The 2022 DFM Oxford Walk

Sunday was the annual Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Oxford walk. We, Team Centerville and I, have been coming to this one for several years now. This year, Penny, Sheila Mitchell, Gerald Johnson, Gerry Johnson, and O'Ryan Patterson made the dangerous trip to the school up north to do it one more time.

A sign the DFM put giving a shout out to
O'Ryan Patterson, Tyler Kirk, and me.

O'Ryan was the newbie. Since he had done the Delta Epic Bicycle Race-- a 300-mile monster that saw them ride through the delta and through the night-- and used it as a fundraiser for the DFM, he was invited to the walk. Not only was he invited, but so was Tyler Kirk and me. In fact, we were listed on the flyer as "Special Guests." It's nice to be special.

Penny and I picked up O'Ryan and met the rest of the crew at Dollar General in Carrollton as we usually do. Then we made our drive to Oxford where we stopped at someplace called Cookout for some lunch. I liked the burger a lot. Then we made our safari to the Lyceum Loop. As usual, we drove and drove and turned and Googled and finally made it. In case you didn't know, you can't get there from Google or Maps. You can't. You just can't. Any attempts to do so will only lead to frustration, lostness, anger, and possibly thoughts of suicide. Trust me; I know this from years of experience.

Gerald Johnson leading the pack.

I've said it before and I will say again: the Ole Miss campus is truly beautiful. The Lyceum Loop os truly gorgeous. The walk, allowing us to glimps a little bit of the campus, is truly a joy. The ice-cream after the walk is truly good. The trees and the squirrels that cover the Lyceum Loop and the nearby Grove and pleasant to the eyes, soothing the soul. And flowers. Even in November, there are blooming flowers everywhere. 

Before the walk started, Irena McClain, a DFM official, called O'Ryan and me up and presented us each with a beautiful plaque commemorating and thanking us for our service. We were each allowed to address the crowd for a coupld of minutes. I was surprised and highly honored. Then we did the walk, which only amounted to 1.17 miles according to my watch. Afterwards there was pizza, hot dogs, and ice-cream. The weather remained nice for the walk despite raining most of the morning. 

On the walk

In short, it was a very pleasant day. We, Penny and I, got to spend time with people we love. We go to do something different. We ventured into enemy territory (I'm a Mississippi State fan and came out uscathed. We got to be part of a fundraising effort for the best charity in Mississippi. We got to eat some food. We got to go home and rest. We got to.