A Long Walk Home 2004
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This document, as you can see by the font, was written by Eric Labuda, for the purpose of answering questions I hear on a regular basis. It also attempts to answer questions I see in the faces of people I meet, but are not voiced. Please read this page to get a real understanding of what I am trying to accomplish this year.

1. Who are you?
2. Who is Woodrow T. Bear?
3. Eric, what's with the bear? Are you psychologically, or mentally, impaired?
4. Ok, then, why are you doing this?
   1. I'm going to see my father
   2. To prove that America is still safe to travel
   3. To prove that Americans are generous
   4. It's a rite of passage
   5. I want to complete something
   6. To find myself
   7. To gather material for a book
5. I'd love to donate, but I'd prefer to not do so online. How can I help?
6. More questions later as I find them.

1. Q) Who are you?
   A) My name is Eric Samuel Labuda. I am 37, or 38, depending upon when you read this. My birthdate is 24 March 1966. I was born in Everett, Washington, and moved to California when my parents split up. I lived with my mother from the ages of 2 through 12 in various parts of San Bernardino County, California. When I was 12, my mother gave my father custody, and my younger brother and I moved to Everett, WA. We lived in the same house on the 1300 block of Oakes Avenue from the time I arrived until the time I left home. I briefly lived with my mother after I graduated, and then with my maternal grandmother before entering the US Navy for a brief stint (8 months). Just before getting my discharge, I met my first wife, Jane. She was thirteen years older than me. We tested the water for about 8 months and then were married. My son, John, arrived the next year. She taught me to cook, and broadened many of my horizons. We had a thirteen year marriage that was mostly good, but our age difference led to my asking her for a divorce. Our divorce was amicable, and we are still on good speaking terms. John turns 18 in February 2004. I moved in with my current wife, Ann,very soon after I left Jane. This time we tested the waters for nearly two years before getting married. We got married on her parents wedding anniversary. Ann, too, has broadened my horizons in many ways. I'm a computer technician by trade, and used to be a programmer before Windows and Object Oriented Programming changed the world. My last major post was in the Product Group at Dell, testing new portables. That post ended in December, 2001. I have been diagonosed as Clinically Depressed, and as having ADHD. These diagnoses make me think of most of the adults in the country. I am not a Christian, rather I believe that most world religions have some good in them. For this reason, I take the good and ignore what I consider to be the bad. I don't have the Chutzpah to believe that I have any better understanding, and for this reason I try not to judge a person based on their religious affiliation, nor do I presume to tell others what religious, or moral, beliefs are correct. I believe in the Declaration of Independence issued in 1776, which stated: ...all men are created EQUAL...I don't believe that, at the time, these men knew what they were saying, but I believe that they stated a truth that was way ahead of its time. In fact, it seems to be ahead of our time, but I think that we're getting closer. At least now, there are no homo sapiens, in our country, who are legally considered to be 3/5ths of a man. We still have those elements who consider people who are different to be inferior, but I believe they are disappearing, or at least losing relevence. I could go on and on, but I think that this gives you a pretty good idea of who I am.
2. Q) Who is Woodrow T. Bear?
   A) Woodrow here: I think I'd like to answer this question, as I know me better than Eric does. I am a beaar of the Gerber Tender Loving Care genus. I was Ann's bear. When Ann's father was dying of a debilitating disease, Ann gave me to him to hold on to, because I was large enough that I was easy to hold. I stayed with her father for the last couple of months before he passed away. He was holding me when he finally let go. After that, I was enshrined in the spare bedrooms in Ann's mother's homes until Ann met Eric. When she finally decided that she was in love with him, she asked me to become his friend and protector, and to provide him the same friendship, love and companionship that I had provided her father. I guess you could say that I am a tangible expression of Ann's love. She has had me provide companionship for the two men who have been the greatest loves of her life. So now I travel with Eric whenever he leaves the apartment to go some place overnight. I went to Disney World with Eric on his and Ann's Honeymoon, I went to Disneyland with them in 2001, I've gone with them to every trip to San Antonio to see Ann's mom, and every trip to Houston to see their friend John, and Eric's son John. Now I'm with Eric on this trip.
3. Q) Eric, what's with the bear? Are you psychologically, or mentally, impaired?
   A) No, I'm none of the above. While it's true I'm depressive, and my mind flits from thought to thought, making it hard to complete anything, I am of greater than average IQ. My IQ has been tested as high enough to allow me into MENSA or the Triple Nine Society. Not that I put much stock into IQ, considering the controversy over cultural biases built into the IQ standard. However, it does indicate that I am not impaired as far as cognitive abilities are concerned. As for psychological problems, besides the depression and ADHD, I was diagnosed as having an Immature Personality Disorder by the Navy just before being discharged. However, considering the fact that I was eighteen at the time, that's not surprising. In reference to the bear, please see Q2A4. In reference to immaturity, please see Q4.
4. Q) Ok, then, why are you doing this?
   A) I'll start off with the reasons listed on the main page.
   1. I'm going to see my father. My father and I have had a rocky relationship over the years, and I hoped that this approach to visiting him might earn me some respect. At the same time, I also hoped that it would earn me some respect from my step-father who's always considered me to be soft.
   2. I'd like to show that the US is still a safe place live and travel. I'm tired of being told that we must pass this new law; or set up this new agency; or give up this or that right, in order to preserve our safety, or security. I've chosen to walk over 2600 miles to show that we are safe. For the most part, we are safe from external enemies, and we are safe from internal enemies. It is time for us to step outside our fear, and stand up and say, "We are free men, living in a free country, and we will not give up our rights for the illusion of security. We are safe to walk where we want to, when we want to, and we don't need more laws, agencies, police and prisons to make this so. It is so."
   3. I want to show to the world, and to ourselves, the generosity of the American people. I want everyone to see that Americans help one another, whether we know the person who needs help or not. It is my belief, that most Americans, regardless of race, religion, or any other defining characteristic, will help a stranger, if that stranger behaves appropriately. On my walk, I try to approach any person who might help me complete my walk in a humble and submissive manner. This does not mean that I grovel, and it does not mean I'm going to hand them a leather whip and beg them to order me around. This means that I approach realizing that I am the petitioner, and that the other person owes me nothing. Whether the other person offers a helping had depends entirely in that person's ability, and desire to do so. So I treat that person with respect, and make my request, and hope that it will be honored. Any other type of approach would infer that I feel an entitlement to that person's help. A person in need of help should not feel that need equates to entitlement. Just because I need help does not mean that I am entitled to help. With all that said, I believe that most people are going to help me because it makes them feel good to do so. And that's the definition of generosity... when you give because you choose to give, not because you have to give. A last thought on this that you can take with you to consider. Who is more generous? The man who gives a dollar to someone in need, and walks away feeling good about it? or the man who has just given a million dollars to charity in order to provide a tax benefit to his company?
      
      So now I've covered the original three, here are some more that are a little deeper, and which reflect what I hope to explore on this trip:
   4. Our society has no rites of passage. Even young Jewish boys who go through bar mitzvah have really accomplished nothing. They're still children until they reach those arbitrary ages of majority. At 18, they can legally buy cigarettes, spray paint, CDs with explicit lyrics and Playboy. They're now of an age where they can be drafted if the government thinks it's necessary, or enlist in the military without asking permission of their parents, and they can vote in national elections. However, they can't buy a beer. For that they've got to wait three more for the right to decide whether they should, or shouldn't imbibe. They can kill, legally, but they can't take a drink. So the Jewish boy mentioned above becomes a man at 13 through the rite of bar mitzvah, but not so you'd notice. He then waits five years, and becomes a man under the law, for the most part. Then, another three years, and he's a man. A process that began eight years earlier. So, even though the rite of passage exists for the Jewish boy, it's mostly a formality that means nothing. What other rites of passage are there in our society? I remember reading about fathers taking their sons to the local house of ill repute as a rite of passage. Never quite saw how that filled the role though. We really have none. As a result, and I state this on the basis of observation, and not empirical data, most of us in America never grow up. Our bodies keep getting older, but we never grow up. I can see most of you reading this nodding your heads and thinking, "I know people like that, but not me." I challenge you to really think about this next question: What would {insert the person you know has the lowest opinion of you here} think of me upon reading this paragraph? And then start working your way up your list of friends, acquaintances, in-laws, parents, and ex-members of those groups. How far up the list do you have to go before you find someone who thinks your mature? Me too. That's one of the reasons I'm walking this. I want to finally do something that seperates my childhood from being an adult.
   5. I never complete anything. I've got half-started projects all over the place. The three open C++ books that I swore were going to get me back up to speed and programming in an Object Oriented world; the guitars I bought, but never bothered to learn to play; the first marriage that I walked away from; on and on, there are things that I started, and just never finished. The farther I get into this walk, the harder it is for me to quit. I want to complete something major I started, at least once before I leave this earth. In the movie Something About Bob, the psychiatrist used the analogy of baby steps to describe how to complete a large task. The idea being that any large task can be broken down into smaller, more managable, tasks. Those tasks can again be broken down, until you reach a series of tasks that are each simple enough that there is no way one could fail to perform them individually. Then, by performing the basic tasks, or baby steps, one is able to complete a much larger and complex task. I can't think of any task more suited to the baby steps concept than walking across country. When I have looked up and seen that there was a large hill in front of me, I found myself looking down and saying, "One step, the ground is almost level." and repeating it like a mantra until I reached the top of the hill. Then reaching the top of the hill, and telling myself, "We'll rest when we hit the bottom." By continuing this kind of breaking down of the problem, 15 miles becomes 1 mile becomes a half mile becomes a quarter mile becomes a yard becomes a step. I want to complete this walk to prove to myself that I have the fortitude to finish what I start.
   6. One of the defining elements of this walk is that I am alone most of the time, except for Woody. This means that I have to occupy my mind somehow. I'm hoping that by the end of this trip, I will have found out who I really am. I hope to have stripped away all the chaff, and found that center that defines who I really am.
   7. I hope that after I have finished this experience, that I will have a story to tell. My vision of that story is a description of the people I meet, the sights I see, and the changes that are made in me as the journey progresses.
      
      So this is why I am doing this.
5. I'd love to donate, but I'd prefer to not do so online. How can I help?
   If you wish to donate, but do not wish to do so online, or do not wish to use PayPal, please email me and I'll give you a couple of towns that I'll be passing through. You can then send the donation to me via General delivery. Please remember to email me s that I'll know to stop and pick your donation up. Please make checks or money orders out to Eric Labuda and include a note with your name and anything you would like to have posted.
6. More questions later as I find them. Please feel free to send me your questions, and I'll try to answer them.