Aimless

Court in Rhode Island

2011-10-29T09:44:00.011-04:00

Whydibuy asked in a comment on the previous post how my court appearance went. Unfortunately I can't answer that because they did it without me; I was in a holding cell during my court appearance. I didn't even know it was happening until after it happened. From what I've heard, though, the prosecution extorted my folks for a couple hundred bucks.

I didn't even know my parents were coming to Rhode Island until my mom showed up to visit me in jail the night before my court date. They made the trip because we couldn't communicate and because they didn't know if I was gonna have ANYTHING when I was released. That's because the people who work in RI's Department of Corrections are a bunch of criminal scumbags who tell you with a straight face that all your shit will be thrown away before you get out of jail. They refuse to let you do things like make one phone call to let your family know you're not dead. And when you go to the property window to obtain your street clothes before you board the bus to the courthouse, they tell you your clothes were already thrown away, thus leaving you wearing jail jumpers to the courthouse (and possibly out of the courthouse). They are the biggest pieces of shit you could ever hope to meet. Except two of them: a sheriff at the courthouse named Carl and lady in the jail named Nunez.

I'm in suburban Baltimore now. Probably gonna take a train to DC this afternoon to visit my good friend Jeff. It's cold and raining/snowing.

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How I ended up in jail for 16 days

2011-10-21T14:47:00.007-04:00

I know at least one person has been waiting patiently for this story, so here's why I was in jail:

After I stepped into the ocean near Westerly, RI, as I walked back toward town, a cop stopped and asked me if I had seen some guy on crutches. The cop said there was a report that someone was stealing mail from mailboxes. Like always, I cooperated with the cop until he asked me for my ID. (When I get treated like a suspect for no reason, I respond how someone who's being treated like a suspect for no reason should respond: I stop cooperating and I assert my rights.)

Anyway, the cops took me down and cuffed me, never informing me that I was under arrest or why I was under arrest or that I had the right to remain silent (as required by law), which is all I was doing anyway. They roughed me up a little and put me in a cell at the Westerly police station, then wrote some bullshit report that I still haven't seen. Next day I went to court and pleaded not guilty to obstruction. Judge set my bail at $100 and set my next court date for 10/14. I had $44. I couldn't make any calls. I couldn't contact anyone.

When they took me to jail, all I could do was hope my mom would figure out that no blogging + no tweeting + no phone data usage = I'm in jail somewhere, instead of dead or a million other things. They would not let me call my mom to let her know that I wasn't dead; they exist just to fuck with people.

Eight days after I was "arrested," I received a piece of mail from Mom. I could finally exhale, knowing Mom wasn't freaking out, thinking I was dead. Just seeing the envelope with Mom's handwriting on it brought tears to my eyes because I finally knew she wasn't still in the dark.

I could have been out of jail after only one day if those piece-of-shit motherfuckers hadn't gone way out of their way to fuck with both me and my mom, breaking countless laws in the process just because they enjoy making people hurt.

By the time I received Mom's second letter, which informed me that I could post bail, I only had a couple days remaining until my court date. I decided to just wait it out.

So much more to it than that. Wait till you find out what happened only three days before I was put in jail. I originally was not going to write about it, but things changed, and now I think it's a very relevant story.

Oh yeah, and the walk is over. I have no need for any more of this kind of bullshit. (You now know about 10 percent of the story.)

I've been hanging out in Manhattan the last five days. (You would have known that five days ago if you followed me on Twitter.)

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Jail

2011-10-14T11:44:00.002-04:00

I just spent the last 16 days in jail. I should have a lot to say about it pretty soon.

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State #5

2011-09-25T08:10:00.003-04:00

I made it into Rhode Island at 12:17 yesterday. This is the sign they gave me, instead of a "Welcome to Rhode Island" sign. If you wanna know more, follow @AimlessRyan on Twitter.

Sandwich close-up

2011-09-22T15:08:00.003-04:00

And here's a close-up of the sandwich someone left outside my tent about a week ago.

Home

2011-09-20T12:35:00.002-04:00

This one's for you, ER. This is where I slept last night. I think it's at the first intersection south of NH on Rte 78 in MA (about 4 miles into MA). I know it's a shitty picture, but I've been getting up and moving really early lately. Not much I can do about that.

Midnight Cowboy

2011-09-20T12:31:00.001-04:00

This staircase in Brattleboro, Vermont reminded me of the staircase from the party scene in Midnight Cowboy.

State #4

2011-09-20T12:27:00.002-04:00

This was yesterday at 6:00 or so. I did 20 miles yesterday. Don't ask me how I'm doing this because I don't know. Looks like the rain may have killed my pedometer this morning.

Smokin'

2011-09-18T16:44:00.003-04:00

I made it to Vermont at about 3:40, I believe. That was a very quick 13 miles for my current condition, which is still pretty gimpy. Looks like I'll be in Assumchusetts sometime tomorrow. By the way, that was a very difficult sign to get in a picture with myself, particularly because of where the sun was.

Apple earbuds blow

2011-09-18T08:30:00.003-04:00

Apple earbuds are literally the most useless product I have ever used. They suck in every way they possibly could suck. I would be happier with my iPhone if it came with no earbuds instead of these stupid, worthless, irritating earbuds. Apple should be ashamed of themselves for even creating this garbage, which is beginning to make me hate my favorite music.

I may have a lot more to say about this retarded-ass product, so come on back to this post every once in a while.

Walking again

2011-09-15T15:43:00.003-04:00

This morning at about 7:00 I heard someone walk up to my tent, which was all wet from rain. I figured they were gonna tell me to scram. Instead, they set a sandwich down by my vestibule and walked away. The person came from the parking lot of Amherst Village Dental. If that person ever finds this post, thank you.

I resumed the walk yesterday, after taking it easy in Manchester/Bedford for five days, I think, to rest the hip. Hip felt all right for about five miles, but then it started feeling like this walk will be over soon. Later it felt better, but not good. I ended up doing about 11 miles. I expected the hip to feel pretty messed up today, but so far it feels pretty decent (after about 7 miles). Maybe I'm gonna be able to do this.

Hip flexor?

2011-09-09T20:31:00.003-04:00

I spent today sitting around at Burger King, Wendy's, and Dairy Queen, in an effort to give my hip a rest. I think this is the first time I've ever just sat around all day during a walk, excluding the rare occasions when I actually had somewhere to stay during last year's walk.

Oh, the hip... Yeah, um, my left hip is messed up. I just started feeling it two or three days ago, when I was finally starting to feel human again. From what little I know, it seems to be a hip flexor issue. When this injury is at its worst, it's nearly impossible for me to walk, plus it puts me at risk for other injuries. So I'm just hanging out right now, and I may just hang out tomorrow, too, to try to give it a chance to heal. All I know is that if I keep having to limp all day just to make it 9 or 10 miles, this walk will have to end.

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Lovely day

2011-09-07T10:48:00.001-04:00

I only put the vest on the outside of the rain jacket when I know it's gonna be raining for a long time. After raining all night, this is gonna be going on for at least several more hours. Several miles south of Epsom, NH.

More obstacles

2011-09-04T17:40:00.005-04:00

OK, first thing you need to know is that this is a picture of the road Google directed me to use. This is where all the bullshit started this morning. I was able to get around this body of water by finding a route through the forest. (And yes, this is a forest, not just "woods.") But over the next hour or so, I had to find my way across/around 14 more of these things. As you can see by the fallen trees spanning the road in two different places, no one uses this road. That's why I wanted to make sure people knew where I was. I can't even tell you how many ways I could have gotten hurt back there, especially in my gimpy condition. Honestly, I don't even know how I made it beyond the first ten miles out of Portland, and I certainly don't know how my legs manage to transport me and my gear over ten miles every day, with my mileage increasing every day (13 miles yesterday).

Two-state walk...

2011-09-04T14:36:00.002-04:00

This is one of the biggest milestones ever for me because a week ago I was 90% sure this walk wouldn't last any longer than ten miles. Anyone who has spent any time around me over the last 11 months is probably just as amazed as I am because I've barely been able to walk AT ALL since last September.

Back on asphalt

2011-09-04T08:45:00.002-04:00

I'm safe now. Man, that was fucking scary; the scariest position I've ever been stuck in. Every step presented about a hundred different ways for me to die. No one would have found me. I'll post some pictures later, when I get a chance to charge.

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See what I mean

2011-09-04T08:25:00.000-04:00

2011-09-04T08:11:00.002-04:00

If I don't update within the next hour or two, it means I'm on Half Mile Road and I'm in desperate need of help. I'm fine right now, but I'm in a very dangerous place, where no one will find me if I get hurt and lose consciousness, which is very possible.

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Different kind of road

2011-09-04T07:27:00.002-04:00

This is the kind of road Google Maps is steering me down this morning. Six miles to New Hampshire.

Walking road

2011-09-03T09:28:00.002-04:00

This is a very good walking road, despite the heavy traffic. Can you figure out why?

Saco, Maine

2011-09-02T17:13:00.003-04:00

This is a few hundred feet from where I slept last night, near the train station.

Bridge outta Portland

2011-08-31T10:50:00.002-04:00

2.34 miles so far. Not much, but it's a start. Tells me I should be able to hit my goal of 10 miles today.

Walking

2011-08-31T08:42:00.004-04:00

48-state walk began at 7:50 this morning in Portland, Maine. Can I actually do it? I don't know, but I'm gonna try. Actually, I know I can do it; I just don't know if I can do it right now because I'm still so beat up from last year. Every step I take is dangerous because my nerves are messed up. There's a ton of muscle in my legs, but that doesn't mean much if your nerves are messed up. My first step is just to try to do at least ten miles today. I'll let you know how that works out.

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Maine

2011-08-30T22:09:00.002-04:00

I took a train from Boston to Maine tonight. That means the proposed 48-state walk has technically already begun. Officially, however, it begins with my first step tomorrow morning. My legs and hips have felt a little better the last few days, so I might actually be able to do this.

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More surfing

2011-08-29T11:18:00.003-04:00

I just realized I like this one, too. Notice how far the skateboard is in front of him. That oughtta give you a clue how fast he was going when he was still on it.

Fun with hurricanes

2011-08-29T10:50:00.001-04:00

This guy's objective was to remain atop the skateboard while Irene was blowing him. Some girls are just a little too aggressive, though.

Home 2

2011-08-29T09:20:00.001-04:00

And here's a pic from the other side, sans rainfly.

Home 1

2011-08-29T09:15:00.003-04:00

ER, you asked for pics of where I sleep, so here you go. This is at Storrow Dr. & Charlesgate, in Boston. The storm (Irene) really didn't do anything here. It just rained hard for a few hours, with some strong wind occasionally.

I have to stay in Boston for another night because all the trains to Portland are fully booked today, due to the fact that Amtrak shut down yesterday, in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

Fenway

2011-08-25T09:09:00.003-04:00

Boston

2011-08-24T12:55:00.004-04:00

This is my first ever glimpse of Boston, from Roslindale, on Washington. I'm closer than I realized. I didn't take the train from Providence because they jacked the price up. (You would have known that a couple days ago if you followed me on Twitter.) Probably gonna take the train to Portland tomorrow. It should be $19.

Train to Maine

2011-08-22T12:55:00.006-04:00

I probably won't be writing many long blog posts for a while. Instead, I'll more likely tweet pretty regularly during this adventure. So go over there -------> and start following me on Twitter. I'll probably keep posting pics here regularly.

Right now I'm in downtown Providence, where I intend to get on a train to Maine in a few hours, for $33.

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NYC

2011-08-21T15:53:00.004-04:00

Midtown Manhattan from the cab of an International in New Jersey.

Bacon

2011-08-21T09:00:00.002-04:00

If this didn't make you laugh, I feel sorry for you.

Optic neuritis

2011-08-20T09:52:00.000-04:00

In addition to my recent injuries and the lingering injuries from last year's walk, I've been dealing with optic neuritis in my left eye for about the last four months. Basically this means I can't see shit out of my left eye because my optic nerve is scarred. I've been through this a couple times before with my right eye, and it only lasted a couple months those times, so this is very frustrating. Optic neuritis makes it really hard for my brain to translate what I'm seeing, and it also affects my depth perception, which makes walking with a heavy pack pretty dangerous. Hope it gets better soon.

Still at the truck stop in Carlisle, PA. Pretty cool place to be stuck for a while.

Nice trees

2011-08-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

I got a ride to Carlisle, PA with an old friend who's a trucker. This sign was just too cool not to share here. My injuries are feeling a little better, but still painful.

Not a good start

2011-08-18T08:33:00.001-04:00

Five or ten minutes after my folks dropped me off at a truck stop last night, I stepped in a hole and fell down. I twisted my right ankle, jammed my left thumb, and also jammed the second and third toes on my left foot. Probably broke something, but I'm out here trying to get a ride east anyway.

Test 2

2011-08-17T18:03:00.003-04:00

Test #2. (Edit: Oh, cool. This means I can post via e-mail from my phone, which will be a lot easier than posting via the tiny internet. And I'm pretty sure there is no character limit this way.)

2011-08-17T18:00:00.001-04:00

Test.

Social media

2011-08-15T20:09:00.017-04:00

I've had the same phone for like four and a half years (pictured). Even though it is ancient and useless for most people, I like it pretty well. I especially like it when I'm on the road, precisely because I CAN'T use it to get to Facebook or any other brain-wasting web sites (which is almost all of them nowadays). It's nice to get away from the internet, sometimes for months at a time.

However, as I learned in Pennsyvania last year, sometimes you absolutely need internet access because sometimes you can't get a state map until way after you need one, and sometimes a good state map isn't good enough to help you figure out what you need to figure out. Sometimes interactive maps are the only feasible way to plan a route. If you want to better understand what I'm saying here, take a look at a Pennsylvania state map and try to figure out how you intend to walk across it, entering the state on US 40 at the West Virginia state line, with the intention of walking to NYC.

Seriously, give it a try. But before you plan your route, be sure to keep these things in mind: 1) After having already walked 3,000 miles, you want to find the shortest possible route across PA; and 2) You want to choose a route that'll put you in a town at least every 10 miles or so, which may require using a route that's not the shortest. Now look at your Pennsylvania state map again and tell me your route. See my point?

Last Monday I went with my mom to the phone store, hoping she'd be willing to help me get a phone that was at least equipped to handle the internet. When we got there, she went straight to the iPhone display. Long story short... I have an iPhone now.

With the iPhone, not only will I be able to look at maps whenever I need one, but I will also be able to use social media on the road now. Not only will it be easier for me to blog, but it will also be possible for me to tweet and upload videos from the phone. And some other things, too.

I'm not saying I will use all this stuff on a daily basis now just because I can. But I'm not saying I won't, either. I'm just letting you know I now have the tools to more easily share my upcoming journey. I want to share this journey as much as possible (without turning into an attention whore), but I already know I'm gonna need a lot of Ryan-time, and Ryan-time comes first. Also, I already know the iPhone battery drains pretty quickly if you spend much time messing with it, so I'm gonna have to limit my usage most of the time to keep from killing the battery.

So far I do not find the qwerty keypad any more useful than number keypads because 1) It's nothing like typing; and 2) I'm always hitting the wrong letters anyway because the "keys" are so small, which constantly makes me have to delete and re-type. I'm sure I'll get better at it in time, but I'm still hoping I can find and obtain a good lightweight, roll-up keyboard to use with the iPhone. I'd say I can type ten times faster on a keyboard than I can on any kind of keypad. That means a blog post that takes five minutes to compose on a real keyboard might take around 50 minutes on the iPhone. That's 45 minutes I could be resting instead of typing. Hopefully I can get something worked out.

Here's one of the major benefits of having an iPhone: With the iPhone, I will almost certainly end up with some very compelling video of cops committing crimes against me. Y'see, when I walk, I always pay attention to what's going on around me. (If I didn't, I would have been dead at least a year ago.) So whenever I see a cop pass me, then slow down to turn around, I'll have more than enough time to turn on the phone, clip the phone to my sternum strap, and capture video of almost everything from a first-person perspective. The cops will never even know it's on because the display will be against my chest (in the case).

Better yet, I will be able to upload videos to YouTube from the phone. And if I manage to push all the buttons right whenever I see it coming, this shit will blow your mind.

However, I don't think I'll get any good asshole-cop videos for a while because the east coast is mostly urban. City cops rarely go out of their way to start shit with people like me. But I don't know what to expect when I get to Georgia, Alabama, and all the other southern states. Regardless, I know my rights. I cooperate with cops until they start treating me like a criminal. But once they start treating me like a criminal, without any justification or any reason, I respond like someone who knows and values his rights and the limitations of law enforcement officers.

In case you're not aware of my rights or the limitations of law enforcement officers, here's a beginner's course: The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution says cops cannot force me to identify myself to them, nor can they search me for ID (or anything else) unless they have a court order or damn good evidence that I've committed a specific violation of the law. The Fifth Amendment says I don't have to say a word to them if I don't want to. (This is true even before they tell me I have the right to remain silent.) On the other end of the spectrum, the First Amendment says I have every right to tell them to go fuck themselves, which I have done more than a couple times.

I took this picture with the iPhone.

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Underdog, idiot, or bad-ass?

2011-08-11T09:07:00.006-04:00

I'm gonna hit the road to begin the 48-state walk on about August 17th, even though I'm still nowhere near recovered from the punishment I put my body through last year. 'Handicapped' is an appropriate word to describe my current physical condition. My feet are still kind of numb and my legs feel heavy when I walk, which makes me very prone to tripping. I also get worn out pretty quickly whenever I do any kind of physical activity because I usually can't move my hips or legs how they're supposed to move, which forces me to put extra work into every move I make. In addition to all that, I don't have any endurance because I've been physically inactive for the last 11 months. However... my condition has definitely been improving, slowly, and I finally feel like I know how to continue improving.

The big picture: Even though I've trimmed a lot of weight from my gear, the odds are not on my side, and I may find after a month that I'm physically unable to do this. That means I might have to quit after a month or two. So don't be surprised if I end up quitting (or postponing) this ridiculous megawalk.

You may wonder: If I'm in such bad condition, why am I even considering doing such a long, difficult walk, and why do I have to start now? Here's why: If I don't start now, I probably won't be able to start until this time next year. I need to start in Maine in late summer, then make my way south through autumn and into winter, for obvious reasons. I need to head north again during the spring, and so on. It's important for me to be in the right places at the right times because this will be a continuous walk (with no extended breaks), and I will sleep outside almost every night regardless of whether it's 10 degrees or 90 degrees at night.

Even in my current condition (which is worse than I've made it sound), I think I can do this. By doing the right stretches and by using a tennis ball to simulate massage of the muscles I've ruined, I THINK I'll be able to walk and heal simultaneously. And if I'm wrong, all I have to do is quit.

But even if I realize after a month that I should quit, it doesn't mean I will quit.

Even with all the trouble I'm having, I remain optimistic because I remember how I felt last year during the final month of the coast-to-coast walk. Whenever I stopped for more than a few minutes, my body would tighten up so much that I could barely walk. But once I started moving again, my mobility would return after a few minutes. So as messed-up as I was, I still managed to average over 21 miles a day for the last month of the walk, mostly in mountains. And that average includes a couple days off. (Yeah, I was trucking.) So I remain optimistic.

(ER: You will be very pleased to hear what I have to say in my next post.)

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Product Review: Gregory hipbelts last forever

2011-07-27T13:40:00.040-04:00

Pack: Palisade 80
My rating: 4.75 stars (out of 5)

PROS
Comfortable
Easy to Load
Good Padding
Good Suspension
Large Capacity
5 different hipbelt angles
Interchangeable hipbelts

CONS
Nothing worth listing

BEST USES
Extended Hikes

Introduction
Unlike most of the people who write product reviews, I've put my gear through hell. My gear is my home. If you want to know what you need to know about Gregory packs, read this review thoroughly because it will be very helpful.

You've probably read a lot of Gregory reviews that mention broken hipbelts, bad zippers, and weak seams. These are mostly old reviews, and these reviews are about old models. Gregory has made a lot of improvements to their packs since 2009, but these improvements don't seem to be showing up in reviews yet, so I'm gonna start that discussion.

Problems prior to 2010
I bought my first Gregory pack in 2008. I loved it. However, shortly after I began using it, the hipbelt panel broke. When I took the pack to the retailer I'd bought it from, they replaced my broken panel with a new one from a pack in their stock. The new panel quickly broke, too, so I exchanged it for a new Whitney 95, which also ended up breaking even though I took extra special care of that pack.

Frustrated with all the broken belt panels, I wrote a review on the retailer's web site, giving the Palisade one star (out of 5). I also wrote a nearly identical review on this blog. After reading my review, a Gregory representative contacted me and and informed me that Gregory had fixed the hipbelt problem. He said the unsatisfactory belt panels were an isolated incident caused by a bad batch of plastic, and he offered to send me a new pack, which I happily accepted.

The belt panel on my new pack lasted a lot longer than the others, but it wasn't quite as durable as it needed to be, and it ultimately broke, too. However, it did give me a clear signal that Gregory was making an effort to get it right.

The turnaround since early 2010
In January 2010, shortly after the panel broke on the replacement pack, I dropped in to Gregory's headquarters in Sacramento. When they replaced the panel, someone told me the new one was made of a prototypical material that is also used to make guns. He said if I could find a way to break this one, he'd buy me lunch.

The panel never broke. Even after carrying the pack another 1,800+ miles, the belt panel never showed any signs of breaking. After replacing the Whitney with a new Palisade, I carried the Palisade 1,900 miles, from La Junta, Colorado to New York City. This pack is still in very good condition.

So here's pretty much everything you need to know: Gregory hipbelts are now made to last. The zippers on the newer packs are also made to last. Additionally, I've had no further issues with seams, either. So basically every problem I've ever had with a Gregory pack has been fixed. Not just improved, but fixed. These pack components are rock solid.

Things I really like about Gregory packs:

Adjustable hipbelt angle. I almost always use angle setting #5, which cannot be simulated on other packs.

Interchangeable hipbelts. I use a medium pack with a small hipbelt. I absolutely need the small hipbelt because a month or two on the road makes me very skinny. (By the time I got to New York, I was so gaunt that even the small hipbelt was too big.)

General stuff about hipbelts. To me, the hipbelt is by far the most important part of a backpack. I pull my hipbelt as tight as it'll go because I prefer to carry my pack almost entirely on my hips, not my shoulders. Gregory's hipbelt system kicks ass.

The people who work for Gregory. When I went to the headquarters in Sacramento in early 2010 (before they moved to Salt Lake), I met just about everyone who worked there, including Wayne Gregory. They really impressed me. When I've had problems with packs in the past, the people at Gregory went out of their way to fix my problems.

Gregory packs cost less than comparable packs from other brands. I haven't tried the other brands' packs because I haven't wanted to. I haven't even tried them on in stores because I've found that Gregory packs work for me.

I have one or two minor issues with certain components of Gregory packs, but nothing really worth mentioning. For example, sometimes it's kinda difficult to return my water bottle to its holder when I'm carrying the pack, but that's not really a big deal. I can't even think of any other issues.

I'm about to begin a 48-state walk that will last two years and will cover over 10,000 miles. Care to guess whose pack I'll be carrying?

If you ever have any unexpected issues with your Gregory pack, contact the company because they will take care of you. It's a hassle you shouldn't have to deal with, just like I shouldn't have had to deal with it, but I'm convinced they really are working hard to make everything right. If I didn't honestly believe it, I wouldn't have written such a positive review.

BOTTOM LINE: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

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48-state walk

2011-07-22T20:15:00.004-04:00

Less than three weeks ago I started thinking about doing a 48-state walk that'll last two years, covering around 10,000 miles. Within a few days, I had pretty much decided to go ahead and do the walk. I plan to begin this walk late next month, even though my legs still don't work very well. (Actually it's my hips, but when your hips don't work, it feels like the problem is in your legs.)

The plan is to start in Maine in late August. From there I'll go down the east coast to Florida, veering a little bit out of the way to hit WV, KY, and TN. I should make it to Florida by December, then spend the winter walking across FL, AL, MS, LA, AR, and into TX. From there I'll start heading north in February or March of 2012, hitting OK, KS, MO, NE, IA, and MN before heading west again as summer begins.

I'll spend the summer walking across SD, ND, MT, WY, ID, WA, and OR. From Portland I'll head south toward Los Angeles during the fall of 2012 and into winter. From southern California I'll head back east beginning in early 2013, following much of the same route I took last year, veering a little bit out of the way to hit NV, WI, and MI. State #48 is Ohio. I could end the walk in Ohio if I choose, but I'll probably continue on to NYC again, to make it a coast-to-coast-to-coast walk.

No, I'm not gonna have "a cause" because I'm not a fraud or an attention whore. Yeah, some media attention would be nice, but I'm not going to seek attention. After a while, media attention will probably be unavoidable anyway because nobody does what I'm about to do. Also, since I'll probably be able to blog more regularly this time, the blog might generate a little buzz, even though that's not my objective when I blog. (My objective is to share parts of my story with people who find it interesting.) I refuse to do anything specifically to attract attention to myself. If I get attention from the media, it'll be the result of others telling the media about me. If you ever want to tell the media about me, I would certainly appreciate it.

Do you really want to know my true cause? I'm warning you, the honesty might disappoint you. Well, here's my true cause: Like everyone who goes out and walks for thousands of miles, my true cause is that I'm sick of all the unnecessary bullshit that everyone loves to dish out in "normal" life in this country. I feel at peace when I walk, even with the police harassment, extreme cold, extreme heat, extreme hunger, extreme pain, poverty, etc. I choose not to have "a cause" because I have integrity. Due to the fact that I never portray or promote myself as a hero with a cause, I actually meet real people when I walk, instead of people I fooled into believing I'm some kind of hero. You probably can't understand this, but my way is a million times more gratifying and worthy of your respect than it would be if I walked for a phony cause like everyone else does.

I will wear sandals through the entire walk, just as I did for the previous walk, for more reasons than I can mention here. I probably won't disclose the brand name of the sandals ever again, though, because the manufacturer apparently does not understand why it would be in their best interest to hook me up with 8 or 10 pairs of sandals, which would cost them essentially nothing. They offered me one free pair when I contacted them regarding prospective sponsorship. I told them they're funny.

You know what's the first thing people notice about me when they see me walking or when they meet me? The first thing people notice is that I wear sandals, because almost everyone expects to see boots. Regular people notice my sandals, and journalists notice them, too. And if there's one thing I know about journalists, it's that they love stories like what I'm about to do. Furthermore, they love the sandal story just as much as everyone else does. So my offer to the sandal manufacturer was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them, since I alone could give them countless avenues to free advertising, as well as my genuine endorsement on TV and in newspapers. As someone walking 10,000 miles exclusively in their product, they should've seen dollar signs with me, but they just didn't get it.

Last but not least: If I have to spend any more time in jail for knowing my rights when cops perpetrate crimes against me, I'll probably quit the walk because I have nothing else to prove to anyone ever again.

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Shameless self-promotion

2011-04-27T13:02:00.006-04:00

I'm seriously thinking about re-starting Aimless with a new objective. My objective has always been to let word-of-mouth generate a small buzz that could spread like a virus, but that never happened and it's never going to happen. So now I'm thinking maybe I should try the shameless self-promotion route, first to prove that it works, and second to rip it apart.

I already know it works. The proof is in the "cause walkers" like George Throop and Mark Klodzinski, who successfully attract tens of thousands of fans even though their stories aren't remotely interesting. It also works for Morgan Spurlock, who has lost essentially all my respect. And it would have worked for me, too, had I ever been willing to sacrifice substance for attention.

Well, maybe now I am willing to sacrifice substance for attention... sorta. Y'see, I have nothing to lose by trying the shameless self-promotion route. In fact, I have everything to gain. To begin, it would almost certainly lead to a TV show (which I would turn down if producers tried to force me to remain a sellout). But even if it doesn't lead to a show, this would give me yet another topic for a book.

Prospective methods of shameless self-promotion: 1) Always wearing shirts that say www.aimlessmovie.com. 2) Making extra effort to blog on a very regular basis, usually without actually saying anything other than 'look at me.' 3) Always being ridiculously and unrealistically positive in blog posts. 4) [Please share some of your ideas.]

If I do this, it's gonna make me miserable for a while because I do not crave unearned attention. Still I think it's a damn good idea because it could give me a chance to make a point that would be essentially impossible to counter, seeing how I'd probably be the only living person who's actually lived both sides of the argument.

Who else does that? No one.

You may have thought Aimless is dead, but it's just getting started.

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Who wants to capitalize on my misfortune?

2011-03-29T20:17:00.020-04:00

I'm shocked that I haven't received any phone calls or e-mails from attorneys or civil rights groups in response to the 'Land of the Free' series of posts. In Corporal Jon Chadd's arrest report, his own words establish that I did not commit any infractions. In fact, his report implicates himself in the commission of several serious crimes against me, including police brutality, false arrest, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. This stuff is black and white; there is no gray area. If you don't believe me, read the arrest report and the transcript of my acquittal (if there is one). And if that doesn't convince you, read the law.

What Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick did to me may not be the most heinous crimes ever committed, but they're still very serious crimes that have been ignored by the justice system. Corporal Chadd's arrest report effectively says, "Mr. Powell committed no infractions. However, I committed serious crimes against Mr. Powell." It's begging for prosecution and a lawsuit. So why hasn't anyone contacted me in an attempt to capitalize on this?

Yes, I want some money out of this because I was victimized by people who are paid to protect me. Corporal Chadd's crimes against me cost me money. Corporal Chadd's crimes against me cost my parents money. These crimes caused me a lot of physical pain and emotional distress that still has not gone away (and may never go away).

What I want most out of this, though, is to make a difference by showing dirty cops that there are consequences to pay when they break the law and commit crimes against people they're paid to protect. I want the American people to know their rights so they don't have to fear that this kind of thing might happen to them. Police misconduct is probably the single biggest threat to the freedom of the American people, but almost no one is talking about it. Well, now I'm talking about it, and I want you to talk about it. When it happens to you, I want you to know your rights. And if you don't know you're rights, I want dirty cops to fear that you do know your rights. And if they still victimize you like they victimized me, I want them to pay for it and I want you to get paid for it.

NEVER talk to cops. Nothing good can come out of it. If you've actually committed an infraction, identify yourself to them when they ask for your ID, and maybe give them some small-talk, but don't tell them ANYTHING. If they ask to search you or your property, don't let them. They have no right, and nothing good can come out of it.

When cops want you to cooperate more than you already have, they lie to you. Cops are trained to lie to you to get what they want because 1) It works; and 2) The law does not give them any other options. Cops lie so much, most of them don't even know the difference between the truth and lies. Don't talk to them! Don't cooperate with them! Don't let them intimidate you! Nothing good can come out of it.

One other tragedy regarding what happened to me in Indiana is that there was no one there to capture it on film. You know how much money that would have been worth, folks? It would have been worth A LOT of money. It probably even would have made more noise and social change than the Rodney King tapes because, unfortunately, Americans are more appalled when cops beat up a white guy than when cops beat up a black guy. And they'd probably be even more appalled to learn that it was someone who was 2,600 miles into a peaceful walk across the United States.

Fortunately there's still hope for you, NBC and every other network, because I can make it happen all over again just by going out and walking for a few days. Y'see, that's how corrupt our nation's law enforcement agencies have become. And I'm probably the only person with the knowledge, the experience, and the balls to expose it. But I can't do it alone.

I'm willing to take another beating if someone else (like a network) is willing to send out a small crew to capture it on film. As I've already pointed out, it would be worth a shitload of money. Oh yeah, and if you do it, you'll also end up with a revolutionary new travel show without even trying.

You're welcome.

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Aimless Video Evidence

Land of the Free, Part VI

2011-02-09T14:28:00.055-05:00

Land of the Free, Part I
Land of the Free, Part II
Land of the Free, Part III
Land of the Free, Part IV
Land of the Free, Part V

With my court appearance scheduled for 8:45 am on Friday January 21, 2011, my mom and I left for Indiana on Thursday afternoon. Due to the heavy snow and single-digit temperatures, the drive was both dangerous and time-consuming. Nevertheless, we made it to Putnam County in one piece.

Early the next morning at the courthouse, we met my public defender, Scott Adams, for the first time. Considering there was no merit to any of the charges against me, Mr. Adams was confident that I would be acquitted. Still, even though I knew the charges were baseless, I was very nervous because I'd been screwed over by the legal system before. Just the fact that I had to be there for court that day is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about, considering I was the victim of serious crimes, not a perpetrator.

In the courtroom, I was surprised to see that both Sheriff Fenwick and Corporal Chadd showed up to testify against me. I figured they had satisfied their sadistic need to victimize me several months earlier when they harassed me, beat me up, kidnapped me, and ultimately forced me to spend three nights in jail. But apparently that wasn't enough for them. So here they were again, taking pleasure in their quest to further punish me for crimes they committed against me.

(Every time I read that last paragraph, I feel so much disgust and hatred for those piece-of-shit scumbags. It takes a really sick-minded person to commit crimes against someone you're paid to protect, then to go out of your way to try to punish the victim even more than you already have. And that's after having six months to grow a conscience. Unbelievable!)

* * * * *

With court in session, the prosecutor called Corporal Chadd to testify. At this time Scott Adams requested that the judge instruct Sheriff Fenwick to leave the courtroom during Corporal Chadd's testimony. When Sheriff Fenwick left the room, testimony began.

As Corporal Chadd began his testimony, he explained that in response to a report of a suspicious pedestrian walking east near the Putnamville Correctional Facility, he stopped his vehicle near the Lincoln Park Speedway and established contact with a pedestrian who met the description of the suspicious person. When the prosecutor asked Corporal Chadd if he could identify the suspect, he said he could. Quickly identifying me as the suspect, Corporal Chadd then added that my hair isn't as long as it was when he stopped me. I don't specifically remember much more of what Corporal Chadd said as a witness for the prosecution.

Eventually Scott Adams began his cross-examination of Corporal Chadd. As nervous as I was, I don't remember any specific questions Mr. Adams asked Corporal Chadd, but I do remember Mr. Adams masterfully setting the bait to reel in Corporal Chadd. With the greatest of ease, Mr. Adams took Corporal Chadd out of his comfort zone, much like I had done in July of 2010. This time, though, Chadd had to think even harder to keep his responses in line with the lies he had already told. This time he was being watched, so he couldn't just make things up and get away with it as he had done the previous summer when the only witness to his crimes was his co-conspirator, Sheriff Steve Fenwick.

Without much effort, Mr. Adams used a kind of intellectual misdirection to confuse Corporal Chadd into unknowingly admitting that his suspicion of me was based entirely on hearsay, rather than any real evidence. Once Corporal Chadd finally realized he was saying exactly what Mr. Adams wanted him to say, Corporal Chadd had already damaged his story beyond repair. As a result, Corporal Chadd began altering minor details of his story, trying to make it appear as if he was clarifying his story, hoping no one would notice.

With the minor changes, Corporal Chadd's new story went something like this: "Actually my first contact with the suspect was in the cemetery near the speedway." By saying this, Corporal Chadd apparently hoped to establish that he initially encountered me more than a couple hundred feet from the road, with me trying to hide in a wooded area. If that had been true, it may have suggested that I actually was behaving suspiciously, thus justifying his investigation. However, Mr. Adams quickly reminded Corporal Chadd that his own testimony and arrest report had already established that I was neither hiding nor attempting to hide. Here's what Corporal Chadd said in the arrest report: "When I arrived in the area, I observed a male subject sitting in the grass on the north side of US 40, just east of the Lincoln Park Speedway entrance." (That doesn't really make it sound like I was trying to hide, does it?)

Corporal Chadd is not a good liar. In fact, he's a very bad liar, and every word from his mouth made his story even more difficult to believe, especially because Scott Adams is damn good at catching the lies, then asking follow-up questions that expose the lies. Over and over, Mr. Adams pointed out the inconsistencies in Corporal Chadd's ever-evolving story. As a result, Corporal Chadd's testimony unintentionally helped my case. Corporal Chadd's testimony effectively proved that his "investigation" of me was based entirely on hearsay.

Well, hearsay is almost never admissible as evidence. Legally, this meant that as far as Corporal Chadd was concerned, there was never a suspicious person to investigate. And if there was no suspicious person, Corporal Chadd had no reasonable suspicion that I (or anyone else) had committed an infraction or violated an ordinance.

This law exists precisely because of situations like what happened to me. The report of a suspicious person was a total lie. Since there was not actually a suspicious person in the area, there was nothing for Corporal Chadd to investigate. If a cop tries to investigate someone for something that never happened, that person doesn't have to cooperate. In fact, the prison guard's false report of a suspicious person is the only crime that had occurred prior to Corporal Chadd's arrival on the scene.

In case you still don't get it, think about it like this:

If I had called 911 yesterday from a pay phone and reported anonymously that the resident of 123 Main Street murdered Ryan Powell (yes, me), then left Ryan's body in "the woods near the high school," the first thing the cops would have done is attempt to contact Ryan in case he was actually still alive. If they were unable to contact Ryan, they would have immediately begun searching for his body in the woods near the high school. (In fact, they probably would have done both of those things concurrently.) If they couldn't find a body in the woods near the high school, yet they still thought that Ryan may actually have been killed, the cops would probably have then attempted to contact the resident of 123 Main Street to ask some questions about the reported murder. However, since there is no evidence that a crime has even occurred, the resident of 123 Main Street would not have to cooperate with the cops, nor should he. Until there is some evidence that Ryan is actually dead, the resident of 123 Main Street cannot be considered a suspect in Ryan's murder, particularly because I am obviously still alive.

No one can be forced to cooperate in the investigation of a crime that hasn't happened. Because I am alive right now, the resident of 123 Main Street cannot possibly have killed me. Furthermore, he doesn't have to prove that he did not kill someone who is very much alive. Similarly, because there was no evidence that a crime had occurred that day in Indiana, I could not have been suspected of having committed a crime that never occurred. And since I was not suspected of having committed a crime that never occurred, if a cop chose to treat me like a suspect (which is what happened), I had the right not to cooperate. End of story.

Establishing that Corporal Chadd's "investigation" was based entirely on hearsay is all it took for Mr. Adams to dismantle the foundation of the prosecution's case. Corporal Chadd's argument essentially became, "When I saw some guy sitting near the side of the road, I assumed he had committed a crime, just because. I treated him like a suspect, and he didn't like it, so I charged him with offenses that he could not possibly have committed, then I sent him to jail."

Sadly, as obvious as it was, I don't think the judge ever figured out that Corporal Chadd had lied with almost every word he spoke, both throughout the arrest report and during his testimony. If the judge did figure it out, he didn't care.

* * * * *

I remember essentially nothing about Sheriff Fenwick's testimony, I guess because there was nothing memorable about it. All I remember is that when Mr. Adams had finished his cross-examination of Fenwick, Mr. Adams asked me if I wanted to testify. He indicated that he felt good about how everything was going so far, and that I didn't need to testify if I didn't want to; he was just making sure I knew I could now testify if I wanted to. I responded by telling him that I trusted him and that I was too nervous to testify.

Since I chose not to testify, the prosecutor gave his closing statements. Mr. Adams then followed with his closing statements.

I was already impressed with Mr. Adams, but his closing statements blew me away. Having established long ago that Corporal Chadd's suspicion was based solely on hearsay, Mr. Adams used that as a stepping stone to his remaining arguments. Citing the case of Adam Starr vs. State of Indiana, Mr. Adams demonstrated that "a passenger in a car is not subject to the same criminal penalties by refusing to identify himself when, unlike the driver of the vehicle, there was no reasonable suspicion that he had committed an infraction or violated an ordinance."

OK, toss out the 'Failure to Identify Self' charge. That was easy.

Now let's take a look at Bobby Greeno vs. State of Indiana:

"The Fourth Amendment permits a police officer, without any reasonable suspicion of any wrongdoing, to approach a citizen to ask questions; however, that citizen remains free to ignore the questions and walk away. Accordingly, when a citizen in such a circumstance walks away from the officer, the officer must have reasonable suspicion a crime is, was, or is about to occur prior to yelling stop and chasing the citizen. Because the officer had no reasonable suspicion when he yelled for Greeno to stop and then chased after Greeno, his warrantless search of Greeno was improper."

This says that Corporal Chadd had the right to approach me and ask me questions, but it also says I didn't have to answer any of his questions. Since the report of a suspicious pedestrian was hearsay (which effectively means there was no suspicious pedestrian), and since I was not legally obligated to identify myself or speak at all when Corporal Chadd approached me, at no time was Corporal Chadd enforcing a law. This means I could not possibly have resisted law enforcement, no matter how hard I tried.

That means we get to toss out the 'Resisting Law Enforcement' charge, too.

With that charge gone, since I had not committed ANY violations, the search that yielded my pipe was a warrantless and illegal search. The pipe was fruit of the poisonous tree, and thus it never really existed.

Slam dunk. 0 for 3, prosecution.

The judge clearly wanted to rule that I was guilty, without even hearing a word of my side of the story, but Scott Adams gave him no choice. Mr. Adams basically said, "Here's the law. The law clearly says he didn't break any laws. We're done. See ya."

The judge took a minute to look through a couple law books before APOLOGIZING to the prosecution team for the 'Not Guilty' ruling he was about to make. He said, "If I convict him, it's just going to end up being overturned in appeals court." After explaining to the prosecution team (particularly the sheriff) why he had to find me not guilty, the judge then lectured me about how I'm such a punk for doing what I did. He said if he had been in the cops' position, he would have done exactly what they did. He said if I was his son, he would have kicked my ass.

Basically, the judge revealed that he is almost as much of a scumbag terrorist as Sheriff Steve Fenwick, Corporal Jon Chadd, and the Putnam County District Attorney. He showed that they all believe they're above the law, and that it's wrong for the general public to know their rights. Even more unbelievable, he obviously thinks it's wrong for someone to stand up for his constitutional rights when he's been victimized by the people who are paid to protect him. Essentially, he proved that they are all very stupid, and that they all get off on wasting the taxpayers' money to fuck with people who clearly have not done anything remotely illegal.

So yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one, judge, because YOU ARE WRONG. You are very wrong and I was very right. Not only was I legally right, but I was also morally right. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't do anything different. So you can go fuck yourself, and you can also thank me for standing up for your rights, asshole.

With all the bullshit I'd been through, all it took was about 200 words to prove that all the charges against me were bogus. Like I said several posts ago, this was not a difficult case. So if any of the people who were trying to crucify me are reading this, what do you have to say now?

THE END

* * * * *

Now that it's all over, let's flash back to something Corporal Chadd said in his testimony.

Remember when Corporal Chadd identified me as the suspect, when he said something about my hair being shorter now than it was back in July 2010? That remark was kind of interesting because the day I went to court, my hair was actually about an eighth of an inch longer than it had been when he victimized me last summer.

Could it be that Corporal Chadd's memory was just off a little when he said that, or did he actually possess something that he thought was an accurate reminder of the length of my hair? Something like my drivers' license, which I haven't seen since he illegally confiscated it from me back in July 2010 near the Lincoln Park Speedway?

I took the following picture a week after the false arrest (and I didn't get a haircut during that week). My hair is the same length in this picture as it was when Corporal Chadd identified me in the courtroom.

It's kind of interesting that his memory told him my hair was longer during the incident than during court, considering it was actually shorter. Again, I wonder if his inaccurate memory of longer hair has something to do with the fact that I haven't seen my drivers' license since the moment Corporal Chadd illegally confiscated it from me. I'm not alleging that he kept it as a trophy (like serial killers keep their victims' possessions), but the evidence seems to point in that direction.

This is about how I looked in my drivers' license pic:

* * * * *

One more thing:

In case you're wondering, I almost never smoke pot. In fact, I almost always turn it down when someone passes me a joint or a packed bowl. However, the weed I found was a gift from the tramping gods, as was the pipe, so hell yeah I smoked it. I most certainly did inhale, and I also enjoyed it. I'm not ashamed to admit it, just as I'm not ashamed to admit I drink a beer every once in a while, too. If that lowers your opinion of me, I'm over it.

Also, Scott Adams, if you ever find your way to this story, I want you to know I have tons of respect for you, and I truly appreciate the passion you displayed in your quest for justice. Keep it up, man. Thank you!

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Land of the Free, Part V

2011-02-06T14:34:00.052-05:00

Land of the Free, Part I
Land of the Free, Part II
Land of the Free, Part III
Land of the Free, Part IV

I was taken to the Putnam County Jail sometime during the evening of Saturday July 24, 2010. There's not much to say about this except that I was there for almost three full days. The dude who was responsible for scanning my fingerprints didn't even know how to use the scanning machine, even though it gave him clear instructions with every step. Since it took him at least three tries with each finger to get an acceptable print, I kept suggesting that he try it a different way (the way the machine kept telling him to do it), but he just didn't get it. It was a scene straight out of Idiocracy.

After two days in jail I was transported to the Putnam County Courthouse in shackles and cuffs, along with five other male prisoners and two female prisoners. Since all but one of the other male prisoners were frequent guests at the jail, these prisoners helped me get an idea of what to expect during court. Blown away by the ridiculousness of the charges I was facing, especially considering I was 2,600 miles into a coast-to-coast walk, these guys expected the judge to throw out my charges.

The judge didn't throw out my charges.

Instead, he accepted my 'innocent' plea and set my bail for $3,000, although I only had to come up with 10 percent of it (or $300) to be released. (I don't know the proper terminology here, and it's not very important, so if I got it wrong, just deal with it.) I was then given a piece of paper that contained information regarding my next court date, as well as the contact information for the public defender who had been assigned to my case.

As we were getting ready to leave the courtroom, our female jail guard began acting friendly and helpful to me and the other guy whose bail had been set. (Jail employees mostly get off on being assholes to the prisoners, so this was a shock.) Aside from asking questions about my walk, she also said when we get back to the jail she would let me use the office phone to arrange a Western Union money transfer to take care of my bail.

Upon returning to the jail, I waited patiently for someone to let me use the phone. There was a phone in the jail cell that I could have used to make a collect call whenever I wanted, but I didn't plan to use that phone because the guard had made it quite clear that she would let me use the office phone (which I assumed would be free). A few hours later, though, I realized no one was ever going to let me use the office phone. So eventually I used the phone in the cell to call my parents collect and let them know I had been in jail for the last two days. During that call I also told my mom what I thought she needed to know if she intended to bail me out. (My dad, of course, was very pissed off at me as soon as he found out I was in jail.)

The lady guard had also told me someone from the jail staff would take me to the Western Union at Kroger to receive the bail money if I could get someone to wire it there. This would have been a lot more convenient for my parents than driving four hours from central Ohio, which would be an expensive trip considering the costs of gas and a motel room. During our expensive phone call, in an attempt to save my folks some money and trouble, I informed my mom of the Western Union option.

It turns out that the guard lied to me about this stuff, too. So after wasting all that time waiting for the jail staff to let me use the phone, I unknowingly blew my chances of getting out of jail that night. It also caused me to spend a lot more time talking to my mom, making sure she had the details straight, thus leading to a much more expensive phone call than was necessary.

Shortly after noon the next day (July 27), someone called my name through the jail cell's PA speaker. When I responded, the voice informed me that my bail had been taken care of. A guard came to the door to escort me to the dressing room near the booking desk, where I changed out of the orange and white striped jail clothes and back into my own clothes. Since the jail staff had thoroughly sifted through my gear when I was booked three days earlier, leaving a total mess inside my pack, I had to spend a lot of time and effort re-organizing it all. While I organized everything, I had to try to account for at least a couple hundred different items I was carrying during my walk.

After I'd finished organizing my gear, all that seemed to be missing was my prescription medications. (Well, there were a couple other things missing, including the glass pipe I found in Arizona, as well as the peppercorn-sized nugget of weed that remained of the bud I found way back in California. Of course, I already knew I wasn't gonna get either of those things back.)

After I brought my missing prescriptions to the attention of the jail staff, someone indicated the pills were not where they were supposed to be, so it looked like I wasn't going to get my medication back. Needless to say, this pissed me off, so I made a smart-ass remark, directed to no one in particular, yet to everyone at the same time because I was kinda sick of being fucked with, which seemed to be the only thing they do in Putnam County, Indiana. Eventually my pills turned up and I was escorted to the front of the jail building, where I awkwardly met my parents.

Before leaving the building, I realized they had not returned my drivers' license. When I brought that to the attention of the receptionist, she told me the district attorney's office probably had it. So we drove to the courthouse in downtown Greencastle, where the district attorney's office is located. I then went to the DA's office and informed the receptionist that I was told my drivers' license would be here.

They didn't have it. (What a surprise!) They told me my public defender should have it, and I needed to talk to him if I wanted my license back.

See a trend here? Yeah, the justice system of Putnam County, Indiana exists just to fuck with people.

Unable to establish contact with my public defender, Scott Adams (who is very cool, by the way), my folks and I eventually went to a bank to try to cash a check the jail had given me in place of the cash I'd carried into the jail. (The check was written for $2 or $3 less than I carried into the jail because they charged me for the shitty quality bathroom supplies I never asked for.)

Even though my mom has accounts in Ohio with PNC bank, this branch of PNC Bank would not cash my check from the sheriff's department. Instead they gave us directions to the bank that issued the check, so we chased our tails to the check-issuing bank in another attempt to cash the check. This bank's teller cashed the check for me, but she gave the impression that she was breaking the bank's normal rules by doing it. (That oughtta tell you a little more about the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.)

After all the bullshit Putnam County had put us through since my parents arrived, it was not difficult for my dad to figure out that Putnam County had been putting me through even more bullshit almost since the moment I set foot in the county. Understandably, he was no longer pissed at me. Like me, he was now pissed off at the people who caused all this unnecessary trouble.

With everything finally taken care of (excluding the retrieval of my drivers' license and my return to court, of course), my folks and I stopped for lunch at a fast food joint before they finally dropped me off outside the speedway, where my walk had been so unlawfully interrupted three days earlier.

My mom suggested that maybe they should drop me off at the border of the next county, to eliminate any possibility of being victimized again by the Putnam County scumbag thugs, but that was not an option. My objective was to walk from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, not most of the way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

I don't cheat, OK. I don't cheat when I walk, just as I don't cheat in any other aspect of life. Throughout this walk, I never allowed anyone to transport any of my gear for me, nor did I ever push my gear in a cart, nor did I skip even the shortest segment of my walking route. Whenever I needed to go out of the way, I walked out of the way and then I walked back, always carrying my gear. Had I made the decision to skip either ten miles or ten feet, I knew I would never be able to say, truthfully, that I walked from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

In case I haven't made it clear yet: I didn't walk every inch of 2,600 miles just to let a couple terrorist cops ruin everything.

The day I was released from jail, even though I didn't get started again until 4:30 pm, I still walked almost 14 miles, from the speedway to Stilesville. The next day I walked a little over 24 miles, to the eastern edge of the Indianapolis airport. (I walked a few miles out of my way that day to get an x-ray at an urgent care facility because my ribs constantly hurt like hell from being beaten up by Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick. My ribs continued to hurt for the next month.) The next few days I walked 26.4 miles, 30.3 miles, and another 30 miles, ending up about 5 miles into Ohio. The next day I walked another 20 miles by 6:00, stopping at my grandparents' house for a short, well-deserved break.

* * * * *
My next court date was set for September 16. Since I wasn't sure if I could finish the walk by then, the timing of the court date kept me pretty stressed out. About ten days after being released from jail, though, I was finally able to talk to Scott Adams, my public defender, who told me it shouldn't be any trouble to postpone the court date. His reassurance eased a little bit of my stress, but the Putnam County incident had me stressed out in about 15 other ways, none of which could be eased at least until my court date.

After what I endured in Putnam County, Indiana, I spent a lot of time thinking about cops. I even considered quitting the walk because I was so stressed out from constantly worrying about the next run-in with cops. You never know when the next cop is going to stop to harass you, and you worry about it every time you see a cop car. In fact, you worry every time you see a vehicle that even looks like it might be a cop car, especially in rural areas, where cops tend to be incredibly stupid.

As you should already know, I didn't quit. After walking to my parents' house in central Ohio, I rested for a week. Following my week off, I had still only taken about 20 days off since beginning the walk 174 days earlier and 2,829 miles away. When I started moving again on August 13, I had less than 600 miles left to go (or so I thought) and 30 days to do it. My goal was to finish by September 12 because that was the final day of the Coney Island Cyclone's operating season.

Judging by what Google Maps showed me before I left my parents' house, I thought I only had maybe 560-580 miles left to go. But extra miles add up quickly, especially in places like Pennsylvania, where there are about 200 possible routes to take, with none standing out as better than any other. Google Maps tells you one route one day, then it tells you some other route on another day, and Google Maps also doesn't take into consideration whether its best route takes you through enough towns.

As beat up as I already was when I left my parents' house, I really had to bust ass, averaging at least 20 miles a day over the next few weeks, if I could to expect to have any chance of finishing the walk by September 12. And I did bust ass, averaging about 22 miles a day when I pulled into State College, Pennsylvania on August 28, more than a day ahead of schedule.

Even though the distance from home to Coney Island ended up being 624 miles, rather than 560-580 miles, I still made it to Coney Island on September 12, as planned. Unfortunately, I didn't get to ride the Cyclone because it rained all day. I have no idea if the park even opened earlier in the day, but it was a ghost town by the time I arrived, as afternoon became evening.

Bummer.

The main reason I picked Coney Island as the walk's endpoint was so I could ride the classic coaster just before finishing. Having wanted to ride this coaster for years, I'd never had a chance. And now, my third visit to Coney Island, I still couldn't ride it. But hey, at least Totonno's was open, as was Nathan's, each of which constituted my final meal of the walk.

* * * * *
Walking around in Central Park on September 13, now finished with the walk, Scott Adams called me to check on my status. Even though I could have made it to Indiana for my scheduled court appearance three days later, I asked him to push it back a little to give me some time to recover from the walk. I figured it would only be set back a few weeks, but they ended up rescheduling my court appearance for January 21, 2011.

(Read the exciting conclusion of this story in Land of the Free, Part VI.)

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Land of the Free, Part IV

2011-02-04T15:54:00.041-05:00

Land of the Free, Part I
Land of the Free, Part II
Land of the Free, Part III

Are you sick of reading this yet? Yeah, well I'm sick of writing it. This story should have ended a long time ago. However, Corporal Chadd's total disrespect for the law wouldn't allow it.

Most of what I've said so far in this series of posts has been in defense of my own actions. I never broke a law, and Corporal Chadd's own account of the situation proves I never broke a law. But his arrest report also proves that he and Sheriff Steve Fenwick committed some serious crimes against me. So I'll now use the remainder of the arrest report to further pick apart the charges against me, as well as to demonstrate how Corporal Chadd incriminated himself in the offenses he committed against me.

In the first two paragraphs of Corporal Chadd's arrest report, all he established is that he saw me sitting on my backpack beside the road and he asked me a few questions, two of which I willingly answered (even though I didn't have to answer any of them). When he asked me the magic third question, though, I invoked my constitutional right to remain silent and I stopped cooperating because, as I've already explained, I don't cooperate with harassment from law enforcement officers.

Corporal Chadd continues:

At this time Sheriff Steve Fenwick arrived at my location at which time I again asked the subject for identification to which he again refused to provide. At this time Sheriff Fenwick asked the subject to provide identification to which he again refused.

First of all, he has not accused me of breaking any laws so far.

Right off the bat, though, he tells a lie. Sheriff Fenwick certainly was not on the scene yet, as Corporal Chadd didn't even call for backup until near the end of the report. I don't know why he chose to lie here, saying that Sheriff Fenwick was already on the scene, but I suspect he did it in an attempt to establish a witness that would back up his story. That is, I suspect he did it because he figured the lies of two cops would hold more weight than the truth. Apparently, though, he lacks the mental capacity to understand that he is one of the worst liars on the face of the planet, and it doesn't matter how many people back up your story if your story doesn't back up itself.

Don't just take my word for it when I call out his lie. Instead, weigh my account of the incident vs. Corporal Chadd's account of the incident to figure out whose account adds up to a believable story.

Some questions you might want to ask yourself (if you're trying to make an informed judgment by weighing the evidence):

Since Corporal Chadd had only asked me a few quick questions before this paragraph, and since he did not indicate that I reacted in a hostile manner, exactly when or why did he call for backup?
Does my lawful refusal to answer one question seem like the kind of thing that would make a 250-pound cop call for backup? (Remember, I weigh 130 lbs.)
If he did call for backup so soon after responding to the report of merely a suspicious pedestrian, does it make sense that the sheriff--the actual sheriff, not a deputy--would have responded to his call for backup?
And here's the biggie: How could his backup already have arrived on the scene by this point in the report, considering he had accounted for no more than 30 seconds prior to this paragraph?

His report doesn't add up, does it?

* * * * *
Like most cops, Corporal Chadd is not accustomed to dealing with people who legally assert their rights, for at least two reasons: 1) Most of the people he stops have actually committed a violation, which obligates them to identify themselves, and 2) Most Americans don't know their rights, so they cooperate with cops even when they don't have to. (Recent comments on this blog prove my point, as do almost all the posts on the law enforcement message boards that have been trying to vilify me for standing up for my rights.)

Instinct vs. Critical Thinking

Police work is filled with repetitive tasks that rarely require much critical thought. The repetition involved in police training and police work builds instinct, not critical thinking skills. So when a cop finds himself in a position that requires him to think critically, rather than trusting his instinct, he becomes a deer in headlights. He finds himself in a chess match, except he doesn't know how to play chess. Considering the instinct-oriented nature of police work, Corporal Chadd had rarely been presented opportunities to develop the critical thinking skills required for handling the kind of situation he created when he began harassing me.

Usually when a suspect refuses to identify himself to a cop, the cop has already charged the suspect with an offense. Having already charged the suspect with an offense, the cop is allowed to use necessary force to arrest and restrain the suspect. One very important detail in my case, however, is that I hadn't already been charged with an offense, nor was I suspected of having committed an offense, which means the law did not require me to identify myself or cooperate with Corporal Chadd. My refusal to cooperate put Corporal Chadd in an unfamiliar position and obligated him to play by rules he didn't know quite as well as the normal rules. (Actually, my refusal to cooperate obligated Corporal Chadd to leave me alone, but he chose instead to stick around and harass me.)

When I refused to identify myself to Corporal Chadd, I took him out of his comfort zone. Also when I refused to identify myself, I forced Corporal Chadd to start thinking about how to respond to my actions, which means he could no longer rely on instinct. In fact, every subsequent move I made throughout the encounter forced him to think hard before making his next move. I effectively took instinct out of the picture.

If you put yourself in Corporal Chadd's place for a moment, it shouldn't be difficult to understand why he was caught off guard by my refusal to cooperate with his harassment. Since he didn't have any built-in, rehearsed responses to any of my actions, I unintentionally took him off his game. My actions took away his ability to rely on instinct and forced him to think before acting. As a result, he constantly had to revise his gameplan in his effort to persuade me to comply with his unwarranted demands. You can tell by reading his next several statements that he doesn't really know what to do because he keeps doing the same thing over and over: He tries to intimidate me, hoping I'll cave in to his pressure, but I call his bluff every time, so he backs off and tries again with a slightly different approach.

At this time I attempted to reason with the subject and asked for his name and birth date to which he again stated he did not have to provide.

(He still has not accused me of breaking any laws.)

Why did he keep asking me the same thing over and over instead of arresting me?

Here's why: Because he can't arrest someone just for pissing him off. By restraining himself from using physical force, Corporal Chadd demonstrated that he understood he couldn't legally do anything except continually ask me to cooperate, which by now had become harassment and misconduct.

But why would he have called for backup (as he implied he had done early in the arrest report) if he intended to continue "reasoning" with me? And if his backup was already there by this point, as Chadd claims in the report, why did Corporal Chadd still feel such a need to keep "reasoning" with me? Why didn't the sheriff give him a hand?

The answer: He wouldn't have called for backup. And contrary to his earlier claim, he still had not called for backup at this point in the report. There still were no other law enforcement officers on the scene at this time.

Unlike Corporal Chadd, I was very accustomed to this kind of situation because I had to deal with unwarranted police stops on a nearly daily basis for the past several months. With all the police harassment I'd endured throughout the first several months of my walk, I had become very practiced at responding to such harassment; I knew exactly what to expect during these police stops, and my responses had become very fine-tuned (which is confirmed by Corporal Chadd's description of my reactions in the arrest report). So I continued to stand my ground, knowing full well that there was nothing remotely illegal about my behavior. Not only was it my right not to cooperate with Corporal Chadd, but I also consider it my responsibility.

While speaking with the subject he continued to yell and tell us that he was a US citizen and did not have to provide us with any information and that he was aware of the Constitution. After numerous attempts to reason with the subject and asking him to quiet down and cooperate, he stated that he would not provide us with any information.

(He still has not accused me of breaking any laws.)

Not that it matters, but I didn't yell. Also, as before, I didn't say I was a US citizen; I simply reminded him that this is the United States of America, Land of the Free, where you are allowed to walk from sea to shining sea without having to fear that you might be harassed by cops every day, just for walking.

Take note that Corporal Chadd is still trying to "reason" with me instead of arresting me. What this tells you even more clearly than before is: 1) He was very aware that this was not a serious situation, and 2) He knew he had no legal justification to either use force on me or arrest me because he knew I had not broken any laws. He just wanted to get his way because he's a power-mad criminal punk.

This all supports my claim that Corporal Chadd still had not called for backup. So here are a few more questions to ask yourself:

If he had actually called for backup, and if his backup (the sheriff) had already arrived well before this point, why does most of Corporal Chadd's language make it seem as if he was still the only law enforcement officer on the scene?
Between Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick (who, according to Corporal Chadd's arrest report, was already on the scene), do you really believe the best strategy they could think of was to ask me for my ID over and over if they had ANY suspicion that I had committed an offense?
And if they actually were both there, asking me for my ID time and again, what else does that tell you? It should tell you Corporal Chadd is a really bad liar, because regardless of whether the sheriff had already arrived, this story just doesn't add up.
If anything Corporal Chadd says is true, why didn't he and his supposed backup just take me down and cuff me right away?
If I kept resisting his legitimate attempts to gain control of my arm, as he claims I did a few times, why did he keep putting up with it? Especially considering he and the sheriff outweighed me by something like 500 lbs to 130 lbs. Why? There's gotta be a reason!

I'll tell ya why: Because he had no justification to arrest me, touch me, or even speak to me. He has effectively admitted he had no legitimate business with me by writing an arrest report with so many obvious holes, in addition to the fact that the report never mentions any of my alleged violations.

At this time I told the subject to turn around and place his hands behind his back to which he stated that I better not touch him and that he was not going to comply. At this time I again asked the subject to place his hands behind his back to which he again stated he would not.

ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!?

OK, so if I had already committed a violation that warranted arrest, AND if I was being so loud and belligerent, AND if Sheriff Steve Fenwick was already on the scene to back up Corporal Chadd... then why didn't Corporal Chadd or Sheriff Fenwick arrest me after any one of NINE defiant acts he has now listed?

And why did he hesitate when I told him he "better not touch me"?

By this point he was starting to get a little more physical with me, and I began sensing that he might be the kind of guy who considers himself above the law. So I told him it would be a good idea for him to go read the law before he tries anything else with me. He responded, "Oh, I know the law; I'm an attorney."

Yeah, right. That's pretty believable.

If by this point I had committed any violation that warranted arrest, and then I resisted arrest, as is implied by my alleged statement that he "better not touch me," why didn't he immediately take me down and cuff me? I mean, if I was so clearly a criminal and a threat to the safety of innocent people, why has he already allowed me to resist arrest more times than I can count? And why have I still not been arrested?

Come on now, Chadd! Your story just doesn't add up. Did you even try to make it add up, or did you just assume your corrupt boss would have your back on this one because he had your back so many other times in the past, when you pulled this shit with other innocent citizens?

Regarding his claim that I said he better not touch me: There was a point when he started making a motion that suggested he intended to restrain me, at which point I said, "Don't even think about touching me" in an authoritative tone. He then backed off and began to ponder his next strategy, which makes it even more clear that he knew I had acted within my rights and also that he had long ago exhausted his authority to continue questioning me.

But his huge cop ego still wouldn't allow him to leave, even though he knew he was legally obligated to leave me alone long before we got to this point.

At this time I attempted to gain control of the subjects arm to which he jerked away and took a few steps and again told me not to touch him.

OMG, OMG, OMG!!! He said it again! I really didn't think he was going to say it again, but he said it again. He still has not accused me of breaking any laws, but he now has accused me TEN TIMES of knowing my rights.

Now he's also trying to make it sound as if a 130-pound guy escaped the physical grasp of a 250-pound veteran law enforcement officer who could have had me subdued and disabled on the ground before I even knew what hit me. I don't remember this happening, but if this did actually happen, then his own words have yet again incriminated himself, not me.

How much is enough? Remember, I didn't write this ridiculous arrest report; I'm just responding to it.

Shortly after his most recent attempt at intimidating me, Corporal Chadd made a phone call for backup (which is not the same thing as calling for backup on the CB radio). Since he used a phone instead of his radio, I assumed he was calling his superior to assist him at the scene. This reminded me of what happened back in Kiowa County, Kansas, so as he began making the phone call, I asked him if he was calling his superior, to which he answered, "I am the superior."

Obviously.

Thinking we might finally be nearing the end of this ridiculous waste of what could have been productive time for both of us, I walked to my backpack several feet in front of Corporal Chadd's vehicle. I sat down on the backpack and faced slightly away from Corporal Chadd, then I patiently waited for him to comply with the laws that say he must leave me alone and disappear. Corporal Chadd remained at his vehicle while waiting for his backup to arrive.

Remember how the report placed Sheriff Steve Fenwick at the scene throughout the entirety of this post? Yeah, well Sheriff Steve Fenwick did not arrive at the scene until several minutes after Corporal Chadd's phone call. When Sheriff Fenwick did finally arrive, I was calmly sitting on my backpack, several feet in front of Corporal Chadd's vehicle. After Sheriff Fenwick's arrival, the two cops met near Corporal Chadd's vehicle, I assumed to discuss the situation and conspire to intimidate me just a little bit more before finally conceding defeat and leaving. When they finished their discussion, they both approached me as I remained sitting on my backpack.

At this time I assisted the subject to the ground and placed him into handcuffs and advised him to stop resisting, to which he then complied. At this time I patted the subject down and located a wallet in his front pocket that contained an Ohio drivers license identifying the subject as Ryan Michael Powell.

At this time I advised Mr. Powell of his Miranda Rights to which he stated he understood. At this time I contacted dispatch to have the jail van enroute to transport Mr. Powell to the Putnam County Jail. Upon arrival of the jail van Mr. Powell and his belongings were loaded and he was transported to the Putnam County Jail.

Not quite.

Note that he still has not accused me of breaking any laws, nor did he claim to inform me that I'd broken any laws. He also doesn't claim to have informed me that I was under arrest. He just says he assisted me to the ground and cuffed me, without explanation. And then, according to him, he informed me of my right to remain silent.

Hmmm, isn't that exactly what I've been doing ever since he asked me for identification? And isn't my silence precisely what has led to this non-arrest? So then, if he did advise me of my Miranda Rights, isn't he just informing me I'm allowed to do precisely what I've already been doing ever since he asked for my identification? Yes, yes, and yes.

According to Corporal Chadd's logic: If I refuse to talk to him, my refusal to talk is grounds for my arrest. But if I get myself arrested for refusing to talk to him, then I don't have to talk to him.

Uhh... Yeah, right.

Here's what really happened: When the two law enforcement officers approached me, I was still sitting on my backpack, waiting patiently for this harassment to end. Neither Corporal Chadd nor Sheriff Fenwick informed me that I had committed an offense, nor did they inform me that I was under arrest.

Without any warning as I sat calmly upon my backpack, one of the cops suddenly grabbed my arms, twisted both arms behind my back, then rotated me about 90 degrees and threw me to the ground. Immediately after I hit the ground, both Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick pounced on me before cuffing my hands behind my back. With about 500 lbs landing on me all at once, forcing my ribs into the ground, it felt like I'd just been hit by a car, pinning me against a solid brick wall. To say they used excessive force is putting it mildly, especially considering they both knew I hadn't done anything, which means they both knew they had no right to touch me.

That's police brutality right there, folks, as well as false arrest.

Since the "arrest" was unlawful, when Corporal Chadd emptied my pockets in search of my identification, without my consent, he violated my Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Also, Corporal Chadd's claim that I resisted this false arrest is simply ridiculous; I never even had a chance to resist their false arrest. (If I had actually resisted, I'd be the first to admit I resisted, just as I admitted my refusal to identify myself, because it's not a crime to resist an unlawful arrest, just as it's not a crime to withhold ID from a cop who has no justification to ask for ID.)

The moment Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick forced me into the jail van, they had committed the crime of false imprisonment. Once the van started moving with me inside it, they had also kidnapped me. Those are some serious crimes, and Corporal Chadd's own words in his arrest report are proof that he and Sheriff Fenwick committed these serious crimes against me.

Contrary to the claim in the arrest report, no one EVER read me my Miranda Rights or informed me that I was under arrest. Before committing the crimes of false imprisonment and kidnapping, they simply beat me up and cuffed me.

If it had been an honest mistake and they had arrested me because they believed in good faith that I had committed an infraction, only then could anyone attempt to argue that Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick's actions did not constitute police brutality, false arrest, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. But they didn't believe in good faith that I had committed an infraction, and the report proves it because the report never even accuses me of committing an offense.

You may counter that maybe these officers just didn't know the law, to which I respond: Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it.

After arriving at the jail and during the process of placing Mr. Powell's belongings into the property room, a glass smoking device was located in Mr. Powell's bag commonly used to smoke marijuana. At this time Mr. Powell was remanded to the jail staff on the above stated charges.

As jail employees processed my property after my kidnappers directed the van driver to take me to the jail, the jail employees searched my gear inside and out. During this search, they found a glass pipe, which explains the Possession of Paraphernalia charge.

Of course, had they not conducted this second illegal search, they never would have found the pipe, which means the pipe never really existed and the charge has no merit.

Directly as a result of Corporal Chadd and Sheriff Fenwick's crimes against me, I got to spend the next three days and three nights in jail, without actually being accused of violating any laws.

(Continued in Land of the Free, Part V)

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Land of the Free, Part III

2011-02-01T12:20:00.008-05:00

Land of the Free, Part I
Land of the Free, Part II

Even though I have already provided sufficient evidence to support my position that Corporal Chadd was legally obligated to cease contact with me once I'd refused to identify myself, I'm still nowhere near the end of this story, simply because Corporal Chadd repeatedly chose to disregard the law.

Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? Even while this was happening, I was 99 percent certain there was nothing unlawful about my refusal to cooperate, particularly because I'd been through similar incidents with dozens of other cops in almost every state from California to Illinois.

As much as cops don't like being told what to do, almost all cops back off a little once they realize you know your rights and you're not going to let them strip you of your rights. Even then, they still lie to you and continue trying to intimidate you into playing their game. But when they run into someone like myself, who absolutely refuses to compromise, they eventually realize they're not going to get their way. At this point they give you a little more tough-guy attitude before they finally leave.

Could it be that the rules regarding this Indiana incident aren't quite as black and white as the words that make up the rules? If so, then I'm determined to figure it out and better understand why Corporal Chadd continued to treat me like a worthless criminal who has no rights and deserves no rights.

So let's look at this incident from some new angles.

According to the Indiana statute I cited in Part II, regarding detention: If Corporal Chadd did not already suspect, in good faith, that I'd committed an offense prior to his request for my identification, then I had no legal obligation to identify myself. Even if he did suspect that I'd committed an offense, if he failed to inform me of the suspected violation, I still had no legal obligation to identify myself. However, if Corporal Chadd suspected, in good faith, that I had committed an offense even as petty as jaywalking, all he had to do was inform me of his suspicion, at which time I would have been obligated to identify myself to him.

But he didn't suspect that I had committed an offense, which is why he didn't inform me that he suspected I had committed an offense, nor did he allude to any such suspicion in his arrest report. This means Corporal Chadd had no legal grounds to obtain my identification, address, birthdate, driver's license, or anything else I possessed, which also means it was not an offense for me to refuse to identify myself.

Regarding the charge of Refusal to Identify Self: I have never denied that I refused to identify myself to Corporal Chadd. In fact, I most certainly did refuse to identify myself because I already knew the law says I don't have to identify myself to a cop who has no justification to ask me for identification. It's that simple, and this paragraph is all I really needed to write about it.

* * * * *
Here's yet another angle that explains why this confrontation should have ended as soon as I refused to provide identification:

Since Corporal Chadd did not charge me with a violation that would have required me to identify myself, he established that he legally had no business with me. He knew I hadn't broken any laws, and he knew he was legally obligated to respect my Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure, which I first invoked when I refused to provide identification.

At the same time that I refused to provide identification, I also stopped volunteering any other information, which is an act protected by my Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate myself.

As a long-time veteran of the Sheriff's department, Corporal Chadd understood that his only legal option was to leave me alone, which, according to his own report, I had already requested. But he still chose not to leave me alone.

Unlike my encounter with the prison guard half an hour earlier, I remained calm during my encounter with Corporal Chadd, and I mostly didn't even talk. I didn't raise my voice or use profanity, even though the First Amendment of the United States Constitution gave me the right to tell Corporal Chadd to go fuck himself if I had felt so inclined.

In case you've wondered: Yes, I have often taken advantage of my First Amendment right to tell cops to go fuck themselves. Having been harassed by so many cops in so many places, particularly during the walk, I figured out their game a long time before I set foot in Indiana. And regardless of the fact that I have occasionally reacted in a belligerent manner toward cops who harass me, I've always walked away without being cited or detained because, unlike Jon Chadd, most cops respect the fact that they must obey the rules that apply to them, even if they don't like it.

* * * * *
I had never been arrested before the incident with Corporal Chadd. I'm not just talking about during the walk; I'm saying I had never been arrested in my life. So now that you know that, surely you think I'm unbelievably stupid for refusing to cooperate with cops, when all I had to do was give them my ID and just wait for them to find out that I'm not a criminal so I could move on without incident.

There's a lot more to it than that.

During the walk, I had to deal with unwarranted police stops every few days, on average. For the first 1,500 miles or so, I almost always cooperated and showed cops my ID whenever they asked for it. But even though I cooperated, I had grown very tired of cops interfering with my freedom all the time, for no reason other than they are very bad profilers.

In Kansas, the frequency of these unwarranted police stops skyrocketed to almost once a day--sometimes even more than once a day--and it finally pushed me past my limit. These police stops stressed me out, and each stop held me back at least a mile, while also keeping me from getting the rest I needed. So about halfway across Kansas, totally fed up with constantly being treated like a criminal by moron cops, I resolved not to let it happen anymore.

If a cop stopped to make sure I was all right, that was fine. I had no problem talking to him, even if it turned into a long chat that subsequently made it more difficult for me to hit my daily mileage goals.

But that's not how it usually went down when cops stopped me. Usually it would begin with the cop asking me a few questions to get a feel for who I am, which I happily answered (just as I did with Corporal Chadd). But after these initial few questions, they would ask me for my identification, which to me is the same as saying:

"We're just going to assume you're a criminal for now, OK, even though you've given us plenty of reason to believe you're not a criminal. We're also going to assume you're too stupid to know your rights because, I mean, you're carrying a backpack, and everyone knows what that means. So, um, why don't you just stand there carrying that heavy backpack out in the hot sun for another 10 or 15 minutes while we hold you up and keep wasting your time?"

So what do you think happened when I cooperated? Yup, I got to stand there in the hot sun, carrying my very heavy backpack for another 10 or 15 minutes. As you suspected, my cooperation ALWAYS led to them finding out what should have been obvious: that I had no warrants and I'd never been arrested.

Don't even hit me with the "But they didn't know" argument here. I established a long time ago that the law says they don't always get to know.

So let me ask you a question (especially those of you who have led a clean enough life to have never been arrested): Do you enjoy being treated like a criminal almost every day?

That's what I thought.

Yeah, well guess what: It turns out that I don't like being treated like a criminal almost every day, either. Imagine that! The difference is that I was being treated like a criminal by cops damn near every day for two or three months, for no reason.

Seein' how I done heard this here America was a free country, I implemented my ass a new policy: I decided I would cooperate with cops until they asked me for my identification. From now on, though, if any cops asked me for identification without justification, I considered it harassment (because it is harassment), and I would stop cooperating with them. No exceptions.

In my entire walk across the United States of America, there was only one other incident in which a cop used physical force with me. Back in Kiowa County, Kansas, I was roughed up and cuffed after I walked away from a Sheriff deputy's unlawful order for me to stop and donate my valuable time to him. Not surprisingly, he ultimately had to set me free after his superior showed up and informed him that I hadn't broken any laws. As much as he didn't like it at first, this cop quickly realized there was nothing he could do except apologize to me and let me go. And even though he broke the law by roughing me up, I left on good terms with him and I actually apologized to him for being a little more confrontational than I should have been.

In this case, my refusal to cooperate actually helped this guy become a better cop because I forced him to realize that he wasn't allowed to do what he did to me. He learned a little bit about the law that day and he probably learned something about the prospective consequences of mis-profiling people, as well.

Most cops aren't stupid enough to behave like Jon Chadd did with me, probably because most cops work for agencies that hold them accountable for their actions. Most cops work for agencies that punish them when they victimize innocent citizens. Unfortunately, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department is not one of these agencies. The Putnam County Sheriff's Department has no integrity, and they actually reward their deputies for victimizing innocent citizens.

There are people talking on the internet about how I was so wrong to expect cops to respect my rights. They don't say it in those words, but they think I should have just done what the cop asked of me because they apparently think it's wrong for me to expect my rights to actually mean something. But does anyone think maybe it might be a little more appropriate to hold the cops accountable for obeying the law and respecting people's rights, even with people who don't know their rights?

I do.

And if I ever hear a story about cops stripping you of your rights, even if it seems like you were a dick and should have just played their stupid game, I will support you. Even if you are one of the idiots who are trying to turn me into the bad guy here, I will support your rights if you are ever stripped of them. In fact, I already have. I protected your rights when I stood up for my own rights.

* * * * *
Regarding the other two offenses I allegedly committed during my contact with Corporal Jon Chadd (not including Possession of Paraphernalia):

I was never actually charged with Disorderly Conduct. Since I was not informed of any of the charges against me until after I'd been taken to the jail, I don't even know why Disorderly Conduct is listed on the arrest report. Perhaps it was dropped almost immediately; I don't know. All I know is that the arrest report is the only piece of legal paperwork I received that mentions Disorderly Conduct.

Similar to the 'Refusal to Identify Self' charge, Corporal Chadd also had no grounds to charge me with 'Resisting Law Enforcement.' A law enforcement officer must be in the act of enforcing an actual law for someone to even be able to resist enforcement of that law. Since Corporal Chadd was never enforcing a law during his interaction with me, it was impossible for me to have resisted the enforcement of a law.

That leaves one charge remaining on the arrest report. You've probably already figured out why the remaining charge was bogus, but I'm not going to dissect the remaining charge until I finish responding to the remainder of the arrest report.

(Continued in Land of the Free, Part IV)

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Another good cop?

2011-01-29T23:38:00.029-05:00

The following paragraph is a word for word transcription of a voicemail message I received just before 1:00 last night from this phone number: 305-508-8157 (South Florida).

Yes, hello, uh, my name is Mr. Jones; Mr. Mike Jones. I’m calling in regards to your YouTube video, which is entitled the Aimless episodes with the Collier County Sheriff’s Department. Um, I was just calling you to like, to let you know that, uh, your video sucks and it has wasted approximately 8.3 minutes of my life and, um, you shouldn’t have gave out your phone number on it because I will be calling you repeatedly from here on out. My phone number is 305-508-8157. If you don’t call me within the next five minutes, I will call you at least four times a day from here on out, every day for the rest of your life unless you pay me 2.3 million dollars. Call me back.

I know this sounds almost like a prank call when you read the words, but you'd get a much different feeling if you heard the tone of his voice in the message. "Mr. Jones" didn't sound like he was joking. In fact, he sounded very serious and pissed off, and it was rather creepy.

I imagine this guy found the video by reading the law enforcement-related message boards that have been vilifying me since I started publishing the "Land of the Free" series of posts. What I can't figure out is why so many people think the Collier County video has an anti-cop message. I never even attempted to portray those guys as assholes. If anything, I made it a point to show that they were pretty cool. I mean, I basically chatted casually with the one guy for most of the video. Why are people so stupid?

In case you're wondering, the two "Land of the Free" posts I've published so far are essentially just an intro. It may appear as if I've told you most of the story already, but I'm just getting started. Yes, it should have ended with Part II, according to the law, but it's just the beginning.

I can't tell you right now when I'll publish "Land of the Free, Part III," but it should be up relatively soon. I'm going to refrain from reading new comments until after I finish telling the whole story because some of the comments are stressing me out. The more I get stressed out, the longer it'll take me to tell this story.

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Land of the Free, Part II

2011-01-27T00:47:00.017-05:00

Since I've already shared the entire arrest report in Land of the Free, Part I, I'm now going to counter each segment of the arrest report and re-tell the story from my perspective. I will not go out of my way to make myself look like a protagonist here; I'm simply going to tell the truth because I have nothing to hide.

For the remainder of this post, red text signifies excerpts from the arrest report, while my contributions are shown in black text. Gray text represents text that I've copied and pasted from external sources.

On 7-24-2010 at approximately 7:37 p.m. I was dispatched to a suspicious person complaint on US-40 near the Putnamville Correctional Facility. I was advised by dispatch that the subject was walking eastbound near the prison and that DOC employees had attempted to make contact with the subject and he became belligerent and continued walking east.

I do not dispute the truthfulness of the above account, but I have plenty to add. Here's what really happened:

It all began near the prison, as I walked east on the shoulder of westbound US 40. Minding my own business and wearing a reflective vest (as always), a prison guard stopped his vehicle in front of me and exited the vehicle to confront me.

The guard quickly told me it is illegal to walk on US 40 near the prison. On the edge of the prison grounds, he said, there are signs posted to inform pedestrians that it is unlawful to walk in the area. However, as I suspected from the beginning, everything he said was a lie. First of all, as I found out later, there are no such signs. Furthermore, it's perfectly legal to walk near the prison on the road surface or shoulder.

This guy wasn't trying to be helpful. Rather, he stopped specifically to fuck with me. However, since I was not on prison property, nor had I ever been on prison property, he had no authority to confront me, which means I had no legal obligation to acknowledge his presence. Still, I cooperated with him for a few minutes, giving him a chance to figure out what should have been obvious to anyone with half a brain: that I was just walking through, and that I was no threat to anyone or anything. But he couldn't figure it out, and soon he demanded that I show him identification.

I don't play that game. That is, I don't play that game unless the law enforcement officer has a valid reason to ask for my ID. For example, when I was caught riding a freight train, I totally cooperated with the railroad cop because I'd actually broken a law and he caught me. See how that works?

When the prison guard demanded to see my ID, I stopped cooperating because this is the point at which an inquiry becomes harassment. As he tried to intimidate me, also stealing my valuable time from me, I quickly became defensive and raised my voice to assert my displeasure with his harassment. Not far into our exchange, I informed him that this is the United States of America, and in the United States of America I am free to walk down the street without being hassled by people like him.

He then said, "Well, I fought for your freedom in Vietnam," to which I responded, "Yeah, you fought for my right to walk across this country without having to worry about being harassed by cops or prison guards."

He didn't get it.

For the record, I don't believe he fought for my freedom. Last I checked, my constitutional rights existed for almost 200 years before the Vietnam War began, and no Vietnamese ever tried to strip me of these rights. But hey, if it made him feel good to believe he went there to protect my freedom, then I thought this was an appropriate time to point out that he was currently trying really hard to strip me of my freedom. I figured maybe this would create some moral friction within him to make him realize it's a good time to stop being a prick.

He still didn't get it. The sad part is that he fancied himself a hero or a protector, even though he obviously enjoyed trying to create misery for others.

After putting up with his harassment and arguing with him for several minutes, I simply walked away, against his wishes, resuming my walk east along US 40. And he didn't follow me, either on foot or in his vehicle, because he knew he had no authority to detain me. Instead, due to the fact that I'd so effectively hurt his feelings (which he deserved), he contacted the sheriff's department and lied yet again by reporting that there was a suspicious person walking near the prison.

Now back to the arrest report.

When I arrived in the area, I observed a male subject sitting in the grass on the north side of US 40, just east of the Lincoln Park Speedway entrance.

At this time I exited my commission to make contact with the subject. Upon approaching the subject I asked if he was alright, to which he responded that he was. At this time I asked the subject if he had recently had contact with employees of the DOC to which he stated that he had. At this time I asked the subject for identification to which he responded he was a US citizen and that he did not have to tell me anything. I again asked the subject for identification to which he again stated he was not going to comply with my request and that I should leave him alone.

This occurred about half an hour after the incident with the prison guard, more than a mile from the prison.

To be clear, I actually said, "This is the United States of America," which has a much different meaning than "I am a US citizen." You may have noticed a trend here. Yes, when I get harassed by cops, I am very fond of reminding them what country we're in because they know exactly what I mean when I say it. And if they don't fully grasp my message, I make it clear that I know my rights and I don't plan to surrender my rights to someone who is paid to protect me.

Anyway, if you think I was unnecessarily or unlawfully obstinate with the guard or the cop, here's where you get to start learning what freedom really means.

In the United States of America, cops have more rules to follow than do civilians. The following is an Indiana statute that establishes what conditions must be met before a law enforcement officer may lawfully detain someone:

IC 34-28-5-3
Detention
Sec. 3. Whenever a law enforcement officer believes in good faith that a person has committed an infraction or ordinance violation, the law enforcement officer may detain that person for a time sufficient to:

(1) inform the person of the allegation;
(2) obtain the person's:
(A) name, address, and date of birth; or
(B) driver's license, if in the person's possession; and
(3) allow the person to execute a notice to appear.

Nowhere in the arrest report does Corporal Chadd establish that anyone had committed an infraction or ordinance violation. Nowhere in the arrest report does Corporal Chadd establish that he witnessed or even suspected that anyone had committed an infraction or ordinance violation. Nowhere in the arrest report does Corporal Chadd establish that I seemed suspicious.

According to the law, by this point of the arrest report, Corporal Chadd no longer had any business with me. Having investigated the report of a suspicious person, he did not find a suspicious person when he contacted me. And even if he did think I seemed suspicious, it's not a crime to seem suspicious. As a well-trained law enforcement officer, he should have concluded that he had either established contact with the wrong person or he had responded to a false alarm. With nothing more to investigate, Corporal Chadd was now obligated to cease contact with me and go back to doing his job.

If Corporal Chadd truly believed there was anything suspicious about me, then he had every right to keep an eye on me for as long as he wanted until I reached the county line. If during his surveillance he witnessed me commit a crime, then he would have had every right to arrest me, demand my identification, and take me to jail. It really is that simple.

Right?

(Continued in Land of the Free, Part III)

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Land of the Free, Part I

2011-01-23T13:42:00.032-05:00

You may not be aware that I did some jail time in Greencastle, Indiana last summer, a little more than five months (and 2,600 miles) into my walk across the United States. Yes, I spent three nights in jail last July (2010), and subsequently I had to go back to Indiana for court on Friday January 21, 2011, to defend myself against the charges that landed me in jail.

The remainder of this post (between the horizontal lines) is a word-for-word transcription of the arrest report from that incident (excluding my birth date). As you read this report (which is the deputy's account of the incident, not necessarily the truth), try to figure out exactly at what point I broke a law.

PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
CASE # 10074110 (7-24-2010)
OFFENSE (S): FAILURE TO IDENTIFY
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
RESISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSESSION OF PARAPHERNALIA
SUSPECT: RYAN M. POWELL
CORPORAL JONATHAN D. CHADD

On 7-24-2010 at approximately 7:37 p.m. I was dispatched to a suspicious person complaint on US-40 near the Putnamville Correctional Facility. I was advised by dispatch that the subject was walking eastbound near the prison and that DOC employees had attempted to make contact with the subject and he became belligerent and continued walking east. When I arrived in the area, I observed a male subject sitting in the grass on the north side of US 40, just east of the Lincoln Park Speedway entrance.

At this time I exited my commission to make contact with the subject. Upon approaching the subject I asked if he was alright, to which he responded that he was. At this time I asked the subject if he had recently had contact with employees of the DOC to which he stated that he had. At this time I asked the subject for identification to which he responded he was a US citizen and that he did not have to tell me anything. I again asked the subject for identification to which he again stated he was not going to comply with my request and that I should leave him alone.

At this time Sheriff Steve Fenwick arrived at my location at which time I again asked the subject for identification to which he again refused to provide. At this time Sheriff Fenwick asked the subject to provide identification to which he again refused.

At this time I attempted to reason with the subject and asked for his name and birth date to which he again stated he did not have to provide.

While speaking with the subject he continued to yell and tell us that he was a US citizen and did not have to provide us with any information and that he was aware of the Constitution. After numerous attempts to reason with the subject and asking him to quiet down and cooperate, he stated that he would not provide us with any information.

At this time I told the subject to turn around and place his hands behind his back to which he stated that I better not touch him and that he was not going to comply. At this time I again asked the subject to place his hands behind his back to which he again stated he would not.

At this time I attempted to gain control of the subjects arm to which he jerked away and took a few steps and again told me not to touch him. At this time I assisted the subject to the ground and placed him into handcuffs and advised him to stop resisting, to which he then complied. At this time I patted the subject down and located a wallet in his front pocket that contained an Ohio drivers license identifying the subject as Ryan Michael Powell.

At this time I advised Mr. Powell of his Miranda Rights to which he stated he understood. At this time I contacted dispatch to have the jail van enroute to transport Mr. Powell to the Putnam County Jail. Upon arrival of the jail van Mr. Powell and his belongings were loaded and he was transported to the Putnam County Jail. After arriving at the jail and during the process of placing Mr. Powell's belongings into the property room, a glass smoking device was located in Mr. Powell's bag commonly used to smoke marijuana. At this time Mr. Powell was remanded to the jail staff on the above stated charges.

Cpl. Jonathan D. Chadd
[Jonathan D. Chadd's signature]

So what do you think? By reading this arrest report, can you figure out exactly how I broke a law? Since I don't want to taint your perception of what may or may not have happened during my encounter with the public servants of Putnam County, Indiana, I'll refrain from adding any commentary for a few days.

(Continued in Land of the Free, Part II)

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Jim Kasper, where are you?

2010-12-11T22:38:00.003-05:00

Jim Kasper: If you're out there, I hope to hear from you again. I call your phone number every once in a while, just to see if it's back in operation, but no luck. I worry about you, dude. I consider you a very good friend and I hope you're all right.

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Why I walked from coast to coast

2010-09-19T19:45:00.040-04:00

You're probably going to think I'm a selfish jerk after you read what I say here, but I'm going to say it anyway because I'm an honest person who believes critical thinking is infinitely more valuable and respectable than just saying what you know people want to hear. Besides, with what I've done, my voice matters now, even if no one listens to it.

There are at least a couple other people in the middle of coast-to-coast walks right now. These guys are receiving tons of attention that I didn't receive, mostly because they have causes, which they promote to a ridiculous extent.

I want to let you in on something: The idea to do a long walk comes long before the idea to have a cause, except in a few rare instances. People don't walk because they have a cause. Rather, they start planning a walk because they've become sick of life's bullshit and they don't know what else to do. After having a while to think about it, they come up with a cause because they realize a cause is an easy way to get attention, which might be the cheap ticket to a bullshit-free life. Then they come up with a heroic-sounding name for their walk because they realize people buy into that kind of propaganda. Although I think the guys doing this are decent people, I have no respect for the way they use phony causes to trick people for attention.

I knew way before I began my walk that I could attract a lot of media attention by having a cause. But unlike most other ultra-long-distance-walkers, I chose not to have a cause because I have integrity.

So if I didn't do this for attention, why does it piss me off that other walkers are getting attention?

Because I'm human, I guess, and because only I know what an amazing feat I've just accomplished.

What I did was infinitely more difficult than what these other guys are doing. Unlike the others, I carried all my gear at all times. No carts on wheels for my stuff, and nobody bringing me water or supplies. Unlike the others, I had to sleep outside almost every night, whether it was 10 degrees or 90 degrees (which was the norm for three months). With these temperatures, I didn't get much quality rest.

I had almost no money and no comfort. Since I didn't write "HERO" all over myself for everyone to see, I regularly had to deal with dirty cops (and I even spent three nights in jail). For over two months, in the desert and Rocky Mountains, I had a backpack with a broken frame, which put almost all of the weight on my left shoulder. (Back then I was carrying 60-65 lbs, sometimes more.) Yet with all this stuff making it difficult for me, I still averaged 16.5 miles a day (or 18.5 miles a day if you don't count off-days). That may not seem like a lot of daily miles to you, but you have no idea. Believe me, 16.5 miles a day over 211 days with an average of 55 lbs on your back is absolutely nuts.

I have beaten up my body in ways almost no one else can comprehend (including the cause-walkers). I hurt like hell constantly, and the pain is not going to end for a long time, if ever.

No, I didn't do this for media attention, but I feel like I've earned some attention and recognition, and I'm a little disappointed that I haven't received any. And honestly, it really bugs me that these other guys have been treated like heroes by the masses for doing something that really doesn't compare to what I've done.

So do you want to know why I did this coast-to-coast walk?

I did it because I said I could do it. I did it because I can do anything I tell you I can do. If I can't do something, I won't tell you I can do it.

Taking it a step farther: If I tell you I am THE BEST at something, it's because I really am the best. If I'm not the best, I won't tell you I'm the best.

Having said that, I want you to know that I am the best when it comes to making and selling pizza. I can do it better than anyone. That's not arrogance; it's confidence in knowledge. I admit I have a lot left to learn about owning a business, but that's the easy part. The hard part is learning how to create a marketable product, then selling that product to people, and I figured out how to do that a long time ago. So if there's any smart money out there reading this, you really ought to consider sending some of it this way because I'll turn it into more money.

You've all heard the term "Put your money where your mouth is." Yeah, well, I don't have any money, so I put my body where my mouth is, for seven months, 24 hours a day. (There probably aren't many people who could have done it in less than 9 months.)

I'm not a talker; I'm a doer. Now that I've done the hardest, most painful thing anyone can do, I'm very proud of the accomplishment and I want it to mean something. I want to be able to create some good jobs for a few handfuls of people who currently have no avenues available. I want to lead by example by paying my workers a higher hourly wage than I pay myself. And if I can somehow find my own avenue to that reality, then maybe I will eventually have the power to create even more good jobs in other ways.

Now that's a noble cause.

The sorry shape of our economy is not an accident. "The way we've always done it" is the problem. People like me are the solution.

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I'm done. I have now

2010-09-12T18:51:00.001-04:00

I'm done. I have now walked from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

Brooklyn Bridge

2010-09-12T11:43:00.001-04:00

Only about ten miles left to go.

WTC 9/11/10

2010-09-11T20:38:00.001-04:00

Thank you

2010-09-11T09:30:00.001-04:00

I wanna say thanks to everyone who texted me to say congratulations yesterday. I sincerely appreciate your support, and it means a lot to me. But I'm not quite done yet. I still have about 15 or 17 miles left to go. I'm gonna do a real short day today, probably stopping somewhere near the Brooklyn Bridge before finding a place to watch some Buckeye football. I could go a lot farther today, but I want to have to do some real mileage tomorrow before I finish. I want to be tired and hurting when I get to Coney Island, y'know. --> Me and my folks had some slices at Ray's at 6th Avenue and 11th Street last night. I'd eaten there a couple times before, so I knew it was good stuff, but it was really damn good last night. Ah, so much to say.

Speechless

2010-09-10T14:27:00.001-04:00

Big apple in sight

2010-09-09T19:35:00.001-04:00

I don't know if you can see Manhattan in this pic, but I can see it from where I took the pic. (Empire State Building is to the left of the billboard.) Awesome!

In New Jersey, everyone calls

2010-09-09T11:32:00.001-04:00

In New Jersey, everyone calls you "Buddy" and the slices are thinner than NYC slices. Only about 20 more miles to Manhattan!

Uno mas

2010-09-06T20:52:00.001-04:00

I can almost taste the Big Apple, baby. Only 75 or 80 miles to the George Washington Bridge (Manhattan), I think, then about 23 more to Coney Island after that. I could easily be done by Saturday, but I'll be taking Saturday off, as long as everything goes smoothly between now and then. Y'see, this Saturday is for watching Buckeye football (and then Penn State when that game is over). I guess my folks are gonna show up to witness the end of this unfuckingbelievably amazing and painful journey. There's a tear rolling down my cheek right now just from thinking about what I've ALMOST done, so I can only imagine how it will feel once I actually finish. I'll probably be crying like a little baby. Man... Wow.

Cool people

2010-09-03T23:03:00.001-04:00

I went into a bar this evening just to ask for some water, but I ended up hanging around for a while because the people were so cool. Someone bought me a beer, while someone else bought me some chips and candy for the road, and the barkeep made me a sandwich. Another dude gave me a pack of smokes just to piss off one of the other guys. This pack might last me close to a week, since I'm kinda in the cut-down/quit phase. (Bet you thought I quit a long time ago, eh.) The bar is called Taxi's and it's in Gilberton, I believe (or Mahanoy Plain maybe). I meet so many cool people constantly, and I wish I could spend more time hanging with them, but you have almost no time to chat when you're doing over 20 miles a day, especially as the days get shorter. --> Temps are supposed to go way down beginning tomorow, so that should help me crank out the miles for at least a few days. --> Man, PA is
really a unique state. No way I could possibly describe why from my phone.

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Let the games begin

2010-09-02T19:00:00.001-04:00

Of course I stopped by that stadium. Beaver Stadium. Yeah. Heh heh, heh. Beaver. Beee-ver. --> Are you ready for some COLLEGE football? I sure am. Go Bucks!

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200 days down and 3,246.4

2010-09-01T23:14:00.001-04:00

200 days down and 3,246.4 miles behind me. Smokin! (Shamokin Dam, PA.) Should have less than 200 miles left to go.

Why do I see so

2010-09-01T19:58:00.001-04:00

Why do I see so many grown men driving around w/their stereo cranking the hell out of songs that were clearly manufactured for 12-year-old girls?

State College

2010-08-30T22:15:00.001-04:00

This is Eric getting into his car. I met Eric at a gas station shortly after entering State College Saturday. Thinking I might shoot for 35 miles that day, I chose instead to accept Eric's invitation to crash at his place. That worked out well because with my insane mileage early that day, I still did 25 miles by about 7:00, then had plenty of time to relax. --> Figuring I'd start moving no later than 3:00 Sunday afternoon, I ended up sticking around and staying at Eric's place again that night. That also worked out well because I was about 30 miles ahead of where I'd planned to be by then. --> It was cool hanging with Eric because he felt like a friend right from the start. It's nice to get a break, some comfort, and some companionship once in a while, and this was a rare instance in which I was able to receive those things. Thanks for everything, Eric. I had a great time hanging with
ya.

17.63 miles at 3:00. I

2010-08-28T15:04:00.001-04:00

17.63 miles at 3:00. I consider 3:00 the halfway point of each day. This kind of mileage is nuts!

I've been warned that Tyrone,

2010-08-27T16:55:00.001-04:00

I've been warned that Tyrone, PA cops are dirty creeps. I doubt that they're anything like Putnam County, IN, though. We'll find out in an hour.

The USPS doesn't screw around

2010-08-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

The USPS doesn't screw around in Altoona. At 9:30 I've already seen three mailmen delivering mail (on foot). Good example for all the lazy-asses.

At 20 miles a day,

2010-08-25T22:50:00.001-04:00

At 20 miles a day, I should be 260 miles from home right now. Instead, I'm 280 (Ebensburg, PA). Kicking ass! Just over 300 miles left to go.

Aw man, I just passed

2010-08-25T16:13:00.001-04:00

Aw man, I just passed a live deer that appears to have 2 broken legs. I called 911, then left to keep from stressing him out. I feel shitty now.

I'm not applying for any

2010-08-24T20:52:00.001-04:00

I'm not applying for any more rewards cards. If you won't sell it to me for the marked price, I'll keep my money and you can restock all of it.

Somebody better show up and

2010-08-24T14:01:00.001-04:00

Somebody better show up and take an 'After' pic of me before I arrive in NYC because I'm gonna pig out on pizza and cheesecake when I get there.

Hey ER: If you've wondered,

2010-08-24T08:51:00.001-04:00

Hey ER: If you've wondered, I wasn't yelling at you when I posted the same comment 3 times. That was an accident, and it's been bugging me.

I did at least 2.5

2010-08-20T21:49:00.001-04:00

I did at least 2.5 miles in 3 different states today. Also hit the 3,000 mile mark tonight. Really crankin' out the miles lately. 3 more weeks.

Test from phone

2010-08-12T10:45:00.001-04:00

This pic is from the spot where Forrest stopped running: Gump Hill, Monument Valley, Utah.

Long overdue update

2010-08-11T21:10:00.015-04:00

Wondering why I haven't posted anything new over the last four months? Did you think I quit walking back in Arizona?

Yeah, well, I didn't quit.

In fact, I have now walked about 2,830 miles from Santa Monica, California to my parents' house in central Ohio. I just haven't been able to blog because Blogger made it impossible for me to blog all this time and there was nothing I could do about it. It especially pisses me off because I didn't know it was going to happen until after it happened. Consequently, I was never able to let you know what was going on.

Some highlights from the time I was unable to blog:

Beginning about a week after I left Phoenix, I spent the next two months in elevations of 5,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. It was very cold most of that time, especially at night, when I often had to wear all my clothes and winter gear inside my sleeping bag just to stay remotely warm.
The Navajo are the most awesome people on the planet, particularly the Oliver family of Mexican Hat, Utah. (I know 'Oliver' doesn't sound very Navajo to you, but yes, they are Navajo.)
Colorado was miserable in just about every way possible, with cold temps, snow, and 50 MPH winds tossing me around all the time. I crossed the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass (10,850 feet above sea level). It last snowed on me on May 14, as I came down from La Veta Pass, near Walsenburg. Ever since then it has been miserably hot, excluding two days.
Kansas has no trees. No trees means no shade. No shade means no comfort. No comfort means no good rest. Also, I was harassed by cops just about every day for three weeks as I crossed central and eastern Kansas. The people of Kansas, however, were very friendly and kind. I met tons of amazing people in Kansas.
Missouri, with its absence of standing water, provided a couple weeks without mosquitos.
Illinois was pretty boring.
In eastern Illinois, a car drifted toward me in a spot where I had only a couple inches of shoulder to walk on. As the car continued to drift in my direction, I watched and waited for the driver to correct the car's path, but it never happened. So for a split second, I knew I was about to die. Somehow, though, I managed to get out of the way and save my own life.
In Putnam County, Indiana, I was harassed and beaten up by a sheriff's deputy, then forced to spend three nights in jail after he charged me with offenses that never happened. (Actually there were two deputies; it's just easier to write this by turning them into one person.) This ordeal is nowhere near over, and it is the event that made me realize for sure that I will write a book about this adventure, which I likely will call Land of the Free. By the way, my rib still hurts almost three weeks later from the excessive force used by the deputies, who each weigh about twice as much as me.
I'm totally sick of being harassed by cops, and I will continue to assert my rights every time they harass me for the rest of this walk.
I did two consecutive 30-mile days after passing through Indy. This blows my mind because 30 miles is nuts even for one day. So to do it again the very next day... WOW! (Let me tell you about pain.) On the second night, after about 29.8 miles (five miles into Ohio), an 18-wheeler flew by me at highway speeds, a foot outside his lane, missing me by mere inches. Having walked 60 miles in the previous 38 hours, I had no strength or energy to move. This was so surreal; it felt like it took five minutes. You've never experienced anything like this.
The day before I made it home, Mike Harden from the Columbus Dispatch met me near South Charleston. His story about me ran a few days later on Sunday. I also received a call from WCMH's Jerod Smalley the day after I met with Harden. I expect to hear from Smalley again within the next couple days, so keep an eye on channel 4 if you live in Columbus.

I am fortunate to have met tons and tons of the most amazing people you could ever hope to meet, but that's a very small sample of the American people. I'm sorry to report that when I'm not meeting these people, I witness one stupid act after another. We, the people of the United States of America, must stop being so stupid.

I hope you can make some sense of the recent posts here, now that I've clued you in a little. I haven't tried blogging from my phone yet since I've changed the blog's URL. Hopefully it will work. Even if it does work, though, I don't anticipate writing many new posts as I walk the final 600 miles from here to NYC. But who knows?

So much more to say, but I can only say so much right now. Besides, I'm here to relax so I can feel rejuvinated when I start walking again on Friday.

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Test #2

2010-08-10T21:14:00.001-04:00

This better work. I don't have time to deal with this crap not doing what it's supposed to do.

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Failure to provide ID

2010-08-10T12:01:00.005-04:00

The following is taken from a forum in which regular people and cops discuss the specifics of certain laws.

If they have NOT committed an offense, and I ask for their ID and they tell me to **** off, I have no lawful right to demand their ID. I have had several people ask me why, and I just simply state that you see my name on my chest and I like to know who i'm talking to. They're usually pretty good about giving it up. It's all in talking to them with respect and dignity.

Now on the flipside, if they have committed an offense and I ask for their ID and they do not provide it to me, well then they're getting cited for failure to provide ID. If they do not have it on them they're getting hooked, and taken to the PD to be fingerprinted and ID'd.

Walking peacefully down the road, which is all I do every day, does not give any law enforcement officer justification to stop me and demand to see my ID. If that happens, I have the right to walk away and go on with my life. Even if I tell the dude to go fuck himself, I still have the right to continue walking toward the Atlantic Ocean if I so desire, and the cop has no right to demand any more of my time unless I have actually broken a law.

In my Indiana brush with the law, I did not tell the deputy to go fuck himself. I just told him, calmly, to leave me alone, which I am allowed to do. Regardless, I was effectively beaten up by the cop (who I will name when this is all over). Then I spent three nights in jail for having been the victim of a crime by someone who's paid to protect me. And now I have to show up back in Indiana next month for court.

Yes, I would do it again, and I will do it again the next time a cop stops and asks me for my ID without justification. This will almost surely happen within the next week. But I almost certainly will not end up in jail when I do it again because most cops know their limits. And to be perfectly clear, the cop who arrested me knew his limits; he just didn't care and he mistakenly assumed I was stupid, which is why he wrote a report that is full of lies that don't add up.

Cops know they have more rules to follow than I do.

Still, cops are the only people who give me any trouble. Cops are the only criminals I have to fear out there. There are tons of good cops, but there are also tons of thug cops. And until that changes, I will continue to assert my freedom whenever they try to strip me of it.

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Lasting impressions

2010-08-09T21:43:00.008-04:00

Here's an e-mail I received a while back but was finally able to read today. It's from a lady cyclist I met in eastern Kansas. (I'm in Ohio now; walked all the way. I'll soon explain why there haven't been any new blog posts in four months.) I was kinda expecting a link to a painting with trees wrapped in barbed wire, but I was shocked and blown away when I learned that I'd inspired my own painting.

i met you on the road just outside of Yates Center Kansas. I on bike, you, of course ..... not. You were looking forward to getting new sandals, I hope they came.

I cycle tour solo every summer because it gives me life experience to feed my art and my soul. I make paintings along the way.

I told you I was going to make a painting about Kansas "hogging" its shade trees behind barbed wire fences. I made that painting, and I made one inspired by our visit as well. I made the painting not to glorify what you - we - do. Solo endurance and living our lives in a way most consider unusual. I made the painting because I was pissed that a man walking should be considered a criminal by those we are told to trust as our caretakers - police.

Not their fault really. It is an entire culture built on fear. You are different, there for something to fear.

see the paintings at

www.tmoore2.com/

teri
ps - I didn't think you were scary at all. I thought of you the same as the Kansas wildflowers that surrounded you.

On the back of the painting, Teri also wrote some notes about our meeting.

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Test #1

2010-08-08T17:14:00.001-04:00

Test. Let's see if this makes it to Facebook.

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Walking coast to coast, Rule #1

2010-08-06T15:09:00.001-04:00

For anyone thinking about doing a continuous coast-to-coast walk/hike someday, here is the most valuable tip I can give you: Take only what you absolutely need.

You'll be tempted to take a few shirts, a camp towel, a laptop, maybe a book, and a bunch of tiny things that don't seem like much weight. DON'T DO IT. Instead, learn from my pain.

I'm probably much stronger than I was when I walked away from the Santa Monica Pier, but my body is totally beat up and everything hurts constantly, largely because I was carrying too much weight when I started. I thought I'd be a machine after a month or two, but that does not happen. Instead, the weight just goes down to your feet with every step, and it beats you up like you've never been beat up before.

After a few months, every day becomes tougher than the previous day. 50 lbs now feels like 70 lbs; tomorrow it will feel like 70.1 lbs. And it's all because I started out with too much weight. So just be smart and learn from my experience. It will make your long walk much less painful than it could be.

Shirts. I'm down to one short sleeve shirt and one long sleeve shirt, though I started with three lightweight short sleeve shirts and one long sleeve shirt. My shirt probably makes me smell like dog shit most of the time, but I don't care anymore because 1) I am almost always alone, and 2) There comes a point where you just stop caring. There is no need to worry about being a little smelly because that kind of thing happens when you're doing the most bad-ass thing anyone can do. Get over it and leave your shirts at home.

Socks & Footwear. Even though I walk in sandals, I had one pair of socks in the beginning, just in case I needed to get some shoes for whatever reason. And it did happen. I had to wear shoes for about 10 miles at Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado, at 10,850 feet. I paid $1.50 for the shoes at a thrift store, then ditched them in Walsenburg because I knew I'd never need them again. If I was walking in boots, I'd probably have to carry 4-6 pairs of footies, at 5 ounces per pair. Great reason to wear sandals. Also, my sandals are 2 lbs lighter than my last pair of boots. That makes a huge difference.

Essential Items
Backpack with at least an 80-liter capacity;
Sleeping bag rated below freezing;
Good, light tent and footprint;
Sleeping pad (I prefer inflatable, small);
Fleece top with full zipper;
Down or synthetic winter coat (doubles as a pillow in a stuff sack, though you'll send it home once spring is over);
Thin/light raincoat;
Rain pants;
Waterproof pack cover (if your pack is not waterproof);
One pair of convertible pants + shorts to wear during laundry;
A one-liter water bottle & collapsible water bladders amounting to about a 3-gallon capacity;
Maybe a few other things, too. (For some folks, weed.)

That's all for now. Much more to say about this stuff when I get a chance. Maybe I'll write about it in a book someday.

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Goodbye?

2010-04-27T15:18:00.007-04:00

Blog posts from my phone have not been publishing lately, so here's the deal: I probably will not be blogging anymore, mostly because Blogger has decided to make everything difficult/impossible for people who use their "service" to publish blogs on FTP servers or something like that. Long story; I'm not going to try to explain everything because I don't have time and I don't fully understand what's going on.

I've been in Cortez, Colorado for a few days, staying with some folks I met (Jake Heath and Kayla McGrath). Very good people; they feel like friends to me.

I have so much to say, but there are not enough people who care what I have to say. It's been great, but I'm pretty much done blogging. Enjoy the silence.

Goodbye?

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Let's try this again

2010-04-26T18:19:00.000-04:00

After two tries, I don't think that video ever published, so I'll try once more. It should be here this time. I probably won't be blogging anymore after a few days because I won't be able to, thanks to Blogger screwing with everything. Been in Cortez, Colorado for a few days, staying with some very cool folks I met. Too much to say and not enough people who care what I have to say. So it's been great. I may crank out a few more posts while I still can, but I may not. Enjoy the silence.

The Navajo are the kindest,

2010-04-18T23:41:00.001-04:00

The Navajo are the kindest, most amazing group of people I've ever met, particularly the Oliver family of Mexican Hat. Much more to say soon.

Changes

2010-04-05T14:47:00.004-04:00

Stupid Blogger is about to make it impossible to host Blogger blogs on FTP servers (or something like that), so now I have to go through a whole bunch of BS to keep this blog alive. I probably won't have an opportunity to make the changes, so this blog may disappear soon. However, if I am able to make the changes, the new URL for this blog will probably be http://www.aimlessmovie.blogspot.com. I don't know when it'll change, so just try to remember this.

I may stop blogging anyway, though, because no one gives a shit about what I have to say. Hardly anyone ever comments and only two people have become fans on Facebook during the last seven weeks. I'm surprised and disappointed, and I'm not going to waste my time anymore to entertain five people.

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This blog has moved

2010-04-04T20:27:00.001-04:00

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It's a miracle! Jesus came

2010-04-03T12:39:00.001-04:00

It's a miracle! Jesus came to me last night and healed my mangled leg. I know it sounds impossible, but it's true. I can walk again!

Aw fuck. I'm pretty sure

2010-04-01T13:51:00.001-04:00

Aw fuck. I'm pretty sure I just broke my leg. Can't walk. Waiting for the ambulance now. Looks like this is all over. God dammit!

Jerome

2010-04-01T00:38:00.001-04:00

I suspect Jerome is heaven. It's such an amazing place, even when you're there and gone in the blink of an eye. No picture can do it justice, either. --> This morning, as I made my way out of Jerome, an old lady said something to me from across the street. Walking over to her yard to respond, we ended up talking for maybe 15 minutes. She was so cool, with a cynically filthy mouth not unlike my own. The language seemed so out of place for a woman of her age; it was great. Figuring she was about 70, I was shocked when she told me she's 90. I never did get her name, but she said she used to be an actress; apparently a pretty well-known (or famous?) actress. Man, I need to remember to take pics of people like her. --> Half an hour later, I encountered a cyclist/traveler on his way up into town. His name is James Johnson and he is riding from Chicago to San Diego to Portland and then back to
Chicago. We talked for about an hour. http://crazyguyonabike.com/doc/turtleadventure2010.

Snow foot

2010-03-31T23:30:00.001-04:00

Presto

2010-03-31T23:22:00.001-04:00

See, it wasn't just smoke and mirrors. This is from yesterday (Tuesday), shortly after I began the descent to Jerome. I topped out at 7,023 feet, only a few minutes after I estimated that I was at about 7,000 feet.

No longer riding

2010-03-31T19:32:00.001-04:00

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round.

Spooky

2010-03-31T17:13:00.001-04:00

From left: Sonya, me, Tobin, and Jennifer (the waitresses and bartender at the Haunted Hamburger). I probably misspelled everyone's name there, but these folks rock. I pulled into Jerome a little before 8:00 last night, completely exhausted and wobbly, just hoping there was someplace open to eat. The first place I found was the Haunted Hamburger, and it was the right place. Along with the restaurant's staff, I also talked extensively with a couple from Phoenix, who were sitting a few seats over from me at the bar. These people were all so cool. I really enjoyed talking to all of them. If you're ever in Jerome, you have to eat there. Not just because they're cool as hell, but also because they serve some damn good food. --> Today, near Clarkdale, a stunningly gorgeous girl stopped to offer me a ride. As with everyone who offers me a ride, I had to decline, but I really wanted to accept
this offer. We talked for a few minutes, then I thanked her and we each headed on down the road. D'OH!

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Higher and higher

2010-03-30T18:56:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am WAAAY above the snow line right now... in sandals. The most recent elevation sign said I was at 6,000 feet, but I've climbed a long way since then, so I'm guessing I'm probably at about 7,000 feet in this pic. Still going up, too.

See ya down in Arizona Bay

2010-03-30T15:38:00.001-04:00

These mountains are bigger than they look here. I have to go up and over them today, then make it back down before it gets too cold up there. (And it will get very cold once the sun goes down.) On the other side is Jerome. Everyone says Jerome is absolutely beautiful. One local resident also told me Maynard from Tool lives there, which makes sense because he thinks California is going to fall off into the ocean. (He really should have taken Geology 101 before writing those ridiculous lyrics.) --> The 'tears' remark in the previous post was in reference to a show I watched Sunday night called Undercover Boss or something. I sure hope they didn't just edit that show to make the CEO look more caring than he really is. Believe me: When you have as much footage as they had before they edited that show, you can manipulate the story to make it say anything you want it to say. However, I felt
like everything that happened on the show was pretty genuine. I hope so.

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I like when people move

2010-03-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

I like when people move me to tears.

Idiocracy

2010-03-28T18:58:00.001-04:00

If you can't figure out what's wrong with this country by reading this flier, please don't have kids.

Prescott

2010-03-28T00:41:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I began near Wilhoit and climbed at least half a mile through some mountains, reaching about 6300 feet before descending 1000 feet to Prescott. At 5:00, after busting ass for 19+ miles, I found a restaurant where I could watch the Buckeyes lose. A few miles up the road, still in Prescott, I ate at In-N-Out and slept in the cold mile-high night. Today I decided I'd finally take a day off, so I did some fund-raising and walked down to a cheap motel I passed last night. I paid $34 for a dump of a room, but I kinda like it. The motel is really old and I can picture William Burroughs sitting here on the bed with a needle in his arm, his eyes struggling to stay open and his body slumping over as he drifts off into junkie bliss. I think I'll make a weekend of it and stay here again tomorrow night because my body really needs the rest. At this altitude, I think I have a lot of cold
nights ahead of me. It's probably good that I didn't start 2 weeks earlier, as I'd originally planned.

Altitude

2010-03-26T17:16:00.001-04:00

As you can see, I'm really high right now.