SHALLOW SHILOH

Though it doesn’t register on any digital map I use, today’s handful of miles took me across the small, rural community of Shiloh. I didn’t even know the community existed, till I met locals today who told me that this was the name of the community. At first, I didn’t hear correctly: “Shallow? Like shallow water??”
“No, Shiloh.”
I still often find myself slowly getting used to pronunciation variations found in many parts of the country. In many parts of the rural South, the man’s name “Jim” sounds like “jam” to me, but knowing that no mother here names her son after a jar of strawberry preserves, it’s effortless to quickly understand the Jim-jam difference. Other words, including far less common words, carry the potential to confuse me. It took a friendly local gentleman to actually spell out the name of his community to me, for me to understand that no, I hadn’t reached the community of “Shallow, Georgia,” I’d just arrived to “Shiloh, Georgia”!
I should clarify that I’m not even trying in the slightest to pretend that my pronunciation is superior. Not at all. I’m the foreigner here, so if anyone has an accent around here, it’s me. Having formally studied four foreign languages, and having learned to speak two of them proficiently (Spanish & Portuguese) amid nearly two years in Latin America, I’ve long lost any ignorant, idiotic ego barrier of somehow thinking that only in places outside my little home community is where people have accents–but never I. Therefore, if I’m to learn to speak like a local, I’ll tell them just how sweet I find the people of “shallow” (Shiloh) to be.

BARNETT BOOMERANG
Buck & Beverly Barnett, who almost feel like family now as I reach a third night of their sweet Georgia hospitality, are very kindly giving me “boomerang support” for today’s miles. Though I spent a number of hours earlier today working on communications, hosting and shipments which I’ll soon be meeting in South Carolina, I also still wanted to walk a few miles amid today’s awesome 80-degree weather– and Buck & Beverly helped to make that possible for me–offering to pick me up at the end of today’s walk, and return me tomorrow to my exact stopping point–to connect all the steps for tomorrow’s miles to Royston.

Learning today that I’ve been invited to speak to Fowler Elementary School, which is nearly twenty miles behind me, Buck & Beverly will take me back there early Friday afternoon to speak to the K-5 students. They then will drop me off in Shiloh, at the exact address at which I left off today (home of Tony & Audrey), allowing me to easily connect all the steps and continue walking the handful of remaining miles into Royston tomorrow afternoon, where I’m to be hosted at the home of their friends Mike & Tim.

Today's miles quickly ushered me out of little Ila and into the beautiful rural countryside surrounding Georgia Hwy 174.

Nearly halfway into today's miles, a door opens and a voice calls out to me: "Would you like some water?"

!\” \”S-H-I-L-O-H: [Shallow!]\”"]

"Welcome to Shiloh! S-H-I-L-O-H: Shiloh!"

After first barking at me, this shy-for-five-seconds youngster gave me a very warm, wet, energetic welcome outside the local evangelical church-- running laps around me! I stopped, petted, and played with him for a few minutes before moving on. Though keeping his eyes on me, his new playmate, as I walked away, Thank God he didn't try to follow me!

Peaceful, rural Georgia Highway 174

Rusty Roadside Relics

By the end of the day, I'd reached Georgia Hwy 29, a much busier highway. Though the quietest roads are make for my favorite walks, a common benefit of busier highways is more roadside shoulder space to walk on. Case in point: freshly-mowed green grass. Ahead on the right, the sweet couple Tony & Audrey are about to walk out their front driveway to introduce themselves to me. (!!)

Tony had driven by me a few minutes earlier, read my sign, and informed Audrey, his wife, upon arriving home, just up the road from me. By the time I reached their Shiloh home, they'd both come out to the front of their driveway to greet me and offer me water. As it turned out, the Brilliant Barnett Boomerang caught up to me here, while speaking with Tony & Audrey. I therefore will be continuing from their driveway tomorrow. Thanks, Everyone!!