Gym Cracks By Jim August 14, 2003 FEET SPOIL FEAT Babe in his own words on 119 miles on foot on Nebraska Highway 281 By Jim (Babe) Berryman MissingNebraska.com Western Nebraska As Marcia left me off in the early-morning darkness, a giddy feeling enveloped me. Since it was pitch-black, the scenery was unobservable. A quick glance of the watch informed me it was 4:20 a.m. Marcia took my picture standing in the front of the "Welcome to Nebraska" sign. A goodbye kiss and then I watched the car taillights disappear in the early morning darkness. A life-long dream was materializing. I was confident I could walk across Nebraska following Highway #281. The first six-miles to Red Cloud were a breeze. After a breakfast consisting of a bagel with peanut butter and a banana (my standard road meal), I loaded up on water and trail mix and was off of to Blue Hill, a distance of 20 miles. Shortly after leaving Red Cloud, I encountered my first snake. I made a detour to the opposite side of the highway and continued on my trip, while the snake slithered into the ditch and continued on his trip. A motorist did stop and asked if he could give me a lift. I responded, "I'm walking across the state." He gave me a weak smile and said, "Good luck." When I finished my first day's walk, I was tired, but felt I was in good shape. By the time I arrived in Hastings on my second day, I had started developing blisters and my toes were swelling. A huge callus/growth was forming under my big right toe. On the third day, I continued past Bosselman's Truck Stop in Grand Island and north towards St. Paul. That evening my support party, Marcia, suggested I take some time off to allow my feet to recuperate. I left St. Paul at a very early hour on the fourth day. Most of my walking was done between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and the noon hour. By walking during those hours, I avoided the extreme high afternoon temperatures, although I did experience walking in 90-plus degree heat a couple days. On the fourth day I arrived at the Greeley Cemetery at 8:30 a.m. My parents, a son, and a sister are buried in this cemetery. I had traveled 119 miles from the Kansas border to this cemetery. By now my feet were causing me a great deal of discomfort, if not outright pain. I decided at this time to abort my effort to cross Nebraska by walking. I still had over 100 miles to walk and as my support party indicated--I would need the only two feet God gave me to support other walking endeavors over the remaining years of my life. I'm disappointed, but not overly so. Hey, I may be able to complete this walk sometime in the future, on healthy feet and when the weather is not so hot. Feedback Previous Gym Cracks: 07-15-03: Training For Walk Gym Cracks By Jim 06-30-03: Walk Across Nebraska Gym Cracks By Jim 06-20-03: No Stress Stress Test Gym Cracks By Jim 06-11-03: Crazy Horse 'Fun' Gym Cracks By Jim 05-31-03: Friends For Life Gym Cracks By Jim 05-19-03: Spurs And Cubs Gym Cracks By Jim 04-29-03: L.A. Delay Gym Cracks By Jim 04-16-03: What's In A Nickname? Gym Cracks By Jim 03-28-03: More March Madness Gym Cracks By Jim 03-14-03: March To Remember Gym Cracks By Jim 03-07-03: Tall & Tough Gym Cracks By Jim 02-26-03: Zingerland Gym Cracks By Jim 02-19-03: Cuss The Bus Gym Cracks By Jim 02-09-03: Ratings And Recruiting Gym Cracks By Jim 01-31-03: Hoops Elite Gym Cracks By Jim 01-24-03: Nebraska's Super Connection Gym Cracks By Jim 01-15-03: Hometown Hits Big Time Gym Cracks By Jim 2002 12-30-02: Count The Numbers Gym Cracks By Jim 12-18-02: Cream Of Coaching Crop Gym Cracks By Jim 11-28-02: The Big Picture Gym Cracks By Jim 11-18-02: 2 For 2 Gym Cracks By Jim 10-25-02: Sweet On Switzer Gym Cracks By Jim 10-17-02: Best Time Year Gym Cracks By Jim 10-11-02: Odds And Ends Gym Cracks By Jim 10-04-02: The Rating Game Gym Cracks By Jim 09-22-02: Fans Panned Gym Cracks By Jim 09-12-02: World Herald Calling Gym Cracks 09-05-02: Bit By Baseball Bug Gym Cracks 08-29-02: Caring Coaches Gym Cracks 08-22-02: Nebraska "Storm" Hits Colorado Gym Cracks 08-15-02: Cubs Win, Wallet Drained Gym Cracks 08-08-02: To Coors For Cubs Gym Cracks 07-25-02: Major League Madness Gym Cracks 07-18-02: Nebraskans In The Majors Gym Cracks 07-11-02: Kile Death Sheds Light Gym Cracks 07-04-02: Couch Potato Parking Gym Cracks 06-23-02: Top 10 Nebraska High School Nicknames Gym Cracks 06-06-02: Better In The 50s Gym Cracks 05-30-02: Dangerfield of Nebraska Gym Cracks 05-16-02: Baseball Sneak Aways Gym Cracks