Japanese Man Rollerblades Across America
The Barnstable Patriot reports on 62-year-old Kenichi Yamashita, a Japanese man who has rollerbladed across America:
Connie Von Maur was driving home on Route 6A after working in the gardens at St. Mary’s Church in Barnstable Village when she came upon Yamashita. She was so concerned for his well being as he skated against traffic on the windy road that she pulled over and encouraged him to use the sidewalk.
As he’s done countless times on his journey across America, Yamashita took the opportunity to explain just what he was doing. The self-propelled and self-funded trip is to share his appreciation for America, the country he watched help his in the aftermath of World War II. He grew up with milk and rations from the Red Cross and other kindnesses from the United States he can’t forget.
The kindness and concern he found in Von Maur has met Yamashita across the country, sometimes turning into a shared meal, a place to stay and always more ears to hear his appreciation and determination to spread it.
[...]
It’s the second time he’s made such a trip. About 20 years ago, he and his then-13-year-old son, who shares his name, biked their way from Los Angeles to New York. The purpose then was the same as now, but Yamashita wanted this time to be different, more difficult, more challenging. So he extended the length of the trip, added a 60-plus-pound backpack to his lightly-framed body and strapped in-line skates to his feet.
The progess of Yamashita’s journey can be checked via his Twitter account.
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