Day 49 / May 22, 2012

     
       I woke up on day 49 on the west side of Jackson MS. The ground I slept on was really hard and rough and I woke up at around 7. I slowly got up and was very tired. My knees were hurting a little and I had a headache.
       When I woke up I plugged my electronics in to charge while I packed up. I packed my stuff and then brushed my teeth. As I was brushing my teeth a car pulled up in the parking lot. A lady got out and walked towards the church. As she walked closer she saw me and stopped. I told her I was charging my stuff and would be leaving soon. She said no problem and went into the church. Then right as I was leaving she opened the door and asked me if I needed to use the restroom or anything. I said no thanks. But then I said I had a few things to donate if they would accept it. So I gave her all the Vienna sausage cans I had stocked up. I needed to get rid of the extra weight.
      After that I started walking. I walked for about 5 miles when a lady pulled over. She handed me $5 out of her window and said God bless. About 2 miles later a girl pulled over and gave me a snack and a sealed envelope. Inside it had a prayer and $5.
       I continued and there was a McDonald's ahead where I wanted to try and upload some videos stored on my iPod from the last few days. So I stopped there.
     During the 7 mile walk before I stopped my knees had been hurting me. I wasn't sure if it was from the surface I had slept on the last night, or from walking or what. So I took some anti inflamatories and pain relievers.
      I tried getting the videos up but they wouldn't upload. Also the McDonald's had no outlets to charge. So I stayed there for a bit and then walked next door to taco bell to see if they had outlets. And they did. Also I was able to pick up a wifi signal from a Starbucks right next to it. And I uploaded the videos.
       As I sat there I updated my location on twitter. Then 2 ladies showed up and brought me athletic tape for my knees. They talked with me a while and said they would pray for me, then left.
      Then a while later Terry, the guy who's house I stayed at in Brandon came by on his way home from work. He bought $30 of $5 McDonald's gift cards and gave those so I can pass them out to more homeless along the way. He offered to have me come back to his house to rest longer. But I didn't want to back track that far. He also offered to get me a hotel room across the street, but I told him I was alright and would figure it out. We hungout a bit then he left.
       A little later 4 more people that were all friends came to say hi. There were 2 guys and 2 girls and were around 22 years old. We talked for a while and they were inspired by my stories. I enjoyed talking and sharing with them some of my experiences. While we sat there a dumb (can't talk) kid came up trying to raise money for baseball uniforms. I gave him $20 and they also gave him money. They stayed a while longer and then took off. The 2 guys returned about 15 minutes later and brought me $24 and a $15 I tunes gift card. That was pretty cool.
       After that it was getting late. My knees were hurting still, and I didn't want to walk anymore the rest of the night. So I walked across to the Starbucks and found a spot behind the dumpster that was hidden. I made my bed there and I was out of sight. My bed was on grass too so I hoped my knees would be more comfortable for sleeping. I laid there a little while then fell asleep around 11.