Pennsylvania is in the way

One of my favorite dark comedies is the 1997 film The House of Yes staring Parker Posey. Posey plays a woman that as been recently released from a mental hospital and she is obsessed with Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis. She even calls herself Jackie O and dresses up in vintage Jackie drag. Her character is smart but vicious and she has a silver tongue that she uses to deliver some wonderfully memorable lines. In my favorite scene, she blithely cuts down her brother’s fiancée (played by Tori Spelling) who is from Pennsylvania by declaring that she had never met anyone from Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvania is just a state that gets in the way when you are trying to go somewhere else.” Here is a link to the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLZJOlrD0g

After my first few days of hiking in Pennsylvania, I have to say that Jackie O is missing out for sure. The hiking is terrific here and the Trail cuts through some beautiful farm land. The hike today was 22 miles and the first half was really flat so we were flying. The second half got a lot rockier and that is what we are expecting for the rest of the state. Thru hikers have nicknamed the state “Rocksylvania” or another play on their state logo “You Have a Friend Rock in Pennsylvania.” I expect that it will slow us down for sure.

One of the things the Trail is teaching me is not to wish for something that I can’t change. I don’t really want to hike 200 miles across a rock pile but that is what there is so I have to accept it and move forward carefully. It will also require a lot of mental energy to get through this next section so that I can plan my steps carefully and avoid any nasty falls. Speed will have to take a back seat for now. The goal is Katahdin in one piece.

I’ve been dealing with the homesickness by scheduling some calls with friends. I had a great FaceTime with my friends Betty and Ernie yesterday and they are doing great. Betty is done with her stem cell treatment and she looks terrific. I’m going to connect with my godmother Alvina tomorrow. I know everyone is struggling with isolation right now and so glad we have this technology to help us out.