What did Peter learn overall??
Peter learned the widespread differences in variety of people when he walked across America. He learned the importance of setting goals and reaching for what you want. He met many, many people and encountered many obstacles and still made his dream come true.
Peter's Quotes
“Mileage craziness is a serious condition that exists in many forms. It can hit unsuspecting travelers while driving cars, motorcycles, riding in planes, crossing the country on bicycles or on foot. The symptoms may lead to obsessively placing more importance on how many miles are traveled than on the real reason for the traveling...On foot, in a van, on a fleet motorcycle or on a bicycle, a person must be very careful not to become overly concerned with arriving.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 3, Pg. 28
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 3, Pg. 28
“After living in Smokey Hollow these three months my bearded face was darkened to a tan, and for more than a moment, I couldn't tell what color I was. Black is what I saw and what I expected to see. I grabbed a towel and rubbed to get a clear look. No, I was white. At least my skin was. I had been through so much with my family here, and all I had seen was black faces, that I forgot for a split second that I wasn't black too. For weeks after the flood in the bathroom, I remembered the morning I forgot my skin color.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 18, Pg. 165
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 18, Pg. 165
“Cooper's tremendous love and energy and unchained freedom had captured life itself. Now, as the last shovelful covered him forever, I knew I would always carry a big piece of Cooper Half Malamute with me until I too was covered by the earth.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 22, Pg. 207
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 22, Pg. 207
“As the lifetime-long days passed I began to notice a profound cleansing taking place in myself as we were inmersed in the peaceful Pennsylvania farm valleys. The streams and cotton-clean clouds washed my soul and I felt myself opening up to the world.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 3, Pg. 29
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 3, Pg. 29
“Still, as much as I had experienced, there was more waiting to be found. I had started out with a feeling of burning dullness and desperation. Now I was filled with a thrill and expectation of new discovery.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 29, Pg. 266
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 29, Pg. 266
“No more distractions. The elation of finally being alone was total. We walked straight west. I had everything I needed in the world resting comfortably on my shoulders, and the entire country waiting to be discovered.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 4, Pg. 44
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 4, Pg. 44
“It had happened again. I had met another American whose generosity, it began to seem to me, gushed out of the spirit of this land.”
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 9, Pg. 86
- Peter Jenkins, Chapter 9, Pg. 86