I pull into the church parking lot where several people wearing green t-shirts are just about finished with their task of attaching balloons to the arch which will serve as the finish line.
I am early — well, at least, on time — and if you ask my partner Retro Dan, that almost never happens. If nothing goes awy, we will be starting right on time to play music for the Annual Harvest Walk sponsored by the Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson Country.
A sunny day, warmish for Oct. 1st, with just a few high clouds. It looks like the Retro Brothers again will be playing standing in the sun, which is how we set up last year when we did this event. It went fine a year ago and we will be fine with it today. We are supposed to play for only an hour, after all, and I have sunglasses and a straw hat. No problem.
We set up and are ready to go without a hitch. We have some time to spare so we chat with the volunteers who are making the actual walking part of the Harvest Walk happen. Retro Dan knows most of them. He volunteers at the Food Pantry once a week, mostly driving trucks and picking up food donations. In his pre-retired life he drove a semi, and so one might say we got the gig at this shindig because Retro Dan drives a big rig. At least, I might say that.
The purpose of the event is to raise awareness for the never-ending need for funds, food and volunteers for the Johnson Country Interchurch Food Pantry. The passion to eliminate food insecurity in Johnson County is what drives director Carol Phipps and the rest of the volunteers. The Interchurch Food Pantry gave out more than 1.5 million meals to households in 2022.
Registration begins at 1 p.m. with the walkers to take off at 2 p.m. Two options are available: a three-mile paved path and a one-mile wheelchair-friendly paved path. The Retros begin playing at 1 to a mostly empty parking lot except for the volunteers. Soon, though, walkers start appearing. Some of them have dogs on leashes who appear to be excited to go for an extra walkie. Every now and then we hear a random bark. “Everyone’s a critic,” I think to myself. Except for the dog, everyone is smiling. And who knows? Maybe dogs smile by barking.
Participants are in a festive mood and they smile at our songs. We thought we should keep the setlist upbeat. I wish now I had thought about some walking-themed song: “Walk This Way” or “Walking on Sunshine,” but since we don’t really know those songs, it is probably just as well we stick with what we know.
At 2 p.m. Carol Phipps says a few words. After that, folks gather by the balloon arch for a group photo of the walkers — humans and dogs — which has grown considerably by this time. Then the walk begins. Neither Retro Brother came prepared to walk, so we tear down the equipment and eventually go on our way.
I once thought I learned to play guitar so I could meet girls. That didn’t really work out. Then I hoped I could make a living at it. This also was a false road I went down. In the past couple of decades, I have come to realize playing guitar, at churches and for charitable events, is one way I can make a small difference in the world. Don’t have the final numbers yet, but I think the Food Pantry did okay for the day. And it wasn’t much, but I hope we helped.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
