The Messages « A Walk Across Massachusetts

The Messages

Here are photos of the notebook and the messages for the governor that I collected on my walk across Massachusetts.

When I asked people to write their message in the notebook, I implied that the messages were solely for the governor. Therefore, before I posted these messages for the public, I attempted to scrub out all names and potentially identifying lines. Note also, that the town names which follow the page numbers where below are only approximations of where I was when I collected the messages.

Also note that the notebook sustained some water damage during a harsh storm on the very last day of the walk, on my way out to Long Point off the coast of Provincetown. On some pages the ink bled through the paper or faded completely. In those cases, I redrew the lettering with my own marker, but of course preserved the original meaning (see page 36).

Finally, some folks I spoke with were so hopeful that Deval Patrick was going to win the election that they addressed their messages to him – even though the election was still weeks away.

Mead, Black, Grad Series Three Subject Notebook. Measures about 6.5″ x 9″. The glossy surface is from packing tape I added to protect the surface- since the notebook was usually tucked in the space between my lower back and my pack while I walked, I literally perspired right through the cover (I told you I put a lot of sweat into that book!)

The stickers were free promo decals I found or was given along the walk. The upper left sticker is from the American Hiking Society (quite appropriate!); the lower right sticker is from Amnesty International. I scribbled down my cousin Tony’s phone number on the left.

Inside shot #1

Inside shot #2

Inside front cover

Page 1. Pages two to six were a message I had written for the governor the night before our meeting, describing my project, the route I had taken, how long it took, the towns I visited, etc., as well as a personal congratulations.

Page 7, from Heath. Wen i first began walking from Williamstown, I wasn’t collecting messages; in fact, I didn’t come up with the idea until a few days alter while I was in Buckland. just to be fair, and hopoing that I would come back and talk to people in the towns I had missed, I had left the first few pages blank in my notebook. In the days between the time that I finished on Provincetown and the actual election, I drove up to the northwest corner of the state and asked folks from that area for their comments. Pages seven to 24 are from that “bonus” expedition.