Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 29, 2010 – 4:53 pm
Columbia, MO – Rocheport, MO 12.4 miles Now I will be the first to admit that walking as a means of transportation is overrated. And biking is only marginally better. But there is a time and place for human-powered means of transportation. Within towns and cities, both walking and biking are great ways to reduce [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 20, 2010 – 11:01 pm
rest in St Louis, MO 0.0 miles When it comes to breaking out of the cycle of poverty, so many times it is suggested that education is the key. But teachers can only do so much. As one middle school teacher I had the privilege to meet today described it, they are just scratching [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 8, 2010 – 10:32 pm
June 8: Pontiac, IL – Chenoa, IL 11.6 miles The town of Chenoa is falling to pieces. I do not mean this in a figurative sense. A stroll through the downtown reveals nothing but shuttered businesses, closed signs, and buildings literally falling to the ground. One building in the center of town quite spectacularly has [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 6, 2010 – 3:07 pm
Dwight, IL – Pontiac, IL 19.9 miles For the second time in my cross-country journey I have found myself interrogated by police simply for being a person with a backpack. Now I have no problem with a police officer asking me if I am OK. There was just a tornado in Dwight, the location from [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 6, 2010 – 2:56 pm
Wilmington, IL – Dwight, IL 22.3 miles Last night a tornado touched down not a mile from where I was spending the night in Dwight, IL. And no, I’m not in Tornado Alley. Though I knew thunderstorms were predicted, which prompted me to decide to stay in a motel rather than pitch my tent, [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 2, 2010 – 10:07 am
Chicago – Alsip 19.8 miles It is perhaps no surprise, but living in poverty means a life without flowers. As I walked the old Route 66 out of Chicago today I passed pockets of gentrification. And I was bothered by the fact that the ramshackle, run-down buildings were surrounded by garbage and rot, while the [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on June 1, 2010 – 11:14 pm
I admit it, I don’t know what it’s like to live in poverty. I don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation where I have no money and no real options. But I thought I had come to understand the stress and desperation of living without. I was wrong. Poverty also means seeing [...]