The Great Big Beautiful Walk
I am very grateful for this opportunity. I want it good. I’m not at all sure how things will work out, but I pray a lot for me to be kind. There is so much going on that I often miss things. I focus on walking. It’s one thing through which I have felt success, even when things have not gone as I expected. Part of me walks because I don’t know what else to do. Another part of me walks because I know this is what I’m supposed to do.
Thanks to Kirsty Thompson for the above photo
“Follow the walk” is a daily journal of the Great Big Beautiful Walk and has pictures audio and video as forms of data. I often talk to my phone to record notes as well.
The Aftermath
I have ended the Great Big Beautiful Walk with huge Thanks to God. I walked well over 3000k which was my goal, and I got to do some true road adventure that I talk about below. The weather was awesome, the people were all over the place… some over the top supportive and others not so much. My intention is to learn from both. For the next month I’ll be collecting my notes and making more notes and trying to connect this Great Big Beautiful walk to sociology. September 16 2026
Sosillylogical Peace
Now I intend to reconstruct the Great Big Beautiful Walk into the Great Big Beautiful Sosillylogical research project. I have recorded a number of observations that I think will blossom through the lens of Goffman, Becker and Garfinkel. I’m pretty excited about getting started.
Field Research
This study of the Peace Movement is hugely influenced by three Sociologists. Erving Goffman Howard Becker and Harold Garfinkel. The bulk of my research has a strong Participant observation component and much of the data is collected on my Peace Walks of which there are about 10 over a period of 30 years. Sometimes, the data is loosely tied to my walks as in the data (pictures) that comes next.
My granddaughter and I were playing over at her place yesterday. It was the second meeting. I was there for an hour before supper. I found this little Betty Boop box, opened it up and it was empty I told her that it reminded me of her mom. We had a short play and as I left she gave me the little Betty Boop heart box, and said don’t open it till you get home. Now it’s good to keep in mind that my granddaughter is 6. When I got home, I opened it up and I got this little letter with a little heart cut out beside it. She must’ve done it while I wasn’t looking but this is data for me. The feeling that I got when I opened this little box and saw the message and the heart, is magic and a lot like the feeling I get when people honk, or wave, stop to chat and or invite me to have lunch. This ranks high on my list of good… really high. This is where I build my concept of Value. It starts with my mom, and my granddaughter named after my mom is carrying the love and the humor I have grown rather fond of.
I am trying to identify my bias early, I feel a little bit like Howard Zinn when he said you can’t be neutral on a moving train, we will go into what that might mean, as we proceed, but the basic notion of if you see something you can’t live with well then do something about it, and what Howard saw at the end of the second world war was an unjust world that continued injustice. I see is love and kindness as being a central concept
Thanks to Logan
There is an awesome effort going on right now. My niece sent this to me a few weeks ago when we first talked. I think this is something we can get behind if you care about peace.
PEACE WALK NEWS
https://www.facebook.com/walkforpeaceusa
There is a significant difference between what I am up to and what these monks are offering. I am the everyday fool who loves this world. I misunderstand, I screw up, I do stupid things like marijuana and other shit too. Im not a particularly good person, but I don’t think I’m really bad either. I think I’m a regular guy, whatever that is. And I want to do my part. I’m more of a clown in my own mind. And for myself, my walk is intended as a Yoko Ono influenced advertisement. For a lot of people I will be a joke. That is intentional and hopefully disarming. I have several costumes and a few characters that given the right set of circumstances I will unveil. I’ve started off with Banal which I think of as a clown. AnOno, who is directly influenced by Yoko Ono will rise if the opportunity presents itself.
The ‘Great Big Beautiful Walk’ is another Peace Walk. Ive done these before and love the adventure.
This walk is one long hug, and ends with a special hug for Donald Trump and America itself.
I’m not really walking to protest anything; although there are some obvious things like war, hate cruelty, but I’m walking to offer something. A bit of peace, a bit of kindness, and a genuine caring hug at the border for anyone who wants one.
,This is a classroom with walls I can’t see. Where the lessons come from the land, the people I meet and the miles under my feet.
The Past
I talk about my past here
The Recent Past
2011 – I decided to take a walk
I kept an electronic journal very similar to my dads journal during the war.
I had done several Walks in past years as a peace advocate, and one I did with my dog, Jinny, because I thought it would be a great adventure. It was. And then in 2011 I did a long one from whitehorse. I have lots of pictures but I also wrote some emails that I saved. Its pretty cryptic but, they trigger some memory like
From: ott.ott.sc@gmail.com Date: August 17, 2011 9:04:08 PM PDT
Subject: Acouple visits guy and wife
Acouple nice visits guy and wife Two year old twins. Lost a baby
This kind of thing happened lots of days. I would take a break and often people would stop to make sure everything was ok and we would start talking. There were conversations every day from lots of directions but this one was just a gentle flowing conversation but there was more to it. They told me about the baby they had just lost, and we hugged. It was one of those moments.
The next day I met Pearl. All I wrote was
Girl pEarl walking twenty minutes Started to rain Special time
This, maybe 17 – 19 year old, walked with me and we talked for miles. I knew I would remember her for ever, and that’s what I told her because she is that special.
****Hear here is my warning****
This is important… I am a regular guy, but I have a very bad memory. One of the worst things that happened to me on the walk was that after meeting Pearl and having this super visit, a week later Pearl dropped in on me again while I was still on the road, and I didn’t know who she was, her boyfriend was with her, and he told me while she was recovering . This turned out to be a good lesson for me, but I hope I meet Pearl again because that last visit should not be the end for the pearl she is, and the walk we had together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BQrYuge4IE
Blame Yoko Ono
AnOno is heavily influenced by Yoko, Banal as well but AnOno is directly hijacked from baggism,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DhFbqBsyDA
AnOno, Banal, and Yoko Ono
I’m the student here.
My teacher is curiosity joy love pain…. life and non life
And the walk is where I embrace peace, knowledge, and health —
step by step, day by day,
all the way to the Arch.
Earth Passion
‘Earth Passion’ is a game I am creating to help me get the most out of my Walks. A great deal of the game will be devoted to my exploration of Various Peace Walks including my own. It will be an adventure game where you win by playing, gaining perspective from Sosillyology along the way.
Interact with ScOtt Ai. Meet me on one of the walks and see what I say. Suggest an idea make it happen change your world