February 28, 1997

THE JOGGER

About twenty minutes ago, started the long walk two mile walk over the mouths of the Cooper and Wando Rivers on the Cooper River Bridge between Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, SC. I had to take my time and go slowly because the walkway I was on was just a narrow strip of metal less than a foot wide.

I had to make sure that the bike wheels didn't slip off the walkway because it would have been at least a foot drop down to the pavement. Along with this, I had to stop and brace myself and the bike whenever any large trucks came zipping towards me heading southward to Charleston. The bridge also seemed to bounce with the heavy traffic. At least, there was no crosswind to deal with.

Between Dunn Island and Mt. Pleasant about halfway over the bridge, I got stopped by a jogger who was running the bridge from north to south. It turns out that the jogger was an Assembly of G-d minister from Kentucky who was on vacation. We talked for about twenty minutes. About three-fourths across the bridge, the pastor came up behind me and we stopped to talk for about another fifteen minutes.

Before he left to finish his run, the pastor told me that I should stop at his motel in Mt. Pleasant since it would not be too far off my route. When I got there, the pastor was out in front waiting for me. He told me that my story had really impressed him and he wanted to do something for me. I was really surprised when he handed me fifty dollars. Praise ADONAI!

This money went into my wallet with the five dollars that I received earlier in Charleston. The five dollars had been given to me from an air conditioner repairman. The repairman told me that he had taken a cross-country bicycle trip several years ago. Whenever he would come across another cycling tourist, he would slip them five dollars in remembrance of all the kindness that had been bestowed on him.