miles today: 19 ¦ total miles: 255
some are deep trucker air horns. some are high-pitched hatchback squeals. some are supportive. some are scary.
when running barefoot on the side of the road, i inevitably get honked at. there are basically 2 kinds of honks. one is from perturbed drivers who don’t appreciate a weirdo barefoot guy taking up shoulder space in their driving lane. the other is from supportive motorists who have already heard about RunTellmanRun in the media. that, or they’re just cool, and they’re giving me the honk equivalent of a thumbs up.
the angry horn lasts anywhere from 2 to 5 seconds, and it is always an uninterrupted beeeeeeeeeep. once in a while, if it’s a Monday morning and someone’s late for work and they haven’t had coffee, i’ll get a full 12-second blast that starts behind me, passes, and keeps going in front of me. i have to assume that those people don’t realize i’m running across the country for homeless youth.
the supportive honks are awesome. it’s easy to spot them, because they are a quick burst of short honks, sometimes followed by a “woooo” scream out the window. the classic “beep b-b-beep beep, beep beeeeep” is probably the most common. i love those.
dump trucks, for some reason, don’t like me. but tractor trailers do. go figure.
but the most complex motorist of all is the Amish buggy driver. i’ve been passed by about a dozen of them in the past few days, and i always smile and wave. and they never wave back! what’s up with that? does anyone have any theories on this? i feel like i’m a pretty friendly guy. why won’t the Amish wave back?
anyhoo, don’t be afraid to honk if you see me. the more original your honk, the better.
-Tellman
P.S. I ran right through the Dutch Fall Festival in Aaronsburg, PA this afternoon. Luke took some photos…
hauling home the pumpkin score
...and her famous homemade pumpkin butter
the St. Peter's Reformed Church, built 1884
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Not every individual represents their group, nor every group their religion, nor every religion all religion. Nor does any human religious organization represent fully the amazing heart and mind of God…
None of us wants others to make assumptions about our beliefs and motives based on whether or not we act in the expected way…Why not ask them what’s up?
That is odd the Amish won’t wave. I grew up with horse and buggy Amish and they always waved first.
Did you ever catch AMISH PARADISE by Weird Al Yankovich? (or is that Yankovick??)
Every ‘religion’ is “The Only Right One” and everyone else is nothing but lost sinners and… Anywho, ’nuff ’bout that!
Run Tellman Run, kudos on your being nearly 8% done with your quest. I surely hope to catch you in action somewhere along the way.
…Won’t say anything about them truckers though, they’re everywhere!