Washington DC by summertime. We were enjoying the weather. It was nice, with temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s during the day. But when the sun dipped low in the sky, the nights turned cool. And with the wind brought outright cold. I was camping and sleeping in my van, using the fold out sofa that turns into a bed. I left it a sofa and slept on my side, being careful to park so the blood wouldn’t rush to my head or I wouldn’t roll onto the floor.

It wasn’t windy in the van, but it wasn’t warm either. I was careful to not allow myself to start the engine to run the heater. There was no such luxury for the tent campers, and I wasn’t going to waste precious expensive gasoline when I had a good sleeping bag and a Hudson Bay blanket to keep me warm.

We spent four full days and nights in Bakersfield. In Delano, just North of there, some folks told us some stories about the Bakersfield area. A Native woman told us that her family, her ancestors, came from Bakersfield and that at one time, the north end was Indian land. She described the river winding through along a cliff and the hills grew from there to the North. “This was our homeland” she exclaimed, “And they took our land and made us move. Now, the area is all oil wells. You’ll see them when you get to where you’re going tomorrow”.

As she described, when we got off the highway and turned left at Seventh Standard Road, we took another turn on China Grade Road and saw them, the oil wells, as she told us. You could see the curved cliff with the river flowing, then the foothills rising. I saw the people of long ago living there. The Sacred land of the people, now choked with oil wells. The irony is that we were paying well in excess of $3.30 per gallon for gasoline, and the oil was right there. It’s all about money you know, and man’s greed.

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Happy Birthday Cesar Chavez

reposted from round circle

“The flag of the United Farm Workers”

One of the highlights of my time on The Longest Walk was to be at the United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, located in Keene, California. Keene is just East of Bakersfield in the mountains, right near Tahachapi pass on California Highway 58 East of Bakerfield. The leader and organizer of the United Farm Workers is Cesar Chavez.

Today, March 31st, happens to be Cesar Chavez’s birthday. he passed in 1993. Chavez was the leader of the United farm Workers and is considered a liberator of sorts to the Mexican American people who worked as fruit and vegetable pickers. He served many more than the Mexican Americans though. His mission was to help any worker, no matter what race, to better tgheir opportunities and reach a level of dignity acceptable to a human being. Fillipinos, Whites, Latinos from all of South America, Blacks and anyone who suffered was the focus of Chavez’s mission.

Cesar, along with Delores Huerta, ran the United Farm Workers and started the union after multiple attempts to join with other labor organizations to bring better working conditions and better wages and benefits to the membership. I had the extreme honor to meet Richard Chavez, Casar’s brother while I was at La Paz. I also met a grand son, and Dolores Huerta fed us and donated lodging in the form of a large meeting hall when we spent four days in Bakerfield. Ms. Huerta is still active and keeping the fires burning through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, who sponsored our stay.

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Teaching, Learning, People, Cultures, Human Nature

As soon as I arrived in San Francisco and went to the first event about The Longest Walk I started to meet people and I started to learn new things. In such a venue, it’s easy to meet up with folks. After all, we’re all there for the event and there is a lot to break the ice with. “Where are you from?”, “Why are you here?”, “How did you find out about it?”, “What’s your name?”

The room that first night at the pot luck kick off dinner was buzzing to be sure. As human nature and the dynamics of such a potentially history making event would have it, people got involved in many types of conversations from the petty mindless talk to serious global problems and events.

I met many people that first night and saw them the next days at the concerts and fund raisers. Then we met again on the ferry boat to Alcatraz Island for the early morning sunrise spiritual ceremony. To see the people you don’t really know awake in the evening is one thing, but to see them early in the morning with the sleep barely washed out of their eyes is something else.

As time went on and the Walk started, we’d all get to see each other often in this early morning unwashed state. We’d even have to be exposed to each others morning breath at times, that’s how close we became while on the Walk.

The usual day would begin at 5:00 a.m. or so. Finding a bathroom was first and foremost, then break down the tents and stow the gear in the backpacks. Breakfast from the converted school bus turned kitchen and the organizational “circle” before the actual walking started for the day. All before 7:00 a.m. The walkers would depart following the Eagle feathered staff and the drumbeat.

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back from the longest walk

spadoman has returned from the longest walk as he has a bad case of bronchitis, but he is on the mend and posted over at his place today. he will be sharing some of his experiences along but i jumped the gun and decided to post his latest here today. welcome back my friend! betmo

I’ll start at the beginning. The trip itself is over for now. I am home. I had to come home. I got sick with bronchitis and wasn’t having any luck healing while working and on the road. I guess that’s the end, not the beginning, but when I left Ashland on January 27th, I didn’t have any idea of what was about to happen on The Longest Walk.

The trip itself had a few segments. When I left I traveled South towards New Mexico and Arizona across the midsection of America. I pulled into Flagstaff Arizona a day after a 17 inch snowfall. I went a little further South to Sedona where I stopped in at my brother’s place. My brother and his wife were gone on a cruise. My sister was staying with my Mother at my brother’s place. I stayed a few days and visited with Mom.

On February 4th, a Sunday, I took off and headed West. I was going to veer to the Northwest and Tahatchapi pass, but weather had moved in and the reports said that the pass was closed due to snow. I went straight West into the Northern edge of Los Angeles and took The Grapevine North on I-5.

I thought it strange that there was no traffic going South and there was no cars or other traffic behind me. I was the last car headed North. they had closed the pass behind me. I passed a long line of semi trucks that were slowly creeping across the San Gabriel Mountains and pulled into a rest area for a snooze.

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spadoman update

our co-conspirator- i mean co-blogger- spadoman is currently walking “…for peace and justice, I am walking to clean up mother earth, I am walking for all life, which is sacred, and I am trying to make a difference. I will spend the rest of my life on this endeavor, even long after the walk is over.”

i believe the southern group of walkers is currently in arizona. spadoman does walk a bit but he also drives support vehicles and cooks and whatnot. whatever the folks need done. the recent spate of illnesses plaguing america didn’t leave him out either and he is recovering from bronchitis- but emailed to say he is better. this is what he had to say about the walk:

“This spiritual walk is amazing. The most humbling experience of my life. I am on the elders counsel and have assumed the duties as transportation coordinator, like I did in the movie business, but with out the 4 grand per week paychecks. My eyes are being open to many more concerns. More than you mention. The greedy corporations are really killing mother earth. As we go through indian reservations, the people talk to us and tell us of their problems. It isn’t the usual white man taking our land, and although that still exists, it is the poisoning of the land with chemicals, the youth that have no where to turn and no direction and buy into the corporate drug and crime life of gangs. the people are helpless as they are abandoned here in these desolate parts of america. What happens to these people happens to all of us. never before have i felt so together with people of color. All life is sacred is the theme and is never forgotten. This is for all humanity, not just for indians. We are writing a manifesto to deliver to washington, dc when we get there in july. i will be instrumental in this writing and am so honored to do so. I went to Cesar Chavez’s national United farm Worker hedquarters and it was such an honor to be there. I have made many new friends from around the country and around the world.”Check out some of the blog articles and pictures at:

longestwalk.org

truthout recently covered the walk as well- check it out here

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