![]() ![]() I don’t want to prosecute, I just want my stuff back. Obviously God had a hand, even in the theft. “Because the police have them on video, saw where they put the stuff and everything, which is very rare. “I believe part of the reason my stuff was stolen was God ‘you got to hold up a little bit longer here,” Cantwell said. To him, the theft of his gear – and that police were able to use surveillance video to identify the thieves – is God telling him not to leave this place just yet. He believes his trip is being used by God to help him – and that includes the theft. That’s his mode – grab an odd job for a day or two some cash before getting down the road a bit. And he’s lined up a day of work detailing cars at a large dealership in Hutchinson when he’s able to get back on the road. They don’t want to … It is painful to watch someone carry 40 pounds on their back, I imagine.”Īside from seeing much of his gear taken, Cantwell restocked. ![]() “A lot of places, when you are a backpacker, they will look right past you. They ask lots of questions,” Cantwell said. “I started asking ‘what is going one here?’ Everyone is very inquisitive, and very friendly. Visits to the police station, New Jerusalem Mission and an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting house. He talks of meeting the owners a thrift store, who gave him a cross to wear. Dixon is a little smaller than here,” Cantwell said. He took a great thrill in finding the name of a person from Dixon on a piano at the Harvey County Historical Society – a piano that was signed by travelers stopping at the Newton Train Station back in the 1940s. He also found a place to stay, as he was planning to camp at Camp Hawk. After my kids were raised and my divorce, life fell apart.”Ĭantwell said at the AA facility he found a “really great group” that cares about healing people. “Stay sober is to find purpose and meaning. “This is part of my purpose,” Cantwell said. In Newton he found the Alcoholics Anonymous facility on SE 14th, and celebrated his one year anniversary of sobriety. It was on that trail he found Herrington, and headed westward to Hillsboro before coming southbound for Newton. He picked up the Katy Trail, which followed the old Katy Railroad lines, leaving the Katy for the Flint Hills trail. He started his trek – a hike – in Missouri, headed for Arizona. … People’s hearts are open in this community.” It is a pure expression of the heartland. “I want people to know how appreciative I am of every place I have been too, and every person I have met in this community. “I was like, what is going on? It is just so receptive for people,” Cantwell said. When he got to Newton it had been weeks since he’d had a shower, and he found one – no questions asked – at the Newton Recreation Commission. This is a wonderful community that is very open and welcoming.” “The story is I came into this town and it has been so welcoming. “I have made my way all around this town,” Cantwell said. He started to notice it as he hiked through Herrington, and then Hillsboro. But Alan feels like he has found something in central Kansas. “Tell these people they are loved,” he said.Īll those details of his trip are important pieces to the story. He wants it to be about where he is – physically – and the people he has found. He doesn’t want it to be about his journey of self discovery, poetry, sobriety anniversary or that much of his camping gear (which he carries on his back in a 40 pound backpack from town to town) was stolen in Newton. Alan Cantwell from Dixon, Illinois, doesn’t want the local news coverage of his trek across half of the United States to be about him. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |