Towards the end of each day’s walking segment, when the last few miles seem interminable, Denis tells us he has been breaking into song — a Zulu favorite I first heard at the Shipley School:
Siyahamb’ ekukhanyen’ kwenkhos’, Siyahamb’ ekukhanyen’ kwenkhos’, We are walking in the Light of God, We are walking in the Light of God.
We join in, then add verses: We are walking in the light of Nan, We are walking in the light of Bradley, of Eric, of David, and everyone else who has suffered from these terrible disorders.
The song buoys our stride as we hit mile 16 today on a stretch of highway that can only be described as monotonous and noisy. Anny Ewing, a faithful companion on many walking segments last year as well as today, joined us this morning. We love her company. Despite leaving her walking shoes by her front door at home, her feet do well in an extra pair she had in the car, and I take advantage of Denis’s walking stick with the spring loaded tip to spare my knee.
The width of the road’s shoulder determines whether we can walk abreast, solo, or as a threesome. Conversations ebb and flow about our children, our
jobs, our summer plans. We only stop twice, once for lunch, where Anny spreads out her colorful bandanas on a grassy spot behind a row of 18-wheelers in the parking lot of a WAWA, and later at a McDonald’s to fill our water bottles. The sign by the restrooms admonishes patrons that there is “No Loitering” and that people have to eat their meal in under 20 minutes. We are out of there before we get questioned by the burger police. Then we stumble upon
a No Trespassing sign along the road. Are we being followed?
When we arrive at the Best Western in Edgewood where Denis will spend the night, we find that we have apparently strayed off path, as we appear to be in the Caribbean–or perhaps by the Gulf of Mexico. We pause for photos on the beach before Anny shuttles me back to my car at Havre de Grace. “I am blissfully weary,” she sighs, capturing our feelings exactly.
Parting is sweet sorrow, but I will connect again with my dear pilgrim in Washington D.C. next week.
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