"you're so money and you don't even know it."


there's a good chance that you are missing something special that's right here, under your nose. if you are a casual or committed visitor to this page, you may or you may not have tried out any of the links to your right in an effort "to pass the time". if you have, you've probably noticed that most of the blogs that i've linked to never update. you may also have noticed that i refuse to believe my favorite nfl player of all time doesn't share a relationship with my favorite team anymore. to the former point, though, if the lack of updates have caused you to stop checking one blog in particular, well, then, i am here today to tell you you're missing out.

scrolling down a page and following directions can, sometimes, be tiresome, so i am going to do all of the work for you. every link you'll need to be in the know and join in the fun will be connected to this post. don't you worry.

now, what the hell are you talking about?

i am getting to it. i just want to make sure and not sell the effort short, because the effort of it all is what truly mesmerizes me.

a young man, jacob sutton, that found his way through my youth group at huffman is currently hiking the appalachian trail. not part of it, mind you, but his goal is to hike the entire freaking thing!

now, at this point in our respective lives, i would call jacob a friend. i think he would probably say the same about me. i hope so. a relationship forged initially with me in the role of mentor and him figuratively under my wing has transitioned (as most of those relationships have) into one of mutual respect and admiration. one that has no problem finding bad to decent mexican food to serve as catalyst to conversations ranging from recalling the "good ole days" to wondering what this crazy life is all about already.

having said all of that, i will say that i don't know jacob inside and out, and there are parts of him that i don't fully understand.

first and foremost, why on god's green and mountainous earth would he want to spend five months out in the forests of several states traveling on foot to godknowswhere, maine??? this mystery, above all others in my life currently, is keeping me up on some nights, on those nights that i choose to think too hard about it.

to me and in my own very narrow-minded opinion, there has got to be something tangible that drives jacob and others to do such a thing. as cool and critical to whomever's life experience i could be thinking about right now, this is something different than a month spent overseas, studying and soaking in a culture different than your own. i know the two experiences share parallels, but they are...different. different in ways that, both, are amazing and fun for me to think about. different in ways that convince me i have very little interest in mirroring either type of experience.

similar in that, to a homebody like myself, they both incite the always present question of "why?" and "wheretofore?", the answers to which i find most fascinating and enlightening.

where is jacob going? and i don't mean, "where in maine...?"

why is he going? and i don't mean to hear, "because he can."

what is there to find? it surely can't just be about the bears, right?

and maybe it is. and maybe it's not. that's all part of it. and i love that he's doing it. because i never could. because i don't like being wet. and i don't like bugs. and i hate when my feet are sore. and i think mountains are god's way of telling me that i should go back to where i came from. and i know that unless it's about sports or fistfights, i am a pretty whiny little girl.

i am comfortable in my own skin, love it or leave it. when i have traveled in my life, the experiences have only illuminated that i am where i am supposed to be. some birds need to fly away to find themselves. some only need to be punched in the face. count me in the second group. and count me happy to say that with confidence at a relatively young age. i don't begrudge the flyers. i only hope to understand them more. at least, those that i care about.

jacob is a flyer, and i only wish to understand him more.

i feel lucky that he's opened up this journey for "all the world to see". it's likely you have no idea (at least yet) that he's gone. you do now. you can know more too if you are interested.

turns out, it seems like one of jacob's many talents is seeing the world as a camera might find her. click here for proof.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobdsutton/

turns out, it seems like one of jacob's many talents is describing his voyage on the good ship "AT" in a way that makes you feel like you are there with him. click here for proof.

http://trailjournals.com/jacob

i am quite aware of the many, many books that have been written about the appalachian trail, it's history, it's purpose, it's champions, it's detractors, the victors, the spoils and every life that's been touched and published because their feet touched that dirt. i don't know those people, though, and they don't really interest me.

i know jacob. he is quite interesting. and so i am living the journey, his journey, vicariously through him in the hopes that i'll know him better when and if he ever comes home. i'd invite you to do the same. i would tell you that it's worth your time. he is, after all, one of us.

that hasn't always mattered, but maybe it should. and maybe that might help solve some of our problems going forward. how will you know if you don't give it a shot, right?

jacob has a long way to go, yet.

he and i, both.

care to follow?