Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 31, 2009 – 6:30 pm
Day 28–July 31, 2009 Strictly speaking homelessness means not having a home. But there are many ways a person can be homeless; staying with family or friends; living in transitional housing or shelters; or simply getting by on the street, in cars, or in tents. Regardless, homelessness is the result of a breakdown in community. [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 30, 2009 – 9:49 am
Day 27–July 30, 2009 Nearly four weeks and 230 miles into my trip I have come to the realization that injuries cannot be ignored. So, as of today, I am stepping off the road. It is my hope that after a couple weeks of rest my ankle will be ready to pound the pavement once [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 29, 2009 – 10:46 pm
Day 26–July 29, 2009 (rest in Pittsburgh, 0.0 miles) Since I began my walk not a month ago I have climbed mountains and walked beside farm fields. I have met amazing and generous people and made lifelong friends. I’ve walked through impoverished communities and been touched as those with almost nothing pulled money out of [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 29, 2009 – 12:25 pm
Day 25–July 28 (North Versailles, PA-Pittsburgh, PA, 12.7 miles) Virginia Woolf once said that for women to be successful as writers they had to have a “room of one’s own.” But many women do not even have a place to call home, let alone a room to devote to creative endeavors. In Pittsburgh there are [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 28, 2009 – 5:53 am
Day 24–July 27 (Irwin, PA-North Versailles, PA, 7.6 miles) Though I am not as fearful of spending the night sleeping outside as I was at the start of my trip, it is stressful. There is a strategy in finding a location that is safe and neither too dark nor too light. Earlier today I had [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 26, 2009 – 10:27 pm
Day 23–July 26 (Greensburg, PA-Irwin, PA, 8.1 miles) Loitering is not my idea of a good time. And I doubt most people enjoy loitering. But, when you are homeless, it is a way of life. Since I’ve begun this journey I’ve spent hours loitering. I’ve loitered at Panera, at Starbucks and McDonald’s. I’ve spent time [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 25, 2009 – 8:58 am
Day 22–July 25 (rest in Greensburg, PA, 0.0 miles) I have never understood what it is that empowers some of us to always stand up for what is right, regardless of the consequences, while others stand idly by at the injustices of this world. While I was at Target in Greensburg yesterday I met John [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 24, 2009 – 2:24 pm
Day 21–July 24 (rest in Greensburg, PA, 0.0 miles) As of today the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. It is the third and final increase in a phased hike in the minimum wage that began in 2007. Prior to 2007, the minimum wage had not seen an increase since it was set at [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 23, 2009 – 6:28 pm
Day 20–July 23 (rest in Greensburg, PA, 0.0 miles) Last night, for the first time since I began my trip, I found myself without a place to stay for the night. I spent an hour on a bench outside the Giant Eagle grocery store talking to a homeless man named Rick while I iced my [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 22, 2009 – 11:37 pm
Day 19–July 22 (Latrobe, PA-Greensburg, PA, 11.4 miles) For whatever reason, since I have been walking I have not gone a day without eating ice cream. Some days I find myself stopping for ice cream more than once a day. So when as I came across Peaches ‘n Cream on Route 30 in Greensburg there [...]