Neither rain, nor lightning or even the loss of one of his new shoes has dampened the spirits of Penticton’s Robin Edgar-Haworth and canine sidekick Koda on their trek to Ottawa.
Speaking by cell phone from the side of Highway 1 just outside Brandon Man. this week, Edgar-Haworth says if anything, he is even more committed to fulfilling his quest then when he left Penticton in April.
“When I sit and talk with people with the words of kindness, the physical support I’m getting I’m even more inspired,” said the 63-year-old Edgar-Haworth, raising his voice to be heard over the passing traffic. “I haven’t had one negative response to my face or even on Facebook. I figured I’d at least meet the occasional redneck along the way but so far, no, just nothing but kind words and attentive ears and lots of spiritual, physical and moral support.”
Through the 4,100-kilometre Right the Wrong journey the Penticton man hopes to bring awareness to a wide range of his concerns such as government injustice and erosion of people’s freedoms.
His plan is to talk to anyone who will listen, in particular politicians.
It is also to listen to the “ordinary” people he meets along the way which he says is also fuelling the trip.
A portion of the walk is also dedicated to seeking out his own sanctum of inner peace.
The incident involving lightning happened near Regina, Sask. during a thunderstorm.
“It was so loud out there it was just like being on the inside of a drum,” he recalled. “One moment every hair on my body just stood up on end and just as I was thinking oh we’re going to get zapped, the lightning hit and it couldn’t have been more than a few feet behind us it was that close.”
A hungry porcupine is the accused culprit in the theft of the left shoe from outside the tent on another night.
“Overall we’re doing good and right now we don’t have a schedule per se, but if I can steal a line from the great scribe Henry Miller, ‘destination is not a place, it’s a whole new way of thinking,’” said the traveller.