Derek Jolly

Fealt good to go for a deliberate walk again. Not sure why I took a week off...

Started walking tonight in search of some willingness for acceptance.

After the decision to walk, but before I got my shoes on and out to walking I had already started thinking about I am currently able to walk at a rate of ~$7.50/mile in donations to Gallant Few and gain that acceptance along the way. I've found that acceptance and a lot more on this walk.

I found my battery died on my phone, which was cool because I was trying to write this while walking, so it let me disconnect.

My battery being dead shows a swampy walk home from the railroad tracks. I didn't do that, I took my normal route around the block home.

But let me tell you about a time I didn't go around a swamp.

Day 1 of a 1 day land nav course at Ranger School.

There's a swamp, and everything I had heard in years prior to that day and to that swamp was, "There's a swamp. You should go around that swamp to find your points if you want to pass."

Day 2 of a 1 dayland nav course at Ranger School, when the risk of failure was recycle, Derek went around that swamp.

I'm glad my phone battery died so I could tell that swamp story.

Another thing I found on this walk was how easily it can be for my senses to take me back to a place called Afghanistan.

At the southeast corner of this route, there's a small farm, with a couple head of cattle with a gentle manure smell.

You combine that with the silence of a moon lite night, and the only thing missing is combat gear.

I found comfort in knowing my K9 companion along my walk tonight was only clearing the way of skunks, raccoons, opposums, and deer.

And there sure were a lot of deer out there tonight!

Pre-post op walk to start the afternoon off.