Tom on the Camino

Dan and I met some wonderful people today from France, Ireland, England, Australia and even Pittsburg and Northern Kentucky!

It’s what the Camino deliver.

Bien Camino!

Tom

Today was a day to celebrate.  Dan, our son who now resides in Brooklyn, come to Carrion to walk on the Camino with me for two days!  How cool is that!  He gets a sense of the Camino and I get to spend two quality days talking and listening to wherever the conversations go!  The next few days are relatively easy and short – 11 and 14 miles – so we can really enjoy the Camino.  I know Florida is getting hammered but weather here is perfect.  Temps are 50 to 75 F and the sun is bright.

My prayers are for all affected by Irma.  May they be safe!

Buen Camino!

Tom

So the Meseta is supposed to be the emotional section of the Camino but today, with all that’s going on, I found it to be very spiritual.  I only had a few brief conversations with other pilgrims and that was good because my mind, heart and soul were very busy.

First, I, like so many, continue to pray that those in Texas get all the resources they need to begin the rebuilding process.  And now, with huricane Irma, I know I join you in your prayers for all the people in Florida and the South East States for their safety and minimal property damage.  May God protect them.

Finally, today is the feast of Blessed Fredric Ozanam, founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.  I was thinking especially about my fellow Vincentians, all the great work thy do, and all our neighbors that we’ve seen and will see.  They are the face of Jesus!

With as busy as I was, I did manage to walk too.  The Camino took me along a beautiful irrigation canal.  It made an interesting view in the middle of otherwise uneventful fields.  A perfect time for inspiration.  

I wish you all well.  Thanks for following.  Be safe and take care of each other!

Buen Camino,

Tom

So today was a perfect day to walk and just listen.  I know that those of you who know me find that hard to believe but yes, today I mostly just listened.  It was a blessing to be the receipiant of the conversation.  I started out in the fog of the early morning on my 15 mile hike to Castrojeriz, a bigger hamlet of about 500 people and three churches.  By 10:00 or so the sun came out and the long sleeved shirt gave way to short sleeves.  Everyone I met had lots to say and that was just perfect.  I really got to hear the answer from so many to the often asked question “So what brings you to the Camino?”  I really had the sensation that today, this was where I was supposed to be.

I think some of the lessons of the Camino – Let go of unnecessary baggage, the present is named that because it is one, and “Let go. Let God!” as Kathy often says – are vital leasons while on the Camino or just on the pilgrimage of life.  And to top off a pretty cool day, I had dinner with seven other pilgrims and one man paused to lead us all in saying grace!

I’m thinking of all of you who gave me your best wishes and promised me your prayers and doing my best to remember each and every intention I was asked to pray for.  May God bless us all with good health to be the best messengers of his word.

Buen Camino,

Tom

Hola,

Today’s blog may be a little brief.  Small towns, more like hamlets, are wonderfully peaceful but the technology can be a little lacking.

The first day of my second Camino didn’t disappoint.  After a very quiet departure from the hustle of Burgos, the first few hours were a great time of reflection and just getting into the spirit of the Camino.  I passed many people — I guess I walk like I drive, more likely to pass than be passed — but none seemed to speak English or maybe just were enjoying their own solitude.

After a break for a coffee americano with milk, I came across a very nice couple from Alberta.  He had just retired and was trying to figure out what’s next.  Sound familiar?  We got to share lots of ideas about time and money and approaching a lot of freedom never before experience.  I hope to run into them again.  And they told me that they’ve met two couples from Cincinnati.  I hope I run into them too!

By the way, I know some are praying for good weather.  And today you really came through.  Perfect!  Bright sunshine and a high of around 75 F.  One little misstep on some loose gravel on a downhill but no harm.  The walk continues!

Tonight I’m in a most peaceful village.  A great place to settle into a peaceful mind. The rest of the world really is way to busy.  Leave baggage, mental and physical, behind.  It only slows you down!

Buen Camino,

Tom

After several plane rides starting on Tuesday and a long bus trip from Madrid to Burgos, today I found the Camino, marked by those comforting little shells in the pavement always around the biggest church in town.  As I roamed  around the plaza of the Catedral de Santa Maria XIII, I saw several pilgrims.  Pilgrims are so identifiable with their packs and trekking poles.  I didn’t know any of them of course but somehow I felt a kinship with each.  I got my Pilgrim Credential and, as I was getting it stamped with my first seal, sello, I met a couple of pilgrims who had just had a few rest days after walking the nearly 200 miles from St. Jean.  We hope to see each other along the rest of the Camino.

Tomorrow the Camino will again be renewed for me. Starting off fairly easy on a 13 mile walk into the Meseta to Hornillos del Camino.  It will certainly help me get into the peace of the Camino.  Burgos is a city of over 180,000.  Hornillos has a population of 70, not counting the pilgrims!  Weather looks great!  I’m really looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings.

Keep me in your prayers,

Tom

Tomorrow marks the start of Tom’s Walk 2.0 — My second Pilgrimage across Spain to Santiago de Compostela!  As Peter, Paul and Mary sang “All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go.”  Hopefully, travels to Spain are uneventful.  If all goes well, my first steps along the yellow-arrow and shell marked trail will be taken on Thursday morning.

Yesterday, I was blessed to get the support and prayers of my fellow “Saints” at Bellarmine Chapel.  At the Masses, they announced that I’m walking the Way of St. James, the Pilgrimage across Spain, and that one of the highlights of this Pilgrimage is the Cruz de Ferro or Iron Cross.  It is tradition to carry a stone from home that represents the burdens that constrain us and leave that stone at the foot of the Cross of our Savior.  Parishioners were invited to write their thoughts on a stone and place it at the base of a model of the Cruz de Ferro in the back of Church.  I was given a stone to carrying from Bellarmine representing all the prayers and burdens of our parishioners.  It’s now in my backpack and I will place it at the base of the Iron Cross in a few weeks.

One of the readings on Sunday said “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”  I pray that this walk will give me a better glimpse at God’s will.  The words on my stone ask for this blessing.

Thanks for following my pilgrimage and for all the prayers that are being said for my safe journey and return.

Our family has been affected by Alzheimer’s — my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. We’ve seen first hand how this disease affects both the victim and their families. We probably all know someone affected by Alzheimer’s.  After some research, I believe that the end to this disease may be close at hand.  Maybe the next generation will never have to face the devastation of Alzheimer’s.

The day after I return from the Camino, I will be participating in another very important walk. The Cincinnati Tri-State Walk to End Alzheimer’s is Saturday, October 7.  I hope you can join me in this walk.   The links below will allow you to join the team for the walk and/or to make a separate donation for this very worthy effort.

CLICK HERE to join my team and walk with me!

CLICK HERE to go to my page and make a donation.

Thanks and God Bless,

Tom

Welcome to Tom’s Walk 2.0 — My second Pilgrimage across Spain to Santiago de Compostela!  I hope you will continue to follow my newest adventure.  New shoes and Pilgrim Credential have arrived and I’m into the final stages of preparations.  Less than a month before my Camino is renewed.  Keep me in your prayers!

Buen Camino!

June 21, 2015, Home

Sunday, June 21st, is Father’s Day in the US.  What could be a more wonderful way to celebrate the joy of being a father than to be with my wife, family and friends on this special day and having just returned from such a great experience as the Camino.  I hope all fathers find joy and satisfaction in their families on Sunday and every day of the year.  Happy Father’s day to all the dads!

June 21st is also the Longest Day, at least for us in the Northern hemishpere 🙂  (I mention this for Otto, Chris, Jade, and all the other Pilgrims I met from South Africa, and Australia.)  This is the day the Alzheimer’s organization has selected to remember in a special way those affected by Alzhiemer’s.  I hope you remember this deserving cause.

I’m home.  The Camino is over yet it never ends.  I won’t be walking fifteen miles every day but the adventure that started in Saint Jean Pied de Port of May 11, 2015 continues.  The pictures will help me remember the mountains,  the streams,  the fields, the skies, the villages and the chapels.  I hope I always remember the people and their stories even if I forget the details of their faces and maybe forget a name or two.  This has been a life time, life altering experience.  It certainly has helped me have a different view, hopefully a clearer view, of myself, my family, my friends and my God.  I now need to ensure that the experience of the Camino lives within me every day forward.  The spirit of the Camino, the peace of the walk, the people I met shall never be forgotten.

I never walked the Camino alone, even when I was by myself.  I had the support of all those that love me, especially my wife, kids, grandkids, brother, and the rest of my family, friends and fellow Pilgrims.  I could not have had this experience without the love and support I received.  Thank YOU!  Thanks for your prayers. You were constantly in mine.

Buen Camino!

Tom