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The Great American Walkabout
The Great American Walkabout
The Great American Walkabout
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The Great American Walkabout

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They set out with only a few dollars in their pockets and a message to share with the world, “Believe, and everything is possible.”

The Great American Walkabout is the story of three men who set off to make their dreams come true. In March 2011 Edwin Bond, Michael Nelsen, and Bulla Lepen committed themselves to walking over 3,000 miles from San Francisco to New York City. They had set out to find adventure and to discover the beauty and majesty of the American Continent, but they also discovered truths about themselves along the way.

Despite severe weather, general inexperience, and little money, the three magicians accomplished an incredible feat of endurance and perseverance.

Here are the stories from their life-changing voyage across the nation; from what inspired them to how they managed to pull together through difficulties and countless challenges. This is an incredible true story of overcoming obstacles, confronting fears, and having the courage to believe.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherEdwin Bond
Release dateMar 1, 2013
ISBN9780307730886
The Great American Walkabout
Author

Edwin Bond

Edwin Bond is an adventurer, entertainer, and entrepreneur from Hawaii. In 2011 he sold his successful straightjacket business and everything he owned to coordinate and lead a group of magicians on an incredible journey of discovery on foot across the United States. Enthusiastic, with a passion for adventure and exploration, Edwin is earnestly devoted to living life to the fullest. Today he lives and works in Hawaii while planning and preparing for his next great adventure.

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Building upon the best-selling success of his first book, Life Without Limits, Nick Vujicic-an internationally-known motivational speaker and evangelist- returns with Unstoppable - The Incredible Power of Faith in Action. And let's be honest: who doesn't want to surf the waves, almost naked with icy mountains in sight and a smile on your face? Even without arms & legs, because, according to Vujicic everyone can experience the released powers from above. Yes, a lot of self-affirmation, positive language, goal-setting, and feel good messages, dipped in )(American) Christianity. The dream come true: a ministry, speaking opportunities all over the globe, successful book sales, DVD's and even a genuine girlfriend willing to break off her relationship with a boyfriend to start a new one with Nick.Faith in action....according to the author. And yes, there's such thing as a financial crisis, even hitting Life Without Limbs and Attitude is Altitude Headquarters. Still, you can overcome personal crisis, relationship issues, career and job challenges, health and disability concerns, self-destructive thoughts, emotions, and addictions. Get rid of bullies, persecutors, cruelty and intolerance. Seek ye first balance in body, mind, heart and spirit and serve others. Leaders lead the way, followers believe them. And, obviously, Nick Vujicic wants to be a leader, a source of inspiration to others.Faith in action sounds like a mantra in this book. It leaves me puzzling what exactly is meant. In the real world I discovered there are more complex problems that can't be solved by positive affirmation and re-programming your paradigms, and beliefs system alone. I missed certain human elements. OK, you see an adorable, beautiful girl, like the one dreamt of all of your life. You dare to move, break the ice and start a conversation. Kanae returns your signals. The electricity is powerful.......and now let God enter the stage, give his approval, pray and fast about it.Note the huge, if not overwhelming amount of "I..." sentences in the book. It's the unstoppable, enthusiastic, energy-driven Nick...alone. Of course, his audience will admire his position, both private and professional despite his physical disabilities. But, what's next to the "Yes, you can!" message?

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The Great American Walkabout - Edwin Bond

TGA_Walkabout_38.5x5.5.jpgfinal_walk_map2.png

The Great American

Walkabout

By Edwin Bond

This book is dedicated to the many people who were required to make it happen. From the friends who encouraged us in the beginning, to the many people who supported us along the way. Finally, to the people who helped me to tell this story. This Walkabout was not ours, but yours, as you were with us every step of the way.

Table of Contents.

Introduction .......................................................................1.1. HI. Leaving Home and Letting Go.................................3.

2. CA. Dreams Vs. Reality.................................................20. 3. NV. Moving Forward.....................................................44.

4. ID. Angels Exist..............................................................64.

5. WY. Time to Toughen Up............................................83.

6. SD. Journey Through the Heart of America...............115.

7. MN and WI. The Path Less Traveled...........................132.

8. IL. Chicago....................................................................148.

9. IN. Humble Pie............................................................162.

10. OH. Cleveland Rocks !...............................................172.

11. PA. Changing.............................................................185.

12. NJ and NYC. The End of the Road............................195.

Afterward. Walking With God........................................208.Appendix

Excerpt from WILD HARMONY ..................................211.

Acknowledgements..........................................................213.

Introduction

I’m going on a Walkabout!

-Crocodile Dundee

As I write this, the small town I am in is bustling with activity. Everyone seems to be busy, getting ready for their largest annual event, taking place this weekend. I am in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and the town is getting ready for Applefest; an event that they expect will draw over 100,000 people this year! Apparently Johnny Appleseed walked through here on his path across the United States, and planted some of the thousands of apple trees that now are the reason for the activity around town. Perfect, I think; how funny that the man who inspired me to walk across America as a small boy would have left a legacy here in the town where I stopped to write my own story.

Right now I am hiding out in the library, frantically working to update my website and write the story of my walk across the country. I have walked approximately 3,000 miles now, and am 7 months into my 8 month journey. We have only 360 miles left to get to New York City, and we hope to get there by Halloween only three weeks away! Now that I’ve gotten this far, all I can think about is how I got started, and why.

In the end, when you peel back all the layers and cut to the heart of this journey, what you will find are literally the steps that the three of us, myself Edwin Bond, Michael Nelsen, and Bulla Lepen, took to make our dreams come true.

Chapter 1.
Hawaii.
Leaving Home and Letting Go

Never take counsel of your fears.

-General George S. Patton

The answer I was looking for came suddenly and unexpectedly in October 2010 while sewing together a straightjacket that would be used as a Halloween costume for a customer of mine. Michael Nelsen worked with me in my costume shop, and did the leather for my custom creations. I hired him to teach him my business, but I was unhappy with his progress. Frustrated with him, I asked him what he wanted, what his dreams were. He answered suddenly, I want to walk across America!

His answer startled me, and instantly it all came together. This was what I needed to do! I stopped sewing, slowly swiveled around in my chair to face him, and said, Lets see what we can do to make that happen!

My dream, which I had had for years, was to drive around the world. My dream was huge and overly ambitious, and I didn’t even know how to get started. When I heard Michael’s idea, it all came together.

It was an adventure, it was risky, and it was ambitious! I had to ask a few questions to make sure we were on the same page. Do you really mean Walk? Not ride a bike, or hitchhike? Like the pioneers, you want to walk? Why do you want to walk, why not drive? Michael told me that he read Peter Jenkin’s book, A Walk Across America, and thought it would be a great adventure. The gears in my mind started turning immediately, inspiration hit me like lightning!

I saw the whole trip and all the potential flash in front of me in an instant. I was going through some pretty hard times, and needed a risky endeavor to force me to change myself, my habits, and my consciousness. This was it, falling into my lap.

The walk across America would be a great first step for my larger dream of driving around the world. If I could prove to myself that I could handle this first challenge, then maybe I would be able to tackle the much larger and more ambitious project. This was an opportunity for me to test and prove myself, and start taking my first steps forward.

Bursting out of my skin with excitement I quizzed Mike. I asked him all kinds of questions to see how serious he was. I asked if this was a real dream, or just a flight of fancy. Would he be committed, or drop out half way through? How long had he been planning, dreaming about this? Did he have any money saved up? How much would we need? Could he raise any at all?

I certainly took Michael by surprise. My energy and enthusiasm must have over-powered him. I don’t think Michael ever really thought he would go all the way through with this idea, or that other people would want to join him. I jumped on board and starting making plans right away; within a few minutes I had begun to map it out. In my flash of inspiration, I saw months unfold in just a few seconds. I saw us overcoming obstacles and growing stronger. I saw people behind us, encouraging and cheering us on, and people ahead of us, welcoming and beckoning us forward. I never told Michael this, but in those few minutes I had already completed the whole trip in my mind, which is why I was always so confident.

Let me tell you who I am before we go any further. My name is Edwin Bond, and I was still trying to discover just exactly who I was. I had built up identities to try to define myself. I had been a magician, escape artist, juggler, actor, street performer, entrepreneur, Army medic, and on and on and on. I had never before found an identity that completely described or defined me. It bothered me a little when I met new people and they asked me what I did for a living, I would get a little uncomfortable and say, Um, well, I make straightjackets. My friends had a hard time introducing me to new people, This is Eddie, he’s a …magician? What do you do these days? Escape artist?

At this time in my life I was running a straightjacket manufacturing business. I had started the business because straightjackets are hard to find. I needed straightjackets for my escape shows, but what was available was either very expensive or low quality. I had plenty of experience repairing the low quality jackets that I had bought on ebay, and I had a lot of ideas on how to improve the designs.

Within 4 years I was swamped with orders. My business doubled or tripled every year, even in 2008, 2009, and 2010 when the economy crashed and most businesses failed. It was almost impossible to keep up with all the orders.

I was looking for an escape; my straightjacket business was restraining me, and I wanted to let go somehow. The casual and care-free attitude that Michael had irritated me at first, because I saw that I was jealous of his freedom. At first I thought Michael was an idiot, and I told him this often. But sometimes our teachers come in the most unlikely forms.

Michael had flown to Hawaii from California on a whim, following some friends who had wanted to go. He just packed up and left, with no plan, no job, no return ticket, and little money. His situation turned when the friends he was staying with kicked him out unexpectedly. The money he did have, he gave away to some girls he had met in Waikiki. Almost immediately he was homeless, hungry, and alone.

I met Michael at juggling practice down by the beach. He wanted to learn how to juggle, and do magic. He struck me as a weird guy, but so are most people who are interested in magic and juggling, so I figured we would get along. He was friendly and we ended up with mutual friends right away. Our mutual friend Billy let Michael crash on his couch, and I ended up offering him a job making and tooling leather for my straightjacket business.

Michael is basically a big kid. Though he was 24 when we met, he was about 5 foot 3 inches tall, and weighed only 110 pounds. He even acted like a kid, he would get real excited about little things like music or comic books, and he loved to watch and talk about movies. He sort of seemed like a little brother. He was foolish at times, but also very free and un-restrained. He had no schedule or clock, no responsibilities and no cares.

Michael seemed to have the answer I was looking for, but before I made any decisions that I would regret, I had to be sure he wasn’t a total flake who would back out or quit on me.

So I grilled Mike and asked him all kinds of questions. I talked to his friends, and started studying him to see if he would keep his commitments. He was homeless and broke, and on his first payday with me, I paid him $400 cash on a Friday. When he showed up for work again on Monday, he was penniless again. I asked where all his money went, and he said he had paid back a friend that he owed money to. This was the same guy who had ditched him in Hawaii and left him homeless and alone! He felt so strongly about paying back his debts, that he took care of them first…even though he was literally starving! That seemed like a foolish thing to do, but an indicator that he kept his word and honored commitments.

Another reason that I felt he would commit to the walk was that every night he would go out to the street and perform magic. He wasn’t very good at it, and he hardly made any money. He would work the street for hours and maybe make $3 or $4. I told him he would be better off working for me for $10 an hour. However, he wanted to practice street performing, and he was committed to it, no matter how discouraging it was for him. I actually admired that quality. I started to feel better about going along with him.

I wanted to do the walk for several reasons, one was to get away from the city and my business, and just enjoy life again. I wanted to get back into performing, and meeting people, and I wanted to be more physically active. I also needed some time to put my thoughts together, the idea of a long walk was romantic to me, and offered the chance to re-energize my spirit. I just needed to make the trip, whatever that entailed, and whatever came our way. I needed a change. I needed a new purpose, a new project, one bigger than me. One that I could focus all my energy on. I needed to see things from a new perspective.

I was stressed out all the time, working too much, and taking life too seriously. I was 27 years old, and living like a hermit. I lived right on the beach in Hawaii, and hardly ever went out to the beach.

I was also unhappy with my relationship with my girlfriend Kiana. We fought all the time, and just couldn’t get out of that pattern.

While there seemed to be ten thousand reasons to do the walk, really it all just came together with what seemed like divine timing.

Over the weeks I started making a lot of plans in my head for how I could make it work. It would cost a lot of money for us to do this, and I didn’t have much saved up. We figured it could easily cost $15,000- $25,000 each in food alone since we would be on the road for year. Add to that camping equipment, clothes, numerous pairs of shoes, hotels, camp sites and unexpected expenses, and we figured this could get really pricy. Even if we were frugal, this would cost a fortune, one I didn’t have. Michael had nothing.

In order to come up with some kind of funding, I had this big dream of making TV shows for the Discovery Channel or the Travel Channel. I thought maybe we could videotape our adventures and journey and make a television show or documentary. We could decide what to do with it later, or at least make a YouTube channel so people could follow our adventures, watch our progress, and experience the countryside as if they were right there with us.

We would film interesting places around America, talk about the history of the places we would go to, where the most exciting attractions are, and give insights on what to do, where to stay, or where to eat. Our job was to discover, explore, and showcase this incredible country. This meant that our route would have to go through some of America’s most interesting places, and we would have to keep the show the top priority when picking a route. We did not choose the shortest or fastest route across the country, we took one of the more scenic routes, and we made many detours. If there was a special event in a town that we wanted to shoot, we might have to go out of our way to do it.

The idea to document the journey actually provided the means to make the journey happen. Since we were making a show, then we might be able to get some supporters or sponsors for our trip in exchange for some advertising. With a website, people could track our progress, view our photos and videos, read our journals, and find out all about us. We would post videos on our YouTube channel, and keep people updated through our Facebook and Twitter pages. As we progressed, these sites would grow, and would provide the means necessary to make the trip. Along the way, businesses might give us a meal or put us up for the night, and in exchange we could mention them on our social network. In essence, we would be able to trade our way across the country, and would need little money…at least that was what we hoped. I earnestly believed when we set out that eventually some big company like Nike, REI, or Subway would agree to officially sponsor us, though that never actually happened.

One thing I had to make clear to Michael, this was not a vacation, this is not running away, this is a working trip. We would be filming, researching, documenting, and advertising. It would be a fun job, but we would have a mission, a vision, and we would never deviate from that. I asked if he could handle it.

No, he said. I don’t want to do it like that. I would rather never do the walk, or take my time and do it over 2 or 3 years before doing it your way. I don’t care about the video, this is for me, this is my idea, I just want to go out there and get away from people."

This discouraged me, but I wouldn’t give up. I needed a way to get Michael on board, so I was more persuasive. I began my motivational speech. I imagined I was coach in the locker room, at half-time during a big game, when we were down 10 points. Here we go...

This is the chance of a lifetime. This is your dream come true. We document the highlights and our best experiences, and share that joy with the world. We can inspire others to live their passions and follow their dreams, much like your heroes have done for you. This isn’t about me or the TV show, those are just the means to put it all together and make it happen. We are on a mission my friend, a mission greater than us, of profound importance. We need to prove to the world, that even when times are hard, when businesses fail, and when people lose everything, they still have each other, and that when we come together as a team, we can do anything. We will show the world, that if you believe, you can do anything you put your mind to. Join me Michael, and we will make your dreams come true.

I had Michael on board again and we had a new mission, To Inspire People to live their Passions and Follow their Dreams. We also had our message, Believe and anything is possible. It took a little longer to write our vision statement:

We are walking from San Francisco to New York to find adventure, discover ourselves, experience this remarkable land, and meet the amazing people and incredible artists that make this country Great!

The only thing we needed was a name. A name for the website, the TV show, and for the book if I ever got around to writing it. A name to bring people together. That was the easy part. It came to me right away. The Great American Walkabout.For us the journey was not about making it to the end, but experiencing the journey along the way. The idea of a Walkabout struck me as exactly this kind of journey

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