Massacusetts/Vermont events and walkers--Eric Herminghausen

Cyndi and I drove to Greenfield, Massachusetts, where we gave a program at a community non-denominational church. It was organized by Suzanne Carlson, veteran of the United States walk and an ardent peace activist for most of her adult life. We had a warm sharing. The minister approached me afterwards and said he appreciated the quiet sense of hope in my message. Then we drove to Brattleboro, Vermont, where we had a mini-reunion with several walkers.
I talked with Eric Herminghausen, veteran of the United States Walk for the Earth. Eric left the walk group in Durango, Colorado, and walked alone across the country and met up with the group outside of Washington D.C. He now lives in Burke, Vermont. "The walk was passing through the country faster than I wanted so I wanted to get a better feel for an area as I was going through," he said. "It was an evolving philosophy I had. By the time I hit the Mississippi, however, I was studying my map and trying to figure out how I could reach the East Coast before the winter, so it turned into something worse than what I was trying to get away from. So that was revealing. It turned into sort of a marathon event--walking through the country instead of fully experiencing it.

"I have very vivid memories today of the country and people I met on my own. For instance, in walking through Kentucky I met a young boy and he invited me to come home and meet his family and I ended up camping in their yard for a few days. One thing I discovered was my loner tendencies--not feeling comfortable being with a group. It's still a challenge today, but I appreciate partially what I missed and that is walking with a group and the community. I feel today that the walk people are part of my family. So it's sort of a regret that I separated from the walk."

For the past 18 years he has been holding the same job as the caretaker for an historic estate and trying to live a simple life respecting the earth. He built a house in the woods using a passive solar design and has been trying to minimize his impact on the planet.