Walk across state benefits St. Jude
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Just five days into his 543-mile walk across Tennessee to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Eric Latham found himself in familiar territory Wednesday.
Back home. Beginning Aug. 26 in Mountain City, the owner of Johnson City Brewing had already walked 75 miles through Shady Valley, Bristol and Kingsport before he navigated his way into Johnson City on Aug. 29.
After spending one more night at home, Latham’s last stop Wednesday morning before heading west was Shana Whitaker’s kindergarten class at South Side Elementary School, where his daughter McKenna is a student.
Before entering the classroom, Latham was greeted by a hallway display, crafted by Whitaker’s class, that detailed the lead-up to his Walk Across Tennessee through newspaper clippings, photos and a map.
Nearly every student’s face conveyed excitement when Latham stepped into the room with his bulky backpack and elongated walking stick.
Crouched down on one knee, Latham began the informal discussion by pulling out a large map of Tennessee and describing his journey.
Before Latham could utter the words “Can anyone tell me what this is a map of?” several hands went up and a couple students couldn’t help but blurt the answer.
“Is this our first field trip?” one student asked, followed by a few laughs.
While covering a range of topics, Latham explained everything from why he records his trip in a journal to how he found his current walking stick.
He actually found the
“You can’t take any rides, and that means no vehicles at all. No bicycles, no skateboards, no roller skates, and I can’t take a ride in a car. I have to walk every step of the 543 miles.”
— HIKER ERIC LATHAM, WHO IS RAISING MONEY
FOR ST. JUDE BY WALKING ACROSS THE STATE
stick at Fall Creek Falls State Park while watching the solar eclipse, a topic students couldn’t resist expounding on.
Latham explained to the students about his dedication to complete the walk solely by foot. “You can’t take any rides, and that means no vehicles at all. No bicycles, no skateboards, no roller skates, and I can’t take a ride in a car.
“I have to walk every step of the 543 miles.”
One student responded to that with, “My grandma drives 100 miles.”
Latham’s other explanations included how he would brush his teeth, how he would keep himself company and where he planned to sleep on the road.
Undoubtedly, the most important explanation was why Latham would walk across the state in the first place, and the answers sat cross-legged right before his eyes.
With a goal of raising $10,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by the end of his trip, Latham asked the students if any were familiar with its local affiliate at Niswonger Children’s Hospital. Some were, and one student said she had been treated there.
“This is what it’s all about, right?” Latham said later. “Even one of the kids in there said she had been to St. Jude. I was so excited to meet with them because these are the ones we’re trying to help.”
“I’m in there sharing with them my experience about this walk, but we can learn a lot from kids. They’ve got an excitement for life, a vigor to learn and (they) can teach lessons on how to better live. At the end of the day, this is very simply about taking care of our children.”
Before leaving town, Latham followed through with a promise to get a high-five from each student. Then he was off toward Niswonger Children’s Hospital to greet its staff before making his way toward Jonesborough.
He had stops in Greeneville, Newport, Sevierville and Knoxville before taking a rest day on Labor Day. The rest of this week will take him to Farragut, Kingston, Rockwood, Crossville and Sparta. He is scheduled to walk into Memphis on Oct. 1, the 37th day of his trek.
This journey isn’t Latham’s first long-distance walk. In 2005, he trekked from North Carolina to San Francisco to raise $21,000 for cancer research.
To follow Latham across the state, visit www.facebook.com/takestepswithapurpose or www.walkacrosstennessee.org. To donate to St. Jude as part of the Walk Across Tennessee campaign, click on the “Donate” link at the top of the page.