Jeremiah Watt

I am in Appamatox, this is the farming region in central Virginia that seen the signing of the end of the bloodiest War in America, the Civil War. It was on this ridge of high ground that seen the southern Confederacy succumb to the strength and strategic planning of the Union North.

Amidst farm roads and small farm houses was waged a bloody confrontation by the two sides, one in which casualties were high and the stakes even higher. A well laid plan by the Union Army to catch the Confederacy in a pincer type movement was well orchestrated bringing about the surrender of arms by the defeated south. It is from this battle field that the “beginning of a time of healing” would begin, and as history would show us………………….that time for healing would start even as the Confederate troops laid down their arms in surrender.


There are many written accounts of Union Officers demanding that the Union Troops show respect and even “Honor Them” with a salute was ordered, as the rag tag soldiers of the Confederacy laid down the arms they carried. I actually found the whole description of the events to be quite moving as you read excerpts from diaries etc of the men whom where there at the time from both sides of this civil conflict.

The battle fields and buildings are all quite well preserved and or restored, and you can really get a feel for what it must have been like.


It was a very cool day, and not a day without it’s problems by the way. My good old camera had finally died, or so I thought. I sat for several hours outside of a small store from who I was borrowing electricity to charge a camera battery………………but no matter what I done I could not make my camera come to life. And so, after several hours of that sort of waiting around, I bought a very cheap digital camera in order to finish up the trip with. I rode in to what is now downtown Appamatox, and met several folks of interest.


The first, a couple from Michigan whom had retired and sold everything to head out on the road and travel, travel where and as far as they wanted each day. They had now been on the road for 3 years and saw no end in sight, they still had places that they wanted to go.

So we visited about the many places that all of us had been, and about the places that all of us would like to some day see. We visited about what kids are missing in the teaching of History these days, and how a proper education with regards to history can lead to a sense of respect and reverence for a country and not one of disdane as we see so often today in the youth.


But even more fun was the next fellow whom I met as I walked across the street to what I though was an open European Style Bakery.

Sadly, the bakery was closed. If any of you have had the chance to visit a real European Bakery you would know why I might say it’s a sad day when you find it closed………..but we will not go into why JW thinks the euro-bakeries are so much better. I met John Selver an elderly, rotund fellow whom carried himself like one well educated , and having done well in life.

John was a lawyer by trade, and a Copy Right specialist by practice. His primary job from 1970 up until his retirement in the latter 90’s was to buy “technologies”, meaning the process and the patent for such applications. This was a fascinating conversation for me, because I had no idea that such an occupation even excisted. John traveled for long periods within mostly western Europe, but on occasion into the Eastern Block countries as well as into Japan and Korea.

The job entailed looking for cutting edge developments that as of yet had not hit the street, get them bought and then the process protected by copyrights etc. From this conversation sprang a discussion about what is missing within the youth coming up in the business cycle today.

And the primary ingredient would be passion, a passion to work, a passion to develop markets and ideas…………Collin Powell is often sighted as the one whom talked about “fire in the belly” for public service………….but in this case we are talking about having a desire to go and simply be productive and not look to the world as if for some reason that living is OWED to you. The largest contributor to poor scholastic performance thought John, was the sense of being owed by someone, rather than a sense of needing to generate for ones self.

And to top it off, the education in our sciences and computer technologies is leaving our youngsters behind at an alarming rate. Sadly many parents look at their children and make the assessment that their kids are quite adept on the computer because they are always on it playing games…………..but the truth is that kids in some third world countries are writing the code to play the games, while our kids simply play the games, says John.

I head out of Appamatox, and on towards Farmville. The sky is dark and heavy with pending rain……………..or maybe snow as it feels quite cold. We are headed almost due east towards the Atlantic now, and the country is flattening out into the great coastal plain, so the riding is getting a little easier in regards to hills etc.

The ride to Farmville was a fun ride, quite fast and with lots of pretty roads to ride. It was while I was riding thru downtown Farmville, that I came upon two older fellows unloading a rather heavy filing cabinet. They sort of gave me a strange look as I rode past them on the side of the street, and an even stranger look when I parked my bike and went over to give them a hand.

The filing cabinet was indeed a heavy old brute for a Law Office type, and as we made efforts to move it, another really big guy stopped and helped me get the job done. As it was the case was simply too heavy for the two older men, but with a little effort we got the cabinet over to the freight elevator, and once again I was on my way having done someone a good deed for the day.

My intention was to stay at a city park that night, but having stopped for coffee, and inquired as to the Park I found out it was once a gain a Park plagued by the drug deals of the town.

So I decided to hit the road and take my chances as I rode too find a good place to camp. I rode on another 10-12 miles and the night was coming on much too quick, so on this night it would be a ruff camp, setting my tent up on some sandy ground at the edge of a small clearing. I had some Tortellini & Mushroom Soup for supper………….it was such a cold night I ate quickly and headed into bed.

Good Night and God Bless