March 7 – Day 66

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REPORT FROM THE WALK:

Over 16,500 miles!

Report from Sam Snow:

Wow. We’re having a bit of a climate change. Dry. Very dry. All the vegetation is totally gone. We’ve been traveling north since leaving Mount Kilimanjaro.

So many things to talk about. I know Jodie promised that I would tell you more about Mount Kilimanjaro and I will, but I’m really excited about some things we’ve seen since then.

You know the first think you think about Sudan these days is Darfur and the terrible almost genocidal loss of life that has been going on there. But this is a big country and in other parts of the country something totally different is going on.

We passed along the east side the Nuba mountains and got to visit a school there way up in the mountains. In this part of Sudan they have been keeping a cease fire alive for the past two years. Soldiers from all over the world, from the southern liberation army and the army from Khartoum have been working together to monitor the peace. Teachers and aid workers have flooded in from Uganda and Kenya to build simple schools and teach the children. It’s an amazing effort to blend cultural, religious, ethnic and political differences. They are trying to be so tolerant, because that is the key to peace here. There is an amazing story about language here too. There are basically three languages going on: English, native African and Arabic. People speak very good English in the schools and at public meetings here, but when the chat among themselves and recite skipping songs on the playground, it’s usually in Arabic. And although their native African language is rarely spoken, most regret that they have lost so much of that tradition.

We’re now moving into Northern Sudan and it is more politically unstable here. There really isn’t a ceasefire here and we have to be very careful. The land here is dry. Famine and war have killed 10’s of thousands at least. We are staying away from the villages to keep out of trouble. Last night we slept on a dry river bed in some hills. There are fewer rocks in these river beds. It’s really hot even at night. I took a picture of the night sky. It’s really clear and bright out here. I remember being at Woodstock for that big music festival. There were kids from New York, going gaga with their mouths hanging open because they had never seen stars in their whole life – what with all the lights from the city all the time.

I grew up, and maybe you did too, with the night sky plastered. I bet if you look up right now, it’s still plastered! Living outside these past few months has been an incredible transforming experience for us all. We’ve regained a sense of wonder and awe about the natural world. How can looking at a room ceiling compare with seeing thousands of worlds millions of light years apart!

It’s not just the sky, after a while your sense of smell of the winds gets keen and it tells you about the weather blowing in. The sounds of the insects and birds all day and all night tell a story of safety or danger. We’ve all grown more sensitive to our own bodies too. We catch signals about when to rest, when to drink, what foods to eat and its keeping us healthier.

Anyway, remember the Mad Hatter. Well, I was pretty amazed also by what he said up on Mount Kilimanjaro (although what I heard him say was pretty different than what Jodie reported). When the hatter began running down the mountain, holding a plate in front of him and yelling, “I’m great, I’m great, I’ve got a very important plate”, I took off after him. He ran down the mountain at an insane pace for nearly a half hour – yelling all the way, until he suddenly stopped cold. I caught up to him and was barely able to keep standing while I was catching my breath. He is amazing. I don’t think he has any concept of the past or the future. You look at him and it’s clear he has no idea of who he is or what he has just done and its also clear he has no idea what he is going to do next. And that’s the way he talks too.

After I had caught my breath, he held the plate up to me and said, “Look”.

The plate was really shiny. I got up close and could see my face, but it was kind of distorted. Actually after a while I realized what was going on in the plates reflection. Every thought that went through my mind, every feeling, was incredibly amplified by the reflection. If I felt a little fear, my face looked terrified. If I had a thought of enjoying this novel experience, the reflection made it look like I was about to bliss totally out.

Suddenly the hatter flung the plate over his shoulder and it smashed to pieces against the rocks. “Time for tea.” He sat down, and out of his huge pockets he pulled out a little – I mean really little - tea cup and poured some tea from a flask into it. Tea is what seemed to get him wired up and talkative.

“It’s not what you do. That’s doodoo. Do doodoo, you become doodoo.

BB your doodoo. Whacko, smacko, chilli beanie.”

I’m starting to get this guy’s magic. He’s like that plate. He’s reflecting back my own thoughts. What he says sounds so relevant to me because he’s right on my wavelength.

Right then the March Hare came down the mountain huffing and puffing and complaining about the Hatters erratic behavior.

“Why do you do that?”

The Hatter looked at him like he didn’t hear him and had never seen him before and said, “Time for a nap”. Took off his hat. Laid over. And was sound asleep.

I watched him sleep for a while and got drowsy myself. Found a bit of shade and laid down and fell asleep. Later when I woke up, they were gone.

FROM EARTHWALK COSMIC HEADQUARTERS IN OMAHAHA

Magnificent Millie’s Milestones and Millstones!
Closing in on a Record	Douglas Kern has almost logged 1,000 miles!
There are nine runners/joggers who have legged over 100 miles. They are lead by Mark Burns at 270 miles.
Century Club	47 EarthWalkers have topped 100 total miles.
LOSING IT! – Thirteen of us have lost five pounds or more. Four have lost over 10 pounds.
WaterWalkers	We have swum nearly 100 miles, lead by Terri Carson at over 36 miles.
Thirteen Tribes Cycling. Legal Resources Tribe leads at 946 cycling miles.
Trigoddess Tribe had passed 500 running and jogging miles.
And Five Tribes have gone over 1,000 total miles lead by Fondren Traders Tribe at 2,875 miles. (A lead of 1,000 miles over the Computer Co-op Scrolling Strollers.
The Canizaro, Cawthon, Davis Tribe has just passed 1,000 walking miles!
The amazing Dr. Leo Huddleston leads all walkers at over 630 miles. Buffalo Bear is 2^nd at 337.

OUT OF AFRICA FREE LUNCH FOR TWO POINTS AWARDED WHEN LEAVING AFRICA
Raising ones ranking in the EarthWalk Foot Miles Standing. (Foot miles are the combined walking, running and jogging miles.)	1 point for every rise in the ranking – (no points lost for dropping in the rankings)
Recruiting someone to join EarthWalk. If you are in a tribe, recruit someone to join your tribe.	1 point for each tribe member for each person recruited for your tribe.
Losing weight between now and leaving Africa	1 point for each pound lost.

You can keep up with your standing in the Foot Miles, by going to the main web site,

www.computercoop.com\earthwalk.htm

Click on the More Numbers link,

Then click on the Foot Miles link.

Submit Miles Here Too