Latest Update from Karla

Subj: Jackson, Mississippi
Date: 3/11/2003 11:09:46 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: kbwalk@mymailstation.com

Howdy Everyone!
   I've had a great couple days in Jackson with the group from the Epilepsy Foundation. On saturday I walked 24 miles from Transylvania, LA to Tallulah and then got a motel. Early sunday morning, Joanne White, Executive Director for the Epilepsy Foundation, came and picked me up. We then headed for Episcopal Church of the Creator in Clinton, Mississippi. The priest introduced me in church, and I had a great visit with everyone there. Then we had lunch at Xan's Diner, where I had fried dill pickles for the first time ever. Then I had a great hamburger, and after that I had a banana split -- and NO, I'm not pregnant!
   After that we went to a Patio & Garden show going on at the fairgrounds, and the Epilepsy Foundation had a booth there at the fair to hand out brochures. So we unloaded my cart and pushed it to the booth, and showed everyone my map and brochures. Another lady who works for the EF, Dorothy Quarles, had made arrangements for me to talk at Lakeshore Baptist Church in Jackson that evening, so at 6:00pm Joanne and I were heading for the Baptist Church. The pastor turned the entire evening service over to me, and I talked for over 45 minutes. They all had so many questions to ask! It was a great evening, and when I left from there I handed $150 to Joanne for the Epilepsy Foundation.
   Then on monday I spent quite a bit of time at the office updating all my material, and on tuesday the day started mighty early. Joannes alarm went off at 4:30, and by 6:00am we were on the road heading to NBC affiliate WLBT Channel 3 News, where I did an interview on the air at 6:30. After that we got some breakfast, and from there we headed for the Capitol. My main reason to going to the Capitol was to get a police patch that says "Capitol Police" on it, and boy, was that an experience. Instead of the usual half minute it takes to walk into the office and ask for a patch, Joanne and I got to ride in a police car over to another building and get a patch from there. Joanne wasn't sure what all was going on, and as she was climbing into the backseat of the police cruiser, I could hear her comically mumbling "but officer, I just work for a non-profit....." I just cracked up when she said that, but we had a fun ride over and back. Then, when we were back at the Capitol, I looked up in the rotundra and saw the door that said "Governor" over it on the third floor. I asked Joanne if I walked up there, if she'd take a picture of me from down below. So I headed up the stairs and just as I was getting there, a lady said "I saw you on the news this morning!" I visited with her for a moment, and then asked if there would be any way that I could shake the Governor's hand, and she said "wait right here" and went into his office. I, meanwhile, was frantically flagging to Joanne to GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW! and she came running up the stairs. Sure enough, the photographer came and took several pictures of Joanne and I and Governor Ronnie Musgrove. So my experience at the Capitol in Jackson Mississippi was pretty memorable -- first I got hauled off by a police officer, and then I was shaking the Governor's hand!
   After that we went to T'Ables, a shoe store to purchase my fifteenth pair of shoes. The owner's son has epilepsy, and they gave me 2 pairs of New Balance shoes, some socks, and some gear. He also lined up a radio interview that I'll do early tomorrow morning.
   Joanne has also made quite a few connections for me as I head down to Natchez, MS and then when I get past New Orleans and back into Mississippi again. She's planning on meeting up with me again next week in Natchez, and also when I'm down in Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. In fact, she has been a professional Girl Scout for many, many years, and she is planning on meeting up with me in several places down south to camp out with me! Tonight I'm planning on camping out at a State Park -- my first night tenting it in quite awhile. The weather has been beautiful, up in the 70's, and tonight it's suppose to get down to 55, so that'll be fine.
   Y'all take care and have a great day! KB

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