As Charles Carney began the 96-mile Flint Hills Nature Trail east of Council Grove, KS, Sept. 1, he saw with pleasure the flat, sandy-gravel path sheltered by trees on either side. Ann Suellentrop, Charles’s support 
driver for several days, says the high-pitched hum of insects is the only sound as the wind gently ruffles the leaves, a few turning yellow and red.
Charles is continuing his 253-mile Peace Walk from Wichita to Kansas City, MO, sharing reflections with folks along the way about “the catastrophic dangers of nuclear weapons and climate chaos.”
Since Aug. 10, Charles has been walking 6-10 miles most days. While he wandered along mid-Kansas highways, a few drivers asked if he needed a ride, some learned why he’s walking, and many flew by at 75 mph. These pictures by Ann Suellentrop show the beauty along the Flint Hills Nature Trail–a bit more conducive to meditation and sensing the tug of the Earth than walking the highways.
Members of church groups—such as the Mennonites, Quakers, Catholic sisters, and the Church of the Brethren—are talking with Charles along the way … as are farmers, drivers, hotel managers, Chamber of Commerce people, police, and shop owners. And various activists, such as those in the Kansas Poor People’s Campaign and PeaceWorks-KC, are “accompanying” him as driving support, co-walkers, or donors. To ask Charles about his Peace Walk or offer help, contact him at donnacharles_1@sbcglobal.net or his cell, 913-603-2483.
On Aug. 29, Charles took a picture of the ramshackle building below, an indication of poverty in rural Kansas, near Council Grove. Social worker Charles knows only too well the toll of poverty on the human spirit, and the horror of
spending billions of dollars on war and weapons instead of on meeting human needs and nurturing the Earth.
Charles says he may reach his destination, the nuclear weapon plant (National Security Campus) at 14510 Botts Road in KC MO, on Saturday, Sept. 25. PeaceWorks and others just might want to walk with him for 2-10 miles. Stay tuned!
Copyleft 2021, Charles Carney, Ann Suellentrop, LJ Harris Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International License.
